MP - lasagna gulung

MP - Lasagna Gulung, 11 May 2013.

I've never been hanging out in Bogor before. I really did not have much expectation because the last time I went there with my family, I don't think there will be modern and hip places there comfortable enough for hanging out. And boy, I was wrong. When my boyfriend and I went to Padjajaran Street, we found lines of hip restaurants. We then decided to go to MP -Macaroni Panggang. However, not until we arrived at the parking lot we realized that we entered the wrong restaurant. Instead of going to MP - Macaroni Panggang, we get in into MP - Lasagna Gulung, and it turned out that the two restaurants are located inside the same area. We were about to go out the parking lot when it began to rain. And, off to MP - Lasagna Gulung we go.

The place was designed to be warm, I supposed. And I feel a touch of Java style since the main dining area is located inside a pendopo (a large open structure made of wood). We chose the lesehan table (no chair, we just sit on the floor) because they look cozier and more comfortable. 

It was raining when we enjoyed our visit there. We ordered the medium-sized rolled lasagna and sweet hot tea. I'm not really a fan of lasagna and macaroni, so I thought I was just going to taste a bit of the lasagna. But, again, I was wrong. The lasagna was more than just delicious. It was perfect. It tasted creamy since it is filled with sour cream, mayonnaise and egg. It is also filled with beef, spinach and red beans, and the combination of which matches perfectly with the lasagna dough which was baked until it cooked perfectly. Instead of tasting a bit of the lasagna, I ate 3 slices of the super mega delicious rolled lasagna. Oh heaven!

shaded and warm nuance of the main outdoor dining area

cups of tea: perfect company during rainy day

the perfect rolled lasagna

self-made salad

Okay, I decided this post to be my first recipe post! And, the first one should be an easy one haha. I'm just kidding. I made salad simply because it is actually the only recipe that I could make. I love salad so much. Even though now I'm already back to being a carnivore, I pretty much still order salad whenever it is offered in restaurants. So, around March, I was unoccupied. I took a one-month long holiday before I began my new job. And at one afternoon, I decided to make use of my spare time for making salad for my boyfriend who should be on a diet, for God's sake, now that his weight is above 100 kg. So, I went for grocery shopping to find the ingredients needed for making the most delicate and complex salad. Again, kidding.

Green Salad

Ingredients:

- Lettuce (as much as you want)

- Red paprika (gotta love the color)

- Green paprika (green is better, still)

- Frozen vegetables (green peas, sweet corn, carrot and string bean)

- Tomatoes (as much as you want)

- Lemon for dressings (as much as you want)

- Canned tuna (if you like it, but I don't really. I use it for tuna sandwich, and the recipe for which I will not post though)

Steps:

1. First, you prepare the necessary ingredients.

2. Second, you chop everything the way you like it. But, do it the conventional way is always best, though.

3. You mix all the vegetables (yes, count tomatoes as vegetables in this case). And dress them up with lemon juice. And voila! Enjoy the Green Salad a la Moi.

never get enough of thai cuisine!

Jittlada, 24 February 2013.

I could never get enough of Thailand cuisine. So, anytime people asked me to eat in Thailand restaurant, it is most likely (if not affirmative), I will say yes. For me, it is a bless to have munching-buddy interested in similar food taste like me, i.e. loving sour and spicy food. And this time, I was lucky. My college friends took me to Jittlada, Grand Indonesia. The place was cool with soothing ambiance which you would find in any Asian restaurant located in big shopping centers like Grand Indonesia. The restaurant is dimmed in light and decorated with carved wooden tools with Thailand signature which I believe aimed to offer cozy and comfortable space for dining, and they did well. 

We ordered the must-try food I always order in Thailand restaurant, and that is tom yum soup. 

It is served in small portion. The soup tasted fresh, sour and spicy. But, still it does not beat the taste of Thai Express' tom yum soup. The soup was offered with rich amount of button mushrooms and a mixed of seafood such as shrimp and calamari.

We also ordered stirred edible fern with garlic. The fern tasted fresh and tasty because it was not overcooked, this has always been the perfect way of cooking green leafy veggie.

  

And we also ordered roasted chicken with garlic. It was delicious. And to accompany the dishes, we ordered Thailand hot tea served in this cute teapot set. 

my jogja trip

It's been way too long since I posted my last culinary adventure in this blog. And it is due to my lack of discipline manner to post stories on a regular basis. Anyway, 2013 has been a wonderful year for me. I finally made it to Jogjakarta! I went to Jogjakarta with my friend on March. The city was beautiful. I took the train from Senen Station in Jakarta to Tugu Station in Jogjakarta. The view from the train during my 8-hour-long trip was amazing, just like what I've always had imagined, but better! I stayed on 2 hotels located near Malioboro. How I really love the festivity offered by the street musicians and food hawkers along the boulevard both at day and night. I really love it there. The food, the temples (Borobudur and Prambanan, yes!), the friendly people there. I surely would love to go there anytime!

the mighty prambanan temple

the great borobudur, in half

the great borobudur in panorama view mode

food paradise: gudeg, krecek, etc.

pasta time

Anyone fancying affordable Italian food (pasta and pizza) must be familiar with Warung Pasta (Indonesian meaning Pasta Stall). I notice that Warung Pasta outlets in Kemang and Depok are always packed with youngsters (if not teenagers). Couple of days ago, I went to Warung Pasta Depok with my boyfriend. We've been there once. The place is pretty spacious and big, it has two floors. Several tables are placed outdoor, some are on the patio of the first floor, and some are on the balcony of the second floor. 

We chose a table on the second floor near the bar (well, not really a bar, more like a order-serving counter). It was 7.30 pm on weekday, yet still almost all of the tables are occupied. I ordered spicy shrimp pasta with fettuccine and my boyfriend ordered the recommended nasi bakar (grilled rice) with shrimp, and we also ordered cheese calzone.

The grilled rice looks exactly like fried rice. When we saw it, we thought it would taste just like the fried rice, but turned out it did not at all. You can taste the smoke resulting from the grill process in the rice. It has a strong spices flavor, sort of a mix of black pepper, ginger and galangal.

  

Just like its name, the spicy and hot fettuccine is hot and spicy. The fettuccine is soft and yet chewy.

The calzone was so-so. I once tried the calzone served in Ebira, and I remembered that the calzone did not go down when we cut its middle part. Yet, the calzone in Warung Pasta deflated as I cut it into pieces. The cheese was fine too, although it was not so rich or creamy. But, then again, Warung Pasta serves very affordable meals. So, I must say that the calzone is worth its price.