Friday, September 16, 2011

Soto Sapi - Indonesian Spiced Beef Soup

Soto Sapi - Indonesian Spiced Beef Soup
One of the dishes I served at baby M's birthday party last weekend.
It was a hot day, and in Indonesia, we surely eat hot and spicy soup with a lot of acid to sweat it out. Slurp! If you did sweat, you'd feel like you just did one heck of a workout. Refreshed! Forget makeup, or use something totally waterproof :D

There are sooo many different kinds of sotos in Indonesia, I tried to do the yellow kind.
Soto Sapi - Indonesian Spiced Beef Soup
Recipe
Beef stock
- 1 kg beef (I used brisket and shin), blanched and cut into cubes
- 2 stalk lemongrass, bruised and cut into 5 cm long pieces
- 6 lime leafs
- 2 cm galangal, crushed
- hot water
- salt, pepper, sugar
Spice paste
- 8 cloves garlic
- 6 shallot
- 2 cm ginger
- 1 tsp turmeric (or more)
- 1 tsp salt
- a bit of cooking oil for saute-ing
Serve with
- crispy shallot
- kecap manis (Indonesian sweet soy sauce)
- lime wedges
- chopped scallion
- and of course rice ^_^

In a large pot, cook beef cubes in hot water with lemongrass, lime leafs, and galangal, bring to boil and simmer for 1.5 hours (minimum, or until tender), or pressure cook for 30 minutes. I made my spice paste by throwing all the ingredients into a food processor, followed by grinding it using a mortar and pestle until really smooth. You can use blender, try to make the paste as smooth as possible. Saute spice paste in a bit of hot oil until fragrant, add into the beef stock, mix well, and adjust seasonings if necessary. Garnish and serve hot.

Can't wait for winter so that I can use this soto as a hot pot soup base. Oh yes!

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Mid Autumn Festival & Baby M's Birthday Party!

Last weekend, we hosted some simple get-togethers to celebrate mid autumn festival and baby M's first birthday, and this was one of them. It's also a farewell party as we're moving into a rented place (sobs).

Anyway, the only way to cure my sadness of having to move is...to enjoy the place more!
So, first, here are a couple of irrelevant non-food shots..
Baby M First Birthday Party #3 + Mid Autumn Festival
This was because I forgot to buy party decor...

Baby M First Birthday Party #3 + Mid Autumn Festival
But it felt good to play with papers, markers and scissors again.

And now, the yummy food!
Baby M First Birthday Party #3 + Mid Autumn Festival
I've prepared some simple food...
- Indonesian spiced beef soup (soto sapi)
- Crab, pineapple and pomelo salad
- Turmeric grilled chicken in creamy coconut milk
- Garlic and fermented black bean grilled pork neck

Drinks...
Baby M First Birthday Party #3 + Mid Autumn Festival
White wine, sprite and grapes drink

Others brought some yummies as well...
Baby M First Birthday Party #3 + Mid Autumn Festival
Jen's chicken, apples and bacon salad. It's the most amazing chicken salad ever! Check out Tom and Jen's fantastic blog for the recipe.

Baby M First Birthday Party #3 + Mid Autumn Festival
Janice made 1,2,3,4,5 pork ribs with some seriously lickable sticky sweet sauce, which SC wanted to mop with some bread that we didn't have...and I just realized that I don't have a shot of the ribs. I hope you can imagine how yummy it is from that background. Heheheh.

Baby M First Birthday Party #3 + Mid Autumn Festival
Gigi made pizza! Melted mozzarella, pizza sauce and homemade dough! And hello, I need a new oven...or at least clean it or something.

Baby M First Birthday Party #3 + Mid Autumn Festival
The pizza's then topped with serrano ham and arugula. Yum!

Mid autumn is no mid autumn without...
Baby M First Birthday Party #3 + Mid Autumn Festival
That's right! Mooncakes! We got some egg yolk custard ones from Kowloon hotel...the classic egg yolk and lotus paste from Hang Heung...

Baby M First Birthday Party #3 + Mid Autumn Festival
Hello kitty snowy mooncakes from Maxim.

Baby M First Birthday Party #3 + Mid Autumn Festival
Handmade custard mooncakes from Charlotte and Gary! Best ones I had this mid autumn!

...and what's a birthday party without a birthday cake?
We had this rose and lychee cake from Robuchon. Perfect for summer, not perfect for the birthday boy :D
Baby M First Birthday Party #3 + Mid Autumn Festival
Mama? Are you sure I can't have some? A bite? Please?

Sorry, son. This cake has raw eggs and other forbidden yumminess you can't have yet. Obviously, your birthday is just mama's excuse for the yummy food and cake...but HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Muhahahaha!

Special thanks goes to Jason for taking most of the wonderful pictures...mama was busy fiddling with the food and papa was occupied by the squirmy birthday baby ^_^

I'll post more of the pictures on my Facebook Page a little later.

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

Spam, Mayo, Seaweed, Caramelized Shallot with Sticky Teriyaki Sauce Sandwich

Luncheon Meat, Seaweed, Mayo & Caramelized Onion Teriyaki Sauce Sandwich
I don't think I need to say much about this sinful treat.
Junk sandwich at its best!

Luncheon Meat, Seaweed, Mayo & Caramelized Onion Teriyaki Sauce Sandwich
Thickly cut spam, pan fried until it's crispy on the outside and soft on the inside...thick slather of kewpie mayo, caramelized shallot glazed in teriyaki sauce mixed with a bit of sugar until thickened and sticky, thick slices of fluffy buttery and cheesy bread, topped with crispy seaweed.

Luncheon Meat, Seaweed, Mayo & Caramelized Onion Teriyaki Sauce Sandwich
It's pure porn.

Sunday, September 4, 2011

SC's Birthday Dinner at Amber. Landmark Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong

This post is gonna be very photo intensive, with minimum commentary.
Why?
Reason 1: I decided to just enjoy myself, not thinking too much about what was that yummy thing I just ate (lame excuse)
Reason 2: I am an ignorant glutton, I really didn't know what I ate (truth)
Reason 3: I am lazy (truth)
Reason 4: ...(could not find any excuse to defend myself)..kindly refer to reason 3 ^_^'

Anyway...please excuse my excuses, just enjoy the crappy photos from the night, and maybe see which dishes we liked.
SC Bday Dinner 2011 at Amber
Both yummy, but love the cannelloni one muchhhh!

SC Bday Dinner 2011 at Amber
Bread selection...I especially love the baguette and the thin crispy ones.

SC Bday Dinner 2011 at Amber
Watermelon with broth jelly...very refreshing! Perfect for summer.

SC Bday Dinner 2011 at Amber
Foie gras cranberry lollipops. So cute!

SC Bday Dinner 2011 at Amber
Decadent and delish! Love much!

SC Bday Dinner 2011 at Amber
This croquette squirts out something delicious!

SC Bday Dinner 2011 at Amber
Birthday boy was so excited, he was pretty much posting every single dish to his Facebook wall REAL TIME. He puts my blogging self to shame T_T but I was so happy seeing him that enthusiastic.

SC Bday Dinner 2011 at Amber
Sea urchin in a lobster jell-O with cauliflower and caviar, served with crispy seaweed waffles.
This is soooo yummy! One of our favorites of the night!

SC Bday Dinner 2011 at Amber
Birthday boy playing with his food.

SC Bday Dinner 2011 at Amber
Confit and smoked Tasmanian salmon, with avocado, horseradish and granny smith apple. SC loved it, but I didn't like the smokiness and the soft fish flesh...I just liked the apple thingy.

SC Bday Dinner 2011 at Amber
Duck foie gras and tasmanian black truffle ravioli, in cep consomme. I love the ravioli and the broth...but I just discovered something abominable that night...I am not a big fan of...(gasp!)...fresh black truffle! (Please don't kill me T_T)

SC Bday Dinner 2011 at Amber
Red amadai (including the scales, which were done in such a way so that they're crispy and edible), fennel and orange confit, bottarga grated new potatoes, bouillabaisse "sauce", and manni olive oil emulsion. Yummy, but the scales kinda hurt my gum a bit...opps.

SC Bday Dinner 2011 at Amber
Kagoshima wagyu beef sirloin MS A4 (this almost sounds like an electronic product model number...) oven roasted, with puree of "forgotten" shallots. SUPREMELY YUMMY!

SC Bday Dinner 2011 at Amber
When I thought the beef dish could get any yummier...they served this beef cheek dish. Absolutely delightful! Another favorite of the night!

The french farmer cheeses were wheeled in...
SC Bday Dinner 2011 at Amber
I chose the less stinky ones while SC braved the ones with "stronger" scent. My favorite was that cantaloupe-esque one.

Now, the sweets...and the superb service.
SC Bday Dinner 2011 at Amber
The bottom of this strawberry creation, "mara de bois" strawberry with mascarpone semi freddo is soaked with liquor. I told our server that I am rather allergic to alcohol when we were offered the wine pairing option. He kept that in mind and asked the chefs if any of the dishes had alcohol, I said cooked alcohol and a bit of uncooked alcohol should be fine, I just can't have a few glasses of wine and risk rashes on my freshly sun burnt skin. He specifically checked if they needed to change my dessert as this one has quite a bit of uncooked alcohol. I said it was not necessary, I can handle it.

SC's Birthday dinner at Amber
Little did I know...he asked chef to prepare a different dessert for me, just in case. This beautiful cranberry creation, which had no alcohol...and they still served me my original dessert too, this one's on the house. How sweet and thoughtful!

SC Bday Dinner 2011 at Amber
The birthday boy finished the extra dessert :)

SC Bday Dinner 2011 at Amber
What's special occasion without a bit of chocolate? abiano 85% chocolate souffle with brown rum anglaise and super rich cacao sorbet. Again, I was given a separate non alcoholic chocolate sauce, just in case I couldn't handle the brown rum. Excellent service! I was so happy I drew on a happy face on my souffle and pour in my sauce ^_^

By this course, we were already stuffed to the brim...which was such a waste, they might wanna consider serving this in much smaller portion. The souffle's gigantic! I never believed in "too much of a good thing", but this was the case.

We pretty much couldn't eat anything else...but...
SC Bday Dinner 2011 at Amber
...there were petit fours...coffee for me, chamomile tea with honey for the birthday boy, the whole thing came with a candle..

SC Bday Dinner 2011 at Amber
...and a selection of chocolates...

SC Bday Dinner 2011 at Amber
...with birthday boy's name written on a piece of tempered dark chocolate..whew!

SC Bday Dinner 2011 at Amber
It was beyond!

You must've noticed that the pictures here are a bit..."foggy". I was just in the mood for that. If you wanna see the non-foggy pictures (many many more pictures), they're posted on my Facebook page.

Amber
7/F Landmark Mandarin Oriental
Tel: +852 2132 0066
The signature degustation menu we chose costs HK$1,588 per person + 10% service charge

Thursday, September 1, 2011

Lumpia Mataram, Semarang - Spring Rolls, My Hometown Style

Lumpia Mataram, Semarang
Sorry for flaunting some more Indonesian food pornage.
These golden bars are something I've been missing forever...they're my hometown (Semarang)'s specialty and they ain't no ordinary spring rolls.

Lumpia Mataram, Semarang
Super flaky, crispy and thin spring roll wrapper...

Lumpia Mataram, Semarang
with bamboo shoots, dried shrimps, pork and scrambled eggs inside.

Greasy goodness! Absolutely heavenly!
They are my breakfast, lunch and dinner for the coming few days ^_^
Can't get enough of them!