Friday, March 28, 2014

One Fine Afternoon @ Six Degrees Coffee Drinkers



Last saturday, I attend a press release event held by a (rather) new cafe at Mal Alam Sutra. The invitation was from KEB, a group of blogger moms that I (not very) recently joined. The venue name is : 6 degrees cafe for coffee drinkers. Since the first time I read the name, it makes me wonder.....why 6 degrees? 


In all possibility, we were never strangers. Love the quote!




So, I arrived there, have a quick look and found how interesting the place is. The smoking area located in front of the cafe. I like the furniture arrangement, the material they're choosing. I can imagine updating my blog with a cup of coffee and some finger snack, there. With the wi-fi connection, that place is just perfect. the interior is very unique, it has wavy wood panel almost all over the wall. It somehow creates a cozy and warm ambiance, like a melting pot should be. 






Back to 6 degrees, the owner of the cafe are 3 friends who share the same interest, food and travelling. And they explain that they choose the cafe's name because they believe the theory that human are separated only by 6 degrees of friendship. Dare to prove it?

Then my favorite time comes, photo time! The silly thing is, i forgot to re-charge my battery pack. All I have is only a few power left :( I know I have to make sure that I have some shoots for the star of the cafe : the coffee n food!
So, not like any other resto review that I've ever attended, I only took few photos, not satisfying at all. Especially when there are so many spot, food, drink to be captured. Oow btw, the lighting of 6 degrees cafe is perfect to make me starve :D I dunno, I starved easily whenever I'm in a room with yellow lamps and warm color. Can someone explain to me what the relation is? Yellow light and my rumbling tummy? 

One thing for sure, I dont like taking pictures under yellow light, it makes the food look less appealing :( Im a big fan of  natural light when it comes to photography. So whenever there's a window with sunlight bursting in, im in! Too bad my chair was far from the window, and its a bit troublesome to take the food outside, anyway they aren't all mine :P I have to share it with fellow bloggers :) Even though I cannot show you proper photos, be assured that the reality is way prettier. 


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I order greentea blended, my oh my, I always loooove green tea. Wherever I go, this drink is always on my top list! Its thick and perfect for me, for non greentea lover, might be better to add a little bit more sugar :)

six degrees special : pulp strawberry

I order my favorite spaghetti, Aglio et olio. Do you know what is alio et oglio means? Aglio is garlic and olio is oil, so this very simple yet delicious spaghetti is a stir fry spaghetti with garlic and olive oil. The pasta is perfectly cooked, al dente. I like it that they use chili to bring more flavour. The finger food also delicious, the chicken wing is crispy, love the sauce! And the buttered fish with tartar sauce is yummy. Btw, this cafe provides all homemade, including the sauce. 



chicken wings

battered fish

Then Mr. Rafal Kapusta, one of the owner show us how to make cappucino. Learned that it was not that simple. You need perfect timing and perfect skill to serve a cup of gorgeous cappucino. The taste? Oooh heavenly. I love coffee, and it was one of my favorite cappucino, ever! Strong taste, and also creamy. 





Another good news is, they use Indonesia's coffee bean! Thumbs up!  


6 Degrees Coffee Drinkers
Mall Alam Sutera Ground Floor- Alfresco Dining Gallery Unit 88
Phone 021- 3044 9377
Price range : IDR 35K - 100K
Free Wi Fi
FB : https://www.facebook.com/6DegreesCafe






Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Green Fried Rice with Mini Anchovies



If you are an Indonesian, you must love fried rice! Its like a national menu, here :D You can easily find it almost everywhere. Restaurants, cafes, food courts, or food stall. In fact, I and (I believe) most Indonesia citizen can buy it easily from street vendor. You don't have to go out to enjoy a full plate of delicious fried rice, simply wait for the vendor to pass your neighbourhood area and just clap your hand and he will pull the cart in front of your house to make it easier for you to place your order! Simple and cheap! A plate of fried rice sold for IDR 9000-12,000. About USD 1 :D I love Indonesia :D :D :D 

Many of my friends who lived in another country admit that they missed fried rice seller, and other Indonesian street food. We have soooo many varieties of fried rice, from chinese style fried rice, javanese style, and many others. The topping too is vary. Say sliced meatball, sausage, chicken, seafood, etc. Some vegetables also an important companion to your wonderful fried rice. Chives, corn, carrot, are often found. Adding Indonesian pickles (acar) and crackers will make it even better! 

I'm about to share a fried rice with green anaheim peppers, known as cabe hijau besar in Indonesia. This pepper is not to sharp in flavour, also less spicy. I actually made this fried rice 2 months ago, wonder why I keep delaying the upload *sigh*

Green Fried Rice with Mini Anchovies
Adapted from : Daily Cooking Quest

- 500gr of cooked white rice 
(it is best if you use last night rice, in room temperature. So, it will not be sticky and soggy after frying)
- 1 teaspoon of salt (please do have a taste first)
- 4 tbsp of fried mini anchovies, and 1-2 tablespoon more for sprinkle
- 1 teaspoon of soy sauce (Indonesian : kecap asin)
- 1/4 teaspoon of sesame oil 
- 2 tablespoon of cooking oil
- 1 teaspoon of margarine or butter
- 6 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
- 5-6 green anaheim pepper, use mortar and pestle to grind the peppers, or blender. I usually use the seed, too. But you can de-seed it if you like.

Topping :
- 2 eggs, whisk together, add salt and pepper. Fry in a pan. Or you can simply make a sunny side up :)
- your favorite vegetable, I use romaine lettuce (known as selada keriting in Indonesia)  sliced tomato and sliced kyuri (japanese cucumber)

How to :

1. Pre-heat cooking oil and margarine in a pan/wok, sautee the chopped garlic until golden brown, add in the paste of anaheim green pepper, sautee until fragrant.
2. Add cooked white rice, salt, soy sauce and fried anchovies. Stir until everything is well mixed. Add in the sesame oil. Make a quick stir and then turn off the heat.
3. Divide into two portions, serve with egg and vegetables, sprinkle with fried mini anchovies.


Tuesday, March 4, 2014

Blueberry Muffin




Blueberry is not a "down to earth" fruit in Indonesia. In fact, they are expensive! I once bought frozen blueberry, cheaper of course. But its super tarty. Whenever we make smoothie, juice (I'm not into baking the last time I bought blueberries), we must add huge amount of sugar to balance its sourness. After that, I always hesitate to buy blueberries. But then I hooked up into baking world, and suddenly feel the urge to try as many blueberry recipes as I could. 





So on my last visit to grocery store I bought a pack of blueberries, and decide to make muffin for my first blueberry recipe. I love muffin, its simple and delicious and good for every occasion. Well, at least that's my personal opinion :P I can have it for breakfast, brunch or teatime :D And as I'm trying to serve healthier menu for my family  (ehmm) I use yoghurt instead of milk and vegetable oil instead of butter. The taste? Oohhh scrumptious! Looooove it. And the most important thing is that I feel less guilty by using yoghurt and oil :D








Blueberry muffin

1 pack of blueberry (mine is about 180gr)
1 1/2 cup of all purpose flour
1/2 tsp of baking soda
3/4 tsp of baking powder
pinch of salt
1/4 cup of vegetable oil
1/2 cup of sugar, and more for sprinkle
1 egg
200ml of yoghurt
1 tsp vanilla extract



Directions 
1. Pre-heat your oven 180 Celsius degree.
2. Smear your muffin pan with butter, or skip this stage if you're using muffin cup
3. In a bowl, shift flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside
4. In another bowl,  mix together yoghurt, egg, sugar, vanilla. Add in the dry ingredients. Do not overmix! throw in the blueberries. Mix until just combine. I left some blueberries to be put ontop of each muffin.
5. Pour the batter into muffin pan until almost full, press down lightly the remaining blueberries, and then sprinkle some sugar.

Sunday, March 2, 2014

Double Choco Banana Bread with Peanut Butter Icing




This actually quite the same with my favorite choco banana bread recipe, but I make slight changes on the recipe and also add a little bit of twist with the peanut butter icing. For peanut butter lover, do not skip this icing as it paired perfectly to the banana bread. You can use any of your favorite peanut butter,  please note that the level of sweetness might be different. So, do have a taste first. 

As for the choco chips, I only use 1/2 cup as I don't want it to be too sweet that makes my teeth hurt :D sometimes I use chopped dark cooking chocolate, as it more gooey when it hot! Or even better, use chocolate couverture.

As for the taste, like any other recipe using buttermilk, yoghurt, sourcream etc, it is moist and dense. Even when you use only plain milk, it will still taste good eventhough the texture is more dense using yoghurt. And the type of banana has a strong contribution to the bread's smell. In Indonesia, we have soooo many varieties of banana, but for cakes, my favorite are ambon and raja. They smell wonderfull!  Make sure you use fully riped banana for better smell and taste.







Here's what you need  : 


1/2 cup of vegetable oil (I sometimes replace this with melted butter/canola oil)
1/2 cup white sugar
3medium size banana
1 egg
1/2 cup yoghurt (you can replace it with the same amount of buttermilk or sourcream)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour 
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1  1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 cup choco chips (you can add more if you like), and more for sprinkle 

Ingredients for Peanut Butter Icing:

1/2 cup peanut butter
1/3 cup of powder sugar (do taste it first, as each brand of peanut butter might have different level of sweetness)
1/4 cup plain milk

Icing How To : 

- In a small bowl, microwave the peanut butter until it’s runny.
- Stir in the powdered sugar and milk.
The batter should be runny enough to be pour/drizzle with spoon.






How to : 
- Preheat the oven to 180 degree celcius
- Grease your loaf pan with butter
- In a large bowl, cream the oil/ melted butter and sugar, mix in the mashed banana. Add in the egg, yoghurt,  and vanilla extract.
- Mix together cocoa powder, flour and baking soda until well combine. Puor it to the wet ingredients using strainer.  Mix all of the ingredients together until just combined. Gently fold in the chocolate chips.
- Pour the batter into the greased pan and bake it for about 55 minutes, or until a toothpicks inserted comes out almost clean
- Let the bread cool completely.  
- Remove the bread from the pan.
- Pour the peanut butter mix ontop of the bread. Sprinkle some choco chips