Eat Art Loud: Jakarta Bazaar!

It's pretty cool how there's pop up events here and there in Jakarta. I don't know if it's a regular thing or not but I'd say let's just keep them coming. 

Eat Art Loud by I Love Bazaar Jakarta is the 2nd food bazaar event I visited in the last month or so, and this time round, I went with my little foodie cousin - just because he understands how important it is to taste every single thing that looks good.

Well, not every single thing, but we went through most of it, and here's the top 5 that made it on my list... There were others worth mentioning, but these 5 caught my tummy's attention the most.

Let's cut the chase, here's the ramen burger from Geram. I got nostalgic when I saw this because it reminded me of the one I had at the Brooklyn Smorgasburg last Summer... But this one from Geram was perfectly seasoned and it tasted twice as good. Awesome job right there! :)

Ichitori is by far the best thing just because it's fried chicken and you get to choose your sauce. We especially loved it with honey mustard and tonkatsu sauce... 

Deep down, I think they should make curry sauce!!! Strange? Maybe it's just me but I can totally imagine myself dipping these into the curry sauce from Singapore's McD...

We went all green with MAMAGO! This is half Pandan with Nutella and half Green Tea with Cheese! The Nutella makes it messy to eat since we're tearing them piece by piece but you can always take a big bite instead...

And if you're thinking that green tea with cheese sounds weird, it's really not! The cheese actually gave me something to contrast the green tea with... and yes... THE GREEN TEA WAS SUPER STRONG! And it came through like a punch in my face.

YAY!

We bought this little cup of french fries with bbq seasoning from Potato Land because we used to ice skate in Mall Taman Anggrek back in the days and this was our to-go snack in between breaks. I don't ice skate there anymore, but maybe my little cousin still does? I don't know.

However the case, it's another nostalgic purchase for me.

The first time I had watermelon and mint juice was at Food For Thought in Singapore, and since that day, I still couldn't erase that taste from my memory... so of course I was super super super super happy when I found out that Euphoric Juice makes this magic red juice!! I think I kinda squealed in my head for a moment...

Super thumbs up! I came back to buy another bottle to take home after I finished my first bottle!

We also bought a cookies & cream pudding from Milky Way, bubble tea from The Lab, panna cotta, Coconut ice cream from Ke La Si, marie regal, and milo eclairs...

Went home with a happy tummy and hope there's more pop ups / food bazaars coming up soon!

Flavorful Fridays

So many things have been happening in such a short period of time these few weeks, but I can finally see the light at the end of tunnel. Here's what's up...

1. Have you met this little miss fluffy? She's Coco and I recently created an Instagram account for her. It's @misshoneydecoco and you can browse #honeydecoco to see more pictures of coco since she was 3 months old. She can be quite a bossy little princess sometimes, but nonetheless she's great to have around when I'm watching TV or baking at night.

Coco is going to attend her first public appearance this Sunday! She'll be attending a corgi gathering/party hosted by her breeder, Zephyr Kennel! This will be her first social get together with other Pembroke Welsh Corgis and I can't wait to see her make some new friends!

2. My shipment (boxes and furniture) have finally arrived from Providence, Rhode Island! And I'm super exited to see my red couch again after almost 3 months! I've started to unpack my boxes... so many... 10 of them in total... I've gone through 5 of them, so 5 more to go!

3. I've been feeding local mosquitoes since  I came back to Jakarta, and it's rather frustrating that I got bitten 3 times in less than an hour. (7 bites on me now and I look feel like the itch is going to take over my self control and tempt me into scratching full force!) I'm carrying a tube of insect bite cream in my bag everywhere I go now, and I don't think it's gonna go back to the medicine cabinet any time soon. Any tips on how to avoid bites?

4. By the way, It's Friday~ so TGIF! Lots of food places to visit and cross off my list! Yummy adventure awaits!

Princess Aurora, Sleeping Beauty..

Hello there! It's been a while since my last post here and I'm super excited to finally find some time to share about this cake. So last week (or maybe almost 2 weeks) I made a cake for my aunt's little daughter. She's 5, she loves princesses, and she wants a Princess Aurora cake.

I wouldn't say it's a complicated cake so I took up the order and I made a round strawberry cake topped with a Princess Aurora doll cake! It's my first time (in such a long time) baking in my Jakarta home kitchen so it was pretty awesome working alone in such a huge space.

I bought a Disney Princess Doll for the cake which made her look more familiar rather than using a normal Barbie doll because they all tend to look the same. Her facial feature, and tiara, and her iconic long curly blond hair completes her signature look which we remember from Disney Classic.

Anyway, I started decorating after dinner (not a good idea) and end up finishing around 2am. It would've been really boring without my sister and this little fluff, Coco! She was so chill and just sat in the corner patiently waiting. 

You can follow her on Instagram, @MissHoneydeCoco. We all call her Coco. ^^

And here is a picture of the final product! I can't imagine the little girl's face when she saw this cake. My aunt said that she was super happy that she played her "princess" role throughout the celebration in school... and that's my goal, to spread a sense of happiness and blessing through the things that I do. Happy Wednesday, Everyone!

Wine Tastings in Napa Valley

I've been doing a lot of fun and happy things here in sunny San Francisco. Let's see, I don't even know where to begin. Basically I've been eating my way through the city since I got here a month ago, but since we're in wine country, let's check out some wineries!

My dear friend Sandy came to visit me last week and I am so happy she did - because that means I've got a buddy to go wine tasting in Napa Valley! We went to Robert Mondavi (my favorite) and did the tour + a guided 3-wines tasting.

Robert Mondavi uses a gravitational system to move their wines from the fermentation room to the barreling room so they don't have to use any pumping system. If you're lucky, you get to see their wine bottling process in the basement. Oh, and they'll show you their barrel room!

They say in Napa, Cabernet Sauvignon is the King, Chardonnay is the Queen, Pinot Noir is the Prince, and Sauvignon Blanc is the Princess.

There's a lot of interesting wine tasting tours in Napa, but I really enjoyed Castillo di Amorosa (a castle winery in Napa Valley). Yes, it's a castle winery! They have a moat, goats in the garden, and a fluffy chicken running around. I'm not kidding you, it's looks like a chicken-dog! What is this thing!?

We had a very entertaining experience touring the castle and had a chance to barrel taste. but the best part was that you get to choose which wines you want to taste for the 5-wines tasting. I like white wines, so my tasting flight was a mix of 3 whites and 2 rose. Sandy did the reserve flight tasting for an additional $10, and she said the guide was kinda cute! He's very entertaining and knowledgeable, well I guess you have to be... What do you think?

Oh yes, and I found my favorite wine that evening. It's the 2013 La Fantasia, a sparkling rose wine. When i took a sip, I'm sold. I bought 6 bottles and shipped them back home. They'll be waiting for me when I travel home next week! 

Rainy Wednesday + Updates!

Isn't it supposed to be Spring? Why is it pouring freezing rain outside? Never believe the weather forecast, New England weather is too temperamental for that.

Anyway, I've been spending the last few weeks at home busily packing things into boxes. 

Ah, yes! I'm moving back home in 2 months, finally! *phew*

Home has a dual definition to me: Singapore and Jakarta, Indonesia. Now, I don't know where I'll be on the long run, but I'll definitely be jumping back and forth on a regular basis to explore new cafés, bakeries, and what not.

Follow me and I promise you, it's going to be scrumptious and fun!

Packing up the past 5 years of my life into boxes and throwing out all the old junk that I've unintentionally collected has been quite a stressful yet liberating experience. It's really a love & hate situation right now. 

A part of me wants to get things packed as soon as possible, which means packing up my kitchen and baking ware into heavy duty moving boxes. The other part of me wants to let them hang out in the kitchen until the very last day. I'm kinda stuck in between, and I haven't been baking much, I'm sorry.

On the bright side, I've been working a lot with cake decorations at work recently and I've been posting them on my Instagram @Jessicalogy. Click to see!

Talking about packing, I'm easily distracted with all the random stuff I find around the apartment. Like when I found my typography sketch book and I started scribbling, and then I realize that OH! I was supposed to be packing.

It's so inefficient, but nonetheless my stuff is getting packed up a little each day!

Langues Des Chat / Cat's Tongue

meow, meow, meow...

I've been consuming way too much Langues Des Chat these past few days. You see, I put the container full of meow-goodness on the kitchen counter, so whenever I step in or out of the kitchen I stuff my mouth with one or two cookies.

Because they're so small, crispy, and cute. Plus, tiny cookies make me (or anyone else) feel less guilty about consuming them. Or maybe that's what I want myself to feel, but really, the best part about it is that it brings me back home.

When I was a little kid, I used to eat Lidah Kucing, an Indonesian version of Langues Des Chat. They're much more delicate because it's made with meringue folded into the batter. It's very buttery and super duper flavorful. Oh, and one is definitely not enough!

Maybe I'll make the Indonesian version next time.

Baker's Dozen: Links of Love!

Yup. It's so far so good here in Little Rhody. New England's been pretty chilly lately, but we always make do with a warm cup of tea and staying warm under the blanky while web surfing on the couch.

My Laduree Sucre book finally arrived! Time to make some Langues de Chat!

Colette Leica X Hello Kitty X Playboy Limited Edition Camera Too cute!

I bet this White Marble Pastry Slab will make a great background for any food photography

How to make Chocolate Dorayaki

For the love of coffee: Bee Hive Dripper (Small)

I know it's still freezing, Biscoff Cookie Vanilla Bean Ice Cream!

I'm following The Clever Carrot now!

Currently addicted to Argo Tea's Carolina Honey Tea

Oh My God! Matcha Sea Salt Fries with Siracha Ketchup

Cornbread Donuts to top off any soup this cold season

Just bought this Octopus Cup & Saucer

Super adorable Mini Hello Kitty Apple Pies

Honey Spiced Madelines Oh so fluffy!

Chinese New Year Cookies

I know it's a little too late, but "Happy Chinese New Year, Everyone!" It's better late then never, right?

How did your CNY celebration go? That's if you celebrate... :) Unfortunately, I was in a retreat camp over the weekend. But Chinese New Year is never the same here as it is back home anyway. 

Can't wait to pig out with my family and friends next year! 

Anyway, I've been a little caught up with travelling these past couple of weeks, so this post has been pending since last month! By the way, these are the cookies that I made with my DIY cookie cutters.

招财进宝 (zhao cai jin bao) means: to usher wealth and prosperity. In this case, the cookie is in the shape of old fashioned Chinese coins.

The DIY cookie cutters did their job and I'm quite pleased with how they turned out to be. I guess my favorite ones are the lanterns! What do you think?

The more I look at this pagoda cookie picture, the more I think of Mickey Mouse-second from the top. See what I mean?

So anyway, here's to all celebrating! Have a bountiful Horse Year ahead! 

DIY: Make your own cookie cutter

January is almost over?! What? I barely even noticed! I feel like my mind is still stuck in December. Well, it sure feels like it. Still bitter and cold as ever here in Providence, but being the cold weather loving being that I am, I LOVE IT!

Let's talk festivities! Chinese New Year is around the corner and I've got a friend ordering some cookies for her party/event. She showed me this picture, very festive, red, and bold which reminds me of the decorations at my grandparent's during Chinese New Year.

Which reminds me that this will be the 5th year that I'm missing the Chinese New Year family gathering at home. I'm missing all the good food and the 红包 (Red Packets/ Envelopes filled with money are usually given by married couples to single people and kids) 

Anyway, back to the topic. 

The cookies. 

Yes. 

Here's the picture.

Last February, Sweet Sugar Belle created these Chinese New Year decorated cookies on her blog and it has been circling Pinterest for quite some time. My friend wanted the exact same thing, I find them super cute, and I'm so excited to make these....

But I don't have a pagoda cookie cutter!!!

I've looked everywhere, online and in stores, but I guess it's just not that popular.

So anyway, I've decided to create my own cookie cutter, and it's easy. You will need a few things. 

Let me show you!

1. Design. 

My awesome friend Sandy helped me sketch out a perfectly sized pagoda outline! Make sure your template is big enough to fit all the design going on the cookie. This was about 5 inches.

2. Aluminium strips (about 1 inch width) 

I bought a cookie cutter kit online. It comes with a bunch of other things in it which I don't really find them useful, so I won't recommend you to get them, but you can always buy 1" aluminium strips on Amazon or in a Home Depot type store.

3. Some type of string/yarn

You need this to figure out how much aluminium strip you'll need to use. Just trace the yarn over the outline of your design and add an extra inch or two just in case you run out of material when you're creating your cookie cutter.

4. Tongs/ Bending tool

You can use almost anything to help you bend the aluminium strip. I just happen to find that this tool works good for me. The aluminium strip itself isn't hard to bend, in fact it's pretty bendy and you can even use your hands to shape it!

5. Bend Away

Remember to bend away from you. Keep the long part of the strip away from your body (It might be sharp and I'm sure you don't want to get scratched) Keep on bending, bending. bending. But not too much or the strip will break!!!

6. Glue them tight

I find that it's best to use a quick dry solid adhesive. In this case, I used a 5 minute dry epoxy glue - just mix the 2 substance, glue them in place and secure it with a binder clip. 

Taaa-daaaa!! Not bad, eh? It's not the same size (pardon my bending skills) but it's definitely original and worth the time and effort. 

Practice makes perfect. So now, let's bake some cookies!