..It's a journey after all.. : Food and Travel Blog based in Jakarta: cake
Showing posts with label cake. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cake. Show all posts

Friday, 2 November 2012

Starbucks Food Tasting

When I received the invitation via e-mail from Starbucks, I was super thrilled!

I have always loved Starbucks for their sweet treats and unique drinks.. Believe me.. I spend a lot of my time there, whether it's only for hanging out, waiting for someone, doing my assignments, reading a novel, or just chillin' with my friends.. The world-wide chain cafe is scattered everywhere and because of that, I also think that Starbucks is one of the main reasons of what turned out to be today's youngsters coffee drinking culture. I don't personally choose Starbucks for their black coffee (I think there are many better places that serves good black coffee), but I just can't get enough of the other unique drinks that they serve, also their light bites..

I don't think I have to explain furthermore about Starbucks because I believe you guys are familiar with it as well. The thing with Starbucks is that it's practical. You know what they serve, you know what you want, they know what to serve, BOOM, consistency.. I don't even have to look at their drink list to find out what I want, what I crave from Starbucks. As if I have downloaded their menu via PDF file inside here *pointing at my own head*

I was late for an hour. Traffic was eating me alive. Thank God I wasn't the one who was driving.. (Poor Glen..)

HERE WE GO

After 2,5 hours of traffic, all of these really turned up my mood.. They were not new actually, you can find them in Starbucks stores, but this just brighten my night up!
The other fellow bloggers suddenly scooted over this tray full of red velvet and purple yam coconut cake to me.. I was quite amused actually.. 
I have never been a fan of Starbucks red velvet. I think it's the same as an ordinary sponge cake, covered with peanuts. I couldn't even smell any hint of coffee.. So, no.. I am not a fan of this one..
Now this, I love... Purple Yam Coconut Cake (28k). It has that coconut shavings texture and the yam is used for the base. I think it's superb!
My drinks for the night : Passion Tea Lemonade (this also have been one of my favorite drinks from Sbux, it's very freshening, sour and not too sweet for me), Hot chocolate (classic hot chocolate, what can go wrong with it?)

For Glen : Sea Salt Caramel Caramel Mocha (Current Sbux seasonal drink, and yes, I licked every bit of that gorgeous whip cream with a straw)
Smoked Ham Quiche. I LOVE STARBUCKS QUICHES! It's soft on the inside, has that right amount of cheesiness..  Whenever I am in for a treat, I usually order their savory quiche.. Eat it with chili sauce, super yum! (typical Indonesian's relationship with the so-called sambal)
Generous ham.. Even the one without ham is still very yummy
Another seasonal dessert : VIA Snowflake Land (17,5k). The outer has a choux pastry consistency dipped into melted chocolate and topped with white chocolate shavings above it..
The fillings was not as runny as the typical choux pastry filling. I can definitely smell the coffee from the VIA... Coffee Choux Pastry, anyone?
Classic Starbucks Cinnamon Role (which I think looks very sexy and tempting at the same time, especially with those white sugar on top of it)

Another seasonal savory treat. I LOVE THIS SO MUCH~! They use fresh basil. In the picture above, it has just been warmed so the basil went soft. It's like a garden exploded in my mouth. Lean chicken, super healthy, with a hint of sweetness from the apple, and the kicking smell of basil. COMPLETE GARDEN PARADISE EXPLOSION IN MY MOUTH!
The only thing is... The wheat bread is too thick!
Their best seller Sandwich : Rustica Smoked Chicken and Cranberry Sandwich (42k). I have tried it once, I didn't like it that much. The cranberry made the sandwich too sweet that I couldn't enjoy it. I have always preferred savory salty when it comes to my meals. It's also one of the most expensive Starbucks treats.. 
I have such a great time with my fellow bloggers.. 
At the end, after those hours being stuck in the car, it's definitely worth it to meet these people.. :)
Starbucks Coffee
Where? You know it..
Twitter : SbuxIndonesia

Wednesday, 19 September 2012

Blacklisted.. Get your bittersweet dose of caffeine..

"Why did you name it Blacklisted?" That's the first question that I uttered out. It's an unusual name indeed.

1675, the year King Charles II banned coffee houses
That's the reason why.. In the year of 1675, apparently drinking coffee is banned due to some political threat issues. They thought the caffeine in the coffee itself served as a mild opium. Aside from the fact that drinking coffee used to be 'blacklisted', the trend and habit continues to this very day.

Personally, I know very little of coffee. I drink them occasionally (in fact, I enjoy them a LOT) but I never pay any attention to the different qualities that they can pursue. Being invited to Blacklisted last week, was such a HUGE honor cause I feel so enlightened.

The invitation itself came out of the blue. It was almost midnight and I was just laying on my bed, ready to sleep. Suddenly, I received a message in twitter from Ellyna from Culinary Bonanza asking met to join her for tomorrow. I said yes in an instant.. ;p We were also with  Ines from Oh My Good Food

The Menu..
Saxon Wright, the Head Judge for World Barista Championship and coffee expert, is the one who's behind all the formula for the gourmet coffee in Blacklisted. He's such a humble guy and willing to share his views in coffee. He really cares about the tiny little details that will bring out the best of whatever every customer is going to have in their cups.

For starters, I have the privileged to drink a cup of cappuccino made by Mr. Saxon Wright himself..

This is Mr. Saxon Wright. He set the coffee machine and in charge of training the whole staff in every little detailed process.. From roasting, to grinding, to serving it to the customers in a cup of yummy coffee
Making sure there's no air.. Press press press it down
Voila.. My cappuccino is ready to be served.. Full concentration though
"Even a two degrees difference can bring out a different taste in your cup of coffee" said the coffee expert.
The RULES of having a good cup of coffee :
1. From the quality of the bean itself. From the time of harvesting, roasting, grinding, and brewing really determine the final quality and taste of your coffee.. Fortunately, Blacklisted offer you all types of coffee beans from locals to imported ones..

2. The man behind the machine. Every man can bring out different taste of coffee. If they don't understand how to brew coffee the right way, no matter how high the quality of the bean is, they'll just put it to a waste. I, myself, no matter how hard I try to copy the way my Mum makes coffee for my Dad, it will just never taste the same. Which I think, it kinda make coffee brewing perceived as an art cause different people will have their own unique way in creating their one cup of coffee.. Well, that's just how I see it..

Too bad Mr. Saxon was only staying for a while..
I was quite embarrassed actually cause I know so little of coffee, yet Saxon was being very kind, explaining to us in every detailed way possible to make us understand that it's not just about the brewing. They have these jars that can show you the final product of each process, from the green beans to the second cracked beans. 
He also gave us the honor of making Filtered Coffee. He said he drank this every morning and it's the cleanest coffee you can get. It's quite hard to press it down, cause on the bottom, there's a filter paper which will detain all of the unwanted residue. I only pressed it down for a while before I gave it back to him.. 
It almost looked like tea, right? It tasted very acidic, different from any other types of coffee I have ever drunk in my life. Saxon has predicted that we won't be able to appreciate the taste at our first try because the same thing happened to him. But right now, this is what he's having every day.. So, that made me a Newbie ;p
The roasting machine. Again, he's in charge of it. He's also training all of the staffs.. Blacklisted roast their own coffee bean everyday and keep it at least for 4 days(that's how long it takes to get the best coffee after the roasting process) before they grind and brew it. 
We heard this popping sound. It's the first crack! If you were there, oh my God, the smell was amazing!
Final outcome.. Saxon told us to have a bite. It's crunchy and you can smell a strong fragrant of coffee in the back of your mouth. I even consider of having it as a snack.. 
Second of all.. The pastries.. Oh yummy pastries.. :)

The pastries and cakes are made by a Lenotre-trained pastry chef with over 20 years of experience, Mr. Ong.. He's a Singaporean, too bad I didn't take any pictures of him. He's the sweetest humblest, the most comical stranger I've ever met. To be frank, he doesn't even look like a pastry chef and I could easily mistook him as another customer. He also sat down with us and have a little chat behind each sweetness..
Croissant Au Almond (17k). C'mon what could go wrong with a good cup of your dose of caffeine and a bite or two of good pastry. This picture right here, really made me appreciate how blessed I am. It's effortless to enjoy the two combination.. 
They have tiramisu, chocolate banana layer cake, red velvet, opera cake, etc
Fresh baked pastries everyday!
THE FOOD...

Spaghetti Javanese (48k). Yes, the pasta is green. They use green chilli sauce and shredded of chicken and shrimps. If you are a chilli fan, this is the right pasta for you. In every strand of pasta, I can definitely smell the hint of chilli..

Fettuccine Carbonara (48k) Yummy! It's creamy and at the top is beef bacon. The bacon isn't burned, I simply use the wrong filter while editing this photo (Sorry). The bacon was definitely crispy and cooked to perfection..
Oxtail Fried Rice (59k) They're really generous with the oxtail. I don't usually eat fried rice in cafes. But this one is exceptional. 
Grilled Salmon with rica rica sauce (60k). This menu is from the breakfast list. The bottom part is mashed potato. I super love this dish cause the fish was NOT FISHY AT ALL! And for 60k, I think it's worth it. The top layer of the fish was quite crispy just how I like it..

Banana Chocolate Frappe (35k), Mango Mojito (28k), Homemade Lemonade (20k). I love sour drinks.. I prefer soury drinks with my meals. Mango mojito and the lemonade are the winners indeed.. 
The DESSERTS.. 
The cakes are about 35k but they also serve different types of desserts, like honey crumble affogato (35k), panna cotta (35k), etc, but the ones on the menu aren't available for takeaways.

The banana chocolate layer cake. YES OH MY GOD THIS IS SO YUMMY I COULD NOT SHOULD NOT WILL NOT STOP EATING IT! I asked Mr. Ong about this cake. He said the sliced and also mashed some of the banana to be put in the whole mixture. And the melted chocolate on the top of the cake is mind blowing. GAH.. I am drooling.. again.. 

The Tiramisu.. I can definitely smell that hint of rum... Creamy indeed
The opera cake.. Different layers bring out different texture.. 
I had such a wonderful time in Blacklisted. The people are warm and friendly. They really care about the food quality and the final product of both on the food and the drinks.. The combination of the meals, the coffee, the dessert is splendid. I will definitely recommend this place to all of you guys. If only the place is bigger or located somewhere more intimate, it'll definitely be my new favorite place to hide myself in everyday. LOL.. But seriously, give this place a try..

Have a cup of coffee of your choice and a slice of cake or other pastry. I hope you fall in love with it just like how I fell in love with it already.. :)

BLACKLISTED
Puri Indah Mall, Ground Floor unit 71
Jl. Puri Agung, Puri Indah, Jakarta
Phone : 021-5823332
Facebook : blacklistedcoffee
Twitter : BLACKLISTED_ID
Website : www.blacklistedcoffe.com


Saturday, 28 April 2012

the sweet, the yummy, the goods

Carrot Cake with cream cheese frosting

Dark Chocolate Rum Cake with cashew cookies


The rest of the fresh made cakes! The one on the left is the lemon poppy seeds


Easter Chocolatessss

Cute, right?

Yes, you can have 'em.. You can have 'em all..

Cupcakes
If you're craving for something sweet, yes, I suggest you go to this place.. The Baked Goods! click HERE to go to their web and find out their location..

I visited this place a few weeks ago, but haven't got the time to blog about it.. Interesting fact, besides the yummy desserts you can have here, it turns out the owner of the baked goods is....

The famous... The handsome... ERWIN PARENGKUAN...



's wife.. Yep.. the owner of the baked goods is his beautiful wife, Jana..

Pretty and knows how to bake! The perfect housewife!
The best thing in the baked goods is actually the traditional Czech desserts like Pavlova and Bublanina, which recipes was inherited by her Czech grandma.. The quality is top notch. They really made it fresh with original ingredients, so now essential flavorings.. In the interview I found, she said she squeezed her own lemons to make the lemon poppy seed cake.. 

I also ordered the fruit cake, but before I had the chance to snap the picture, it was attacked by my mom and one of her friend, as it was the healthiest thing we ordered on that night.. -____- They were all like scared of touching the chocolate. But they had a bite and I could see the regret expression from them tasting that bite. They have to finish the healthy cakes while I got to treasure my dark chocolate rum.. *EVIL LAUGH*. My big sis had the carrot cake..It's very light and yummy! Also my favorite.. 

They serve other things like quiche, hampers, cookies, etc.. Since it was Easter, they still have all the Easter chocolates 

YUMMY YUMMY YUM.. Recommended for a sweet escape!