The Foodie Magazine - October 2015

SAVOURING SOUP INSIDE

Sotos of Indonesia Soups of the World Hearty Soups Cold Soups

OCT15 | volume 2, Issue 10 Rp. 55,000 | S$ 8.00

Be Naturally Beautiful “Being happy, healthy and beautiful is easy with Éternel Concept’s lifestyle treatments.”

- Ina Thomas

É TERNEL CONCEP T Jalan Gunawarman No.16, 2nd floor Kebayoran Baru - Jakarta Selatan 021.722.9502 | 0821.1060.3082 info@eternelconcept.com

P U B L I S H E R ’ S N OT E

Publisher (TA)

Richmond Blando

Publisher Jed V. Doble Managing Editor

Kyle Gregorio

Art Director

Juke Bachtiar

Savouring Soup I grew up eating comfort soups at home. Sinigang na baboy was my favorite, with its jaw clenching sourness from tamarind, together with succulent pork belly paired with steamed rice, I was in heaven. I had other favorites, like tinola, a simple chicken broth flavored with ginger which also had chili leaves and chayote, and nilaga, which I liken to sop buntut but using different spices and and cuts of meat. But since I have lived in Indonesia, I have been exposed to numerous soups as well, so it was not difficult to decide on having a Soup Issue.

We open with our feature on Soto. Throughout the Archipelago, there are numerous iterations and variations of soto. We tred our best to give you a comprehensive list, but they just too many and all too delicious. We also feature three Latin chefs and a Swiss chef, all of whom have nothing but love for soup. Chef Tomasso Gonfiantini of GIA, Arturo Godo of BAM! Tapas & Sake Bar, Francisco Brown of the JW Marriott Jakarta and Rolf Knecht of the Grand Hyatt Jakarta. The trio have interesting and different takes on their soups, but they all are equally delicious and fulfilling. Plus to round it out, we have a list of recipes of soups from around the world, which you can try to do at home.

This issue is packed with lots of recipes and stories on soup. We hope you try them at home and let us know how they go. Here’s wishing that your soup bowls are warm and your tummies full.

Photographer

Dennie Ramon

Contributors

Himawan Sutanto Sahiri Loing Rian Farisa Gupta Sitorus Primo Rizky Rafael Reyes

Administration

Boedy Astuti

Distribution

Mukti Pelupessy

Happy eating!

JED V. DOBLE PT. NUSA BINTANG LESTARI Jl. Gunawarman no. 16 • Kebayoran Baru South Jakarta • Indonesia Tel: +62 21 2905 3959 www.thefoodiemag.com

SAVOURING SOUP INSIDE

Sotos of Indonesia Soups of the World Hearty Soups Cold Soups

OCT15 | volume 2, Issue 10 Rp. 55,000 | S$ 8.00

Photograph by DENNIE RAMON

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The Foodie Magazine is published monthly by Bold Prints Publishing. Jalan Gunawarman No. 16, Jakarta, Indonesia.

The Foodie Magazine and its logo are registered trademarks of Bold Prints Publishing. COPYRIGHT 2015. The Publisher reserves the right to accept or reject all editorial and advertising material. No part of this magazine may be reproduced or copied without the explicit written consent of the Publisher. Neither the Publisher, editors and their employees and agents can be held liable for any error and omission, nor any action taken based on the views expressed or information provided within this publication. All rights reserved.

ISSN: 2355-0198.

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To book your table, call 021 2992 1383 or email cs.ghjakarta@hyatt.com

C O N T R I B U TO R S

THE GUEST LIST

HIMAWAN SUTANTO Photographer

Himawan did portraiture for editorial, advertising and design clients for many years and also had a stint doing commercial photography. His love for food and travel brought him naturally to turn his lens on food and lifestyle which he thoroughly enjoys. He has recently been traveling to take photos for a global hotel chain. When not away shooting photos he tries to spend as much time with his newborn son.

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SAHIRI LOING Writer

Venturing outside his comfort zone of office life, Sahiri now spends his time working as a freelance writer for the fun part of life.

His love of movies and dining out keeps him busy in his spare time.

RIAN FARISA Writer

Once a foodie, always a foodie. Rian started his popular food blog gastronomy-aficionado. com in 2009. He has since become a culinary contributor for lifestyle and inflight magazines and newspapers. His job ranges from having intriguing conversations with celebrity chefs to memorizing the French names of Michelin-starred dishes he encounters. But at the end of the day he enjoys his scouring the city for good soul food with his beloved wife.

GUPTA SITORUS AND PRIMO RIZKY Writers

This dynamic duo has always had a strong passion for food. They decided to enter the culinary industry in 2012 by launching their handcrafted gourmet ice cream brand, although none of them had prior culinary experience. Both have day jobs, Gupta works as country communications manager for the global leader in power and automation technologies, while Primo, heads Studio Geometry, an independent publishing house that focuses on creative culture.

Andrie Radian Photographer

Working for a tv station for five years was not satisfying enough for his creativity and passion to capture subjects through the lens, food and beverages in particular. In early 2013 Andrie decided to pursue his passion for photography and encouraged himself to start www. abinoproject.com, a platform for him to introduce himself as a professional photographer.

Currently he is continuing his dream of building a photography enterprise, and mainly focuses on food photography and is seeking to expand his network through collaborations with magazines, chefs and restaurants. As a food lover and enthusiast, he loves to cook at home and try many new recipes.

TA B L E O F C O N T E N T S

The Foodie magazine volume 2, Issue 10

Things That Make You Go Yum 14 Savouring Soup

Publisher’s Corner 16 Sopas

The Foodie’s List 18 20 22 24 28 30 32 34

36 38

40

Foodie List Shorts Global Sushi Challenge 2015 Cream-Tastic!

Indonesia Going Global Golden Chef Eskimomo Turns Two The Magic Of Beer Smartphone Food Photography Workshop with Himawan Sutanto Socieaty Grom Opens first shop in Jakarta Splish Splash

Cover Feature 44 52 56 60 64 66

Indonesian Soto Uniquely Italian Splendid Spanish Argentine Flair The Best of Both Worlds Something Fishy at Monty’s

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TA B L E O F C O N T E N T S

Finer Things 76 Indonesia Reimagined

Iconic 80 Soto Ayam Ambengan

Pak Sadi (Asli)

Tried And Tipsied 82 Miss Mortlach 84 Undoing the Ordinary

Tried And Tested 88 Soups by Chef Yuda

Stuff Of Legends 92 Chef Buyung Radiansyah

– The Iron Chef

Pantry 101 96 All About Stocks

What Chef Eats 98 Dewa Putu Rai

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T H I N G S T H AT M A K E Y O U G O Y U M

by JED DOBLE

Things That Make You Go Yum is monthly column featuring our choices of the best

food photos on Instagram. If you think you have a great photo worth sharing with us, tag it with #TTMYGY and @TheFoodieMag

@chicbackpacker @feliqfoodndrink

@bitesbydre @haizakhamis

@hontakan

@gingerkid951 @iamsekardiana

@jennygnen

@jhaneyco @konutritionwellness

@maistaipot

@lorainelota 14 | www. thefoodiemag.com

T H I N G S T H AT M A K E Y O U G O Y U M There’s nothing that pleases our taste buds better than a bowl of soup on a chilly evening. in this month’s Things That Make You Go Yum, we have chosen the best photos, on Instagram, of soups that will surely please, not just your tummies, but your eyes as well.

@mr _ salas96

@makandijogja @neynafajarwatibastian

@mireillekhouri @reinhardtnathan

@sirpopoy05

@rhymeeruthchie

@sudap2

@seanncp

@william _ ajisonpare

@yolisporunestilodevida @miss _ paloma _ lee www. thefoodiemag.com | 15

P U B L I S H E R ’ S CO R N E R

SOPAS

by RICHMOND BLANDO

Almost every culture has their version of this, but unless it gives you a warm feeling of comfort, then by definition it is not Chicken soup.

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t is the rainy season in the Philippines and floods have given way to cooler weather, leaky roofs then came me an my cousins playing in the rain or getting caught in it and then finding myself with the sniffles the next morning. You are breathing through your mouth, your nasal passageways are clogged up and your whole body feels tingly (ngilu).

It’s one of those days where you find yourself in bed wishing for the sickness to pass by or wonder if death is coming for you.

Enter… Mom, with this chunky, milky soup filled with carrots, celery, onions and chunky pieces of chicken, it is the Filipino version of Chicken soup… we call it Sopas (loosely translated means soup).

For some reason, Sopas is never identified with beef or other proteins, the other Pinoy soups, Sinigang, Nilaga, Sinampalokan, etc., is not served as a viand even though, they have similar liquid to solid ratio, Sopas, would be the few that is not accompanied with rice (of course, if you do, no one is stopping you.)

The difference of Chicken Sopas from other traditional chicken soups is the use of pasta shells or macaroni and milk. Fresh or even evaporated milk is added to the soup along with the chicken and different vegetables for a richer flavor.

I remember this particular soup well, mainly due to its somewhat comforting nature. Back then, my mom cooked this whenever we were sick with the flu, or in my case, just sick with anything. But if there was

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a plus side to being sick is that, I get to stay home and eat Mom’s sopas.

I do find it quite funny though, that in describing this dish to my friends, the look on their faces get a bit perplexed as if the very idea of adding pasta and milk is totally absurd, but from my stand point, when you

grow up with something, I suppose that becomes the norm.

So, to my own dear mother and all the mothers out there who sacrificed a lot for their families, this is for you. You’re not just the heart of the kitchen, but you’re the heart of every home!

CHICKEN SOPAS

STEPS

Serves: 1

INGREDIENTS:

3 tbsp Butter 1 pc Medium sized onion, diced 1 lb Boneless skinless

chicken breast, diced 950 ml Chicken broth (about 4

cups) 2 cups Elbow macaroni 3/4 cup Celery stalk, chopped 3/4 cup Carrots, diced 3/4 cup Cabbage; shredded 3/4 cup Fresh or evaporated milk 1 cup Water To taste Salt and ground black

pepper

• Heat a cooking pot and put-in the butter.

Allow the butter to melt.

• Add onions and cook until the texture becomes soft.

• Put-in the boneless chicken breasts and cook for 3 to 5 minutes.

• Sprinkle some salt and ground black pepper and stir.

• Add chicken broth and bring to a boil.

• Pour-in water and milk and wait to re-boil.

Simmer for 15 to 20 minutes.

• Add the elbow macaroni and cook for 8 minutes while stirring once in a while.

• Put-in the carrots and celery and simmer for 3 minutes.

• Add the cabbage and cook for 2 minutes more.

• Turn-off the heat and transfer to a serving plate.

• Serve hot. Share and enjoy!

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F O O DI E L I S T S

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Foodie List Shorts

Discover what’s in store for you foodies in the month of October as establishments around the region gears up for the month and prepares fares for their avid patrons.

by RIAN FARISA

UWRF

Jalan Raya Sanggingan, Ubud, Bali T: +62 361 7808932 www.ubudwritersfestival.com Taking us back to where the Ubud Food Festival all began, the Ubud Writers & Readers Festival’s Kitchen Program is returning for 2015 – featuring three days of sizzling cooking demos and foodie tales led by top chefs and exotic authors. Exploring the theme of 17,000 Islands of Imagination, the UWRF Kitchen will also feature some of Indonesia’s most creative chefs, guiding you through Balinese culture, history and mythology through the language of food.

MO Bar

Mandarin Oriental Hotel, Jalan MH Thamrin, Jakarta T: +62-21 2993 8888 www.mandarinoriental.com One of Jakarta’s most fashionable nightspots, MO Bar is proud to announce new signature handcrafted cocktails, delectable bar bites and two different resident bands. Drawing fashionable crowds, the bar looks forward to offer guests an enjoyable respite at the end of a busy day.

Headed by the dynamic mixologist duo of Heru and Fidel, MO Bar launches three exciting cocktail collections; MO Signature, Twisted Classics and The Curious Bartender, each comprising six different cocktails.

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The Ritz Carlton Jakarta, Mega Kuningan

Jalan DR. Ide Anak Agung Gde Agung Kav. E. 1.1 No.1, Mega Kuningan, Jakarta T: +62 21 25518888 www.ritzcarlton.com/en/Properties/Jakarta Throughout the month of October, discover German cuisine as well as Halloween experience at the Ritz Carlton Jakarta, Mega Kuningan. Guests can find thematic buffet spreads of rich heritage of German cuisine, as beef, pork and popular spices of German will be showcased at the live cooking stalls along with selections of German beers. Ritz Carlton Jakarta, Mega Kuningan will prepare a weekend dining with a Halloween celebration! Bring your loved ones to experience dining with a Halloween ambience and decoration with unique Halloween themed buffet and desserts.

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Hotel Borobudur Jakarta

Tippling Club

Hotel Borobudur welcomes the month of October with special treats for their guests.

Expect a Singapore Food Corner in their famous Bogor Café, find Cantonese cooking in their Teratai Restaurant and discover Italy’s rich culinary sensation in Bruschetta.

Looking for a new kind of Udon? The chef of Miyama restaurant has created a new kind of Udon for your enjoyment. Want something sweet and refreshing? Pendopo presents Es Kacang Merah and Gourmet presents Mont Blanc Chestnut mousse cake that will make your afternoons and evenings feel sweet.

Tippling Club, the award winning restaurant and bar in Singapore known for its inventive and avant garde cuisine has launched a new tasting and cocktail menu. Let by ChefOwner Ryan Clift and Head Bartender Kamil Foltan, the menus reflect influences from the kitchen and bar teams’ recent travels to Japan. New dishes include Snow Crab which is presented in a dome of fine Kyoho grape slices studded with beads of olive oil gel and hanaho flowers, picked fresh from Chef Ryan’s garden on the rooftop of Wheelock Place in Singapore’s Orchard Road.

Jalan Lapangan Banteng Selatan, Jakarta T: +62 21 380 5555 www.hotelborobudur.com

Union Group

Plaza Mutiara Lt. 5 Suite 503.

Jalan Dr. Ide Anak Agung Gde Agung Kav E. 1-2 No. 1 & 2. Jakarta T: +62 21 57939065 The Union Group will be showcasing one of the culinary world’s most sought-after

38 Tanjong Pagar Road, Singapore T: +65 6475 2217 www.tipplingclub.com

ingrdients this month of October, with a collection of special dishes from our various outlets celebrating the truffle season. They will be celebrating this rare delicacy with specially curated menus by their head Chefs highlighting the unique profile of the truffle.

Throughout the month, diners will also have the option to elevate any of their favorite items with truffles.

Grand Aston Bali Beach Resort

Jalan Pratama No. 68X] Tanjung Benoa Nusa Dua, Bali T: +62 0 361 773 577 www.grandastonbali.com The Grand Aston Bali Beach Resort is pleased to announce the hiring of its new Italian Chef; Mr. Bruno Olmi, whom will be performing permanently at Giorgio Italian Ristorante Pizzeria, one of the Grand Aston Bali Beach Resort’s outlets. Originally from Sardinia Island in Italy, Bruno’s has performed previously in some a’la mode restaurants in Milan, Italy; and Sydney, Australia. Specialized in Italian Culinary Arts he spent over 25 years in the kitchen where he cultivates his life’s passion for authentic Italian cuisine and customer satisfaction.

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GLOBAL SUSHI CHALLENGE 2015

by KYLE GREGORIO

T

he international finals, which will take place in Tokyo this November, is organized by the Norwegian Seafood Council (NSC) and the World Sushi Skills Institute of Japan (WSSI).

Held at the AIPRO Training Center, the Global Sushi Challenge Indonesia Nationals was a spectacle of culinary creativity, impressive knife handling skills and precision timing. With only 90 minutes to spare, the chefs had to prepare a platter of traditional Edo Mae Sushi – sushi classics that originated in Tokyo during the 1820s – as well as present 20 pieces of their own original creative sushi creations, moriawase style, all under the watchful eyes of the judges.

In addition to taste and overall balance, plating, cutting and placement of seafood, the finalists were also evaluated on their practical capabilities in the organization of the preparation and presentation of sushi,

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Demonstrating their knowledge and sushi making techniques and best practices in hygienic sushi preparation, 18 sushi chefs from top hotels and Japanese restaurants across the country pitted their skills against each, for the honor of representing Indonesia at the Global Sushi Challenge 2015.

including aspects such as personal and work hygiene, ethic, food wastage and utilization of salmon.

After more than an hour of evaluation, the panel of judges – Mr. Masayoshi Kazato, Executive Director of the World Sushi Skills Institute and well-known local chefs Henry Alexie Bloem and culinary figure Bondan Winarno – selected Chef Slamet Basuki from Umaku as the winner. With his “Salmon sushi with Lemon Miso”, he impressed the judges.

With over 15 years’ experience, Chef Slamet Basuki or usually called “Chef Uki”, created a fresh salmon sushi using a savory miso and lemon juice. Representing Indonesia, Chef Slamet Basuki will compete against other top sushi chef challengers from 14 countries across Asia, Europe and America, who will also be vying for the global title of the inaugural event.

“We are delighted with the enthusiastic

response to this inaugural Global Sushi Challenge here in Indonesia, which has attracted the participation of very experienced and high caliber sushi chefs”, said Jon Erik Steenslid, NSC’s Regional Director for South-East Asia. “With the impressive culinary standards and creative skills that we have witnessed today, there is no doubt that Indonesia is poised to make an indelible mark on the global sushi culinary scene.”

In bringing together Japan’s tradition of sushi and Norway’s position as the leading producer of quality salmon, the sushi topping of choice across the world, Global Sushi Challenge 2015 seeks to not only identify talented chefs skilled in the field of Japanese sushi, but also promote the principles of the hygienic handling of fish and seafood to safeguard its quality of being enjoyed raw.

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Cream-tastic!

by JED DOBLE

The introduction of cream from Europe through Pastry Chefs, patisserie owners, bakeries, hotels or restaurants ensures that consumers will get the best desserts and pastries in town.

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ooking Studio, Almond Zucchini, organized an event initiated by the National Interprofessional Center for the Dairy Economy (CNIEL - Centre National de l’Economie Interprofessionel Laitiere). The campaign is being funded with the help of the European Union, held to introduce cream from Europe that has been known to be the world of patisserie to be superior. CNIEL, with the support of the European Union presented a workshop ‘Cream of Europe’ in Jakarta, an opportunity offered for professionals to learn more about the quality of the cream from Europe.

In Jakarta, they have asked help from Chef Gerald A Maridet - Executive Pastry Chef, Pullman Jakarta and Chef Miranti Princess - Princess Miranti’s Dessert Castle, Kokiku TV, for the event concept ‘Chefs and Media Gathering’. Pastry cream or crème patisserie is a very important ingredient in a dessert. A soft and rich in flavor custard is a priority in every pastry kitchen and can be enriched with a variety of flavors and combined with other materials to get the perfect touch for every cake, pie, pastry, or various desserts.

The combination of good quality cream and superb techniques from the pastry chef will certainly produce outstanding results.

Making pastry cream dough is one of the basic techniques of all pastries. The key to creating good pastry cream lies in the quality of the cream used. The rich and silky smooth texture of the cream from Europe is well known and is recognized as the leading product among the world’s best pastry chefs.

Cream from Europe are subject to very high quality standards: both in France and other countries in the EU, the term “cream”

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is only used to refer to dairy products with low fat content, 30% and only about 6% non-fatty materials such as proteins, lactose and minerals - the rest consists of water.

Exclusively derived from cow’s milk, cream quality depends on several factors. Dairy producers get the freshest raw cream from areas that do not experience treatment by heating in order to preserve its functional

and organoleptic properties. To prolong the shelf life, milk producers put raw cream through a UHT sterilization process that does not have any impact on its taste. UHT liquid cream was first produced in France can be traced back since 1973 - clearly proving that the area has the longest history and expertise in producing cream that is safe and high in quality.

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Indonesia Going Global

2015 marks a milestone for the country as it is the Guest of Honour at the Frankfurt Book Fair.

by JED DOBLE photographs by DENNIE RAMON AND SPICE IT UP CULINARY PROGRAM – INDONESIA GUEST OF HONOUR AT THE FRANKFURT BOOK FAIR 2015

T

he Frankfurt Book Fair (FBF) is the world’s largest trade fair for books, with a record number of publishing companies represented, as well as visitors. It is held annually in mid-October at the Frankfurt Trade Fair grounds in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. Representatives from book publishing and multimedia companies from all over the world come to the Frankfurt Book Fair, with more than 7,000 exhibitors from over 100 countries and more than 286,000 visitors take part. The Frankfurt Book Fair’s guest of honour this year is Indonesia. As Guest of Honour, Indonesia will be in the limelite with a 5,000 square meter pavilion. The country will present Indonesian authors, a book exhibition and a multifaceted programe.

One stand-out programe at the Frankfurt Book Fair is the Gourmet Gallery.

This is Frankfurt Book Fair’s most popular hall, where cookbooks from all over the world are displayed. Here you can also sample a whole world of food, drink and indulgence. Indonesia as Guest of Honour, will have an extensive presentation of cooking demonstrations, lectures and cookbook launches at the Gourmet Gallery and at the Indonesia Guest of Honour pavilion.

At the Gourmet Gallery, Spice It Up!, which is the name of the Indonesian Culinary Program, will have a packed schedule of activities: 14 October 2015 | 12:15-13:15 Treasure and Flavours of the Spice Islands Bara Pattiradjawane | Show Kitchen See and taste Bara’s Ambonese papeda, cassava sago porridge and its traditional accompaniment, Ikan Kuah Kuning, braised fish in yellow turmeric broth and Kohu-Kohu, the famous smoked fish salad, and other authentic taste from the legendary Spice Islands.

15 October 2015 | 12:30-13:30 From Jakarta Street Food to My Table Petty Elliot | Show Kitchen Petty will transform Jakarta street food into gourmet dishes using her fun fusion style.

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Petty Elliott is a well-known food critic, writer and self-taught chef with a boutique, high-end private dining catering service.

Sample her delicious recipes from her new book, Jakarta Bites.

16 October 2015 |13:00-13:45 The Food of My Island Home Janet DeNeefe | Gourmet Salon Janet DeNeefe has made Ubud, Bali, her home for the last 30 years and owns Casa Luna and Indus restaurants, as well as the renowned Casa Luna Cooking School. She is also the founder and director of the Ubud Writers & Readers Festival and the new Ubud Food Festival. Join Janet DeNeefe with tastings from her favourite pages.

16 October 2015 | 15:00-16:00 One Nation, Thousands of Flavours Bondan Winarno & Sandra Djohan | Show Kitchen Discover Indonesia’s rich and complex regional cuisines from two famous culinary presenters. Bondan Winarno’s popular TV show Taste of Indonesia sets off trends, among Indonesians on local food culture.

While Sandra Djohan’s mishmashed cultures is what makes her unique in co-hosting her Spice of Life TV program.

17 October 2015 | 10:00-11:00 Indonesian Cooking Inspirations Vindex Tengker | Show Kitchen Vindex will share practical skills in cooking delicious Indonesian food. He was a judge on Master Chef Indonesia and often a jury member in many cooking contests around Asia. He is launching his new book Iconic Indonesian Cooking with a memorable tasting experience.

17 October 2015 | 12:30-13:15 White, Yellow& Red Indonesian Basic Pastes Sisca Soewitomo | Gourmet Salon As a pioneer who has published more than 130 cookbooks, Sisca has always emphasized the keys to delicious Indonesian cooking are simplicity and advance preparation to fit modern lifesyle.

See how to prepare 3 basic spice mixes: red,

yellow and white. And sample delicious dishes prepared with these mixes.

18 October 2015 | 10:00-11:00 Complex Spiced Fragrant Rice William Wongso | Show Kitchen Everyone can take their pick from the vast array of Indonesian culinary treasures. William Wongso will introduce regional food specialties and the culinary characteristics of the world’s largest archipelago. He will take you through an enchanting journey from the West to the mysterious East.

Another interesting series of events is the Food Explorer Program. Open for kids and young adults from aged 12-18, it allows them to explore a variety of Indonesian cooking, spices, and ingredients from 14 October until 18 October from 9:00-17:00.

They gain practical cooking knowledge guided by master chefs and learn about nutrition and sustainability.

The team will also bring the famous Indonesian street food culture to the streets of Frankfurt. From 14-17 October between 18:00-22:00 in the Römerberg district of the city with its Gerobak Kaki Lima. You can spot the traditional street carts serving comfort foods, such as Nasi Goreng and arrays of Saté with its condiments.

Indonesian street food just would not be complete without the street entertainment. They will showcase collaborations by authors and performers.

Each event in the series will last 30 minutes and involve readings by Indonesian and German authors. Gerobak Kaki Lima Literature Program combines both food for the mind and passion. Feed your stomach and your soul.

With such a wide array of events lined up, Indonesia will be at the forefront of the Frankfurt Book Fair. The Foodie Magazine will be in Frankfurt to cover the events and will report back next issue.

Spice It Up! – The Culinary Programme of Indonesia as Guest of Honour at the Frankfurt Book Fair 2015.

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Golden Chef

by RAFAEL REYES photographs by THE STATION

Who doesn’t love a cooking competition? The Golden Chef amateur cooking competition was recently head to the delight of many onlookers in Pantai Indah Kapuk.

W

ith the growing number of food and fashion bazaars around the city, each one has been trying to create new and fun ideas to attract customers. The Station Bazaar at The Golf Wedding Hall of Pantai Indah Kapuk did just that. Part of the three day bazaar was their Golden Chef Cooking Competition.

Open to amateur cooks, the competition ran for three days with our friends Chefs Fernando Sindu and Ivan Wibowo and junior chef Revo as judges.

Prior to starting the competition, they had their Hands On With The Chef event, where Chef Jo Ardis taught participants how to sculpt fruits and vegetables.

On the opening day, the six contestants were ready and excited. With a pantry of ingredients and cooking stations provided

by Oxone, the contestants were asked to cook two dishes, a main and a dessert, in just 60 minutes. And soon enough, they were off, rushing to the pantry to fight over

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ingredients to make into their dishes.

As the judges were going around the different stations, asking questions and giving input on the contestant’s dishes, they had a brilliant idea. What if they themselves cooked a few dishes. They too felt the excitement. So using the remaining ingredients, unused by the contestants, the judges made a few dishes themselves.

In the end, two chefs were eliminated.

The following day, continuing the competition, more challenges were done and the final two contestants battled it out until the winner was named. A fun three days.

While this was happening on the main stage, the food and fashion bazaar, as well as a number of food trucks was going on.

Onlookers enjoyed all the events going on as well as had fun buying and eating food, and trying out the interesting clothes and accessories on offer.

Watch out for the next The Station Bazaar at Pantai Indah Kapuk.

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Eskimomo Turns Two

by JED DOBLE photographs by ANDRIE RADIAN

Eskimomo’s dynamic duo of Gupta Sitorus and Primo Rizky celebrated their second year with a dessert degustation which not only tickled palates but also got everyone talking.

N

ow who doesn’t love ice cream.

I have to admit that I will go to far lengths just to have good ice cream, it is one of my favorite desserts. So when I received the invitation for the Eskimomo second anniversary event, a dessert degustation, I was just overjoyed.

Dubbed Dessert Comes First, the dessert degustation was to have five desserts featuring Eskimomo ice creams and sorbets with an Indonesian theme. I could not miss this, I was genuinely excited. And they did not disappoint.

The first dessert was a play on Pisang Goreng, caramel ice cream, banana compote, fried batter and salted

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chocolate shards. I truly loved it. It had the comforting flavors of the original pisang goreng, but had the sophistication of a modern dessert. Next up was the Kunyit Asem, tamarind sorbet, turmeric meringue and pomelo. The tamarind sorbet startled me, in a good way of course. The vibrant acidity of the tamarind was the star, with the turmeric meringue and the pomelo giving a slight bitterness, reminiscent of the actual kunyit asem drink.

For the ‘main’ dessert, it was Nasi Uduk . Kecap manis ice cream, coconut rice pudding, ikan teri, peanuts, chili jam and emping manis crackers. For me this was the star dish. Truly creative, it may sound off

and weird on paper, but tasting it, it worked very well. They were walking a tightrope balancing sweet, savory, salty and spicy flavors but they definitely pulled it off.

Next cane the ‘palate cleanser’ in the form of Rujak, cucumber granite, chili jam and lime. This was refreshing and definitely played its role. And last was Kopi Joss, coffee ice cream, charcoal soil with a honey tule. As if to end a meal with a cup of coffee, this was it.

In all, it was an amazing experience, befitting an anniversary celebration. We tip our hats to Gupta and Primo on a job well done. Do we see more dessert degustations coming up soon?

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ESKIMOMO | Instagram: @helloeskimomo

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07

THE MAGIC OF BEER

THE BEER BREWING PROCESS 1

We love our beer.

So in celebration of Oktoberfest, the world’s largest beer festival and traveling fair, held every year in Munich, Germany, Bir Bintang (Multi Bintang) is sharing some interesting beer facts.

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Brewing: select Barley is soaked, mixed and stirred in water before being heated.

Consistently, the temperature is raised so that the starch enzymes in the barley turn into sugar before being filtered. The filtered results called Wort (malt sugar) is then reheated while Hops is added. After brewing, the Wort is left to cool and then we enter the fermentation phase.

2 Yeast is added to the Wort after is has cooled down to 8 degrees Celsius. Now is where the sugar is converted into alcohol and carbon dioxide. This fermentation process takes around 7-21 days depending on the type of beer.

3 It is then cooled down again to the freezing point. This maturing process is to produce the flavor and clarity of the beer and so it stays fresh longer. After the maturing process, the beer is filtered to produce clear beer.

4 The clarified beer is then filled into bottles, cans or barrels. This filling process uses automatic machines to ensure that the beer stays in a hygienic condition.

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WHAT IS BEER MADE OF? 90% OF BEER IS MADE OF WATER Barley is a member of the wheat family.

Barley plays a big part in giving the color, taste, foam and alcohol content to beer.

Female Hops flowers are used as beer’s natural preservative. Also, Hops gives the bitter flavor and aroma to beer.

Yeast is an organism that activates the fermentation process during the beer brewing process. Yeast turns the sugar (from barley) into alcohol, CO2 and flavor.

Types of Beers

PILSNER

Low bitterness, Gold colored Origin: Czech Republic

ALE

Tend to be sweet, fruity aroma Brownish color

PORTER

Low bitterness Black beer

LAGER

Low bitterness, Gold colored Origin: Germany

CIDER

Distinct apple taste

FLAVORED BEER

Aroma and flavor from fruit juice mixture

STOUT

High bitterness Black beer

WHEAT

Wheat flavored bear

BARLEY

High level of bitterness

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08

SMARTPHONE FOOD PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOP WITH HIMAWAN SUTANTO

by RIAN FARISA photographs by OKTAGON

Living in the fast lane world of the digital generation and social media, food photography has become our way to share what we eat or to showcase our talents. Answering such interest; The Foodie Magazine alongside Oktagon, Microsoft Lumia, and Shangri-La Jakarta held a special photography session last August for the public.

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t was to our complete surprise that the applicant numbers were skyrocketing amidst the limitation of the seats. The fifty lucky participants were able to have firsthand experience from our master photographer, Himawan Sutanto, on about the basics of good smartphone food photography.

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As our notable food photographer who has been in the business for fifteen years now, Himawan has been entrusted by big brands such as McDonald’s, Kraft, Unilever, Ismaya, Indofood, Shangri-La Jakarta, Grand Hyatt Jakarta, and many more for their photography projects.

The rule of thumb of good food

photography by using smartphone, says Himawan, is to optimize the appearance of food by utilizing the abundance of light.

For example when in a restaurant, we often face the need to tackle the problem coming from the darker side of the object. Himawan advises the participants to seek a light reflector from tissue or the menu – be it black or white, to bounce the light against the dark side and therefore making our photo appears more inviting.

Other essentials that he shares are also regarding the styling, the angle, and to not use flash at all – especially when pointed directly. To shoot the food while it is still fresh and a good command in editing the pictures will also help to further enhance the quality.

The participants of this workshop were also taken to a smartphone food photography competition by using the Microsoft Lumia 930 with its technological features. Furthermore, Shangri-La Jakarta provided the food of different genres from each of its restaurants as the objects for the competition. The winner with most feedbacks from his follower will get a chance to win the smartphone as well.

There will be more similar workshops in the future for everyone and be sure to subscribe and stay tune to our updates through Instagram and Facebook. Until next time!

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09

Socieaty

by JED DOBLE photographs by DENNIE RAMON

The Jakarta dining scene is once again rejuvenated with the opening of SOCIEATY at Plaza Indonesia.

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OCIEATY is the latest all day dining concept by the Les Amis Group, the noted Singapore restaurant group. SOCIEATY brings together some of the favorite dishes from Les Amis Group brands - including Italian trattoria La Strada, French eatery Bistro Du Vin, Spanish themed La Taperia and dainty bakery Tarte, along with new and exciting special menus, crafted and curated especially for Indonesia.

Combining a repertoire of European and Asian flavors, in a snazzy and bright setting.

From a single establishment, the Les Amis Group has gone from strength to strength, capitalizing on its commitment to quality in food, wine and service, to venture into other cuisine styles and concepts. Today, the group has 14 concepts and 24 outlets in Singapore, and multiple overseas concepts including joint ventures and franchises in Hong Kong, Myanmar, Vietnam, The Philippines and Indonesia, with more expansion plans in the pipeline.

The Les Amis Group started among friends and continues to be driven by people who are chosen because of their shared passion for excellence in all that they do. Over more than 21 years of establishment in Singapore, friends of Les Amis from Indonesia has supported Les

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Amis Group and have gotten to know the brands and different concepts. Lately, the group also acknowledges the dynamic dining scene in Jakarta which has an increasingly significant growth. With this knowledge and experience under their belt, Les Amis Group Indonesia was established.

Les Amis Group Indonesia is dedicated to follow the path of Les Amis Group to uphold its commitment to deliver quality in food, service and value. In SOCIEATY, you will find a gathering of three core brands in one seating, where a diner can enjoy three different concepts being served authentically in one restaurant.

The new space is warm and inviting with touches of brown and gold. Must try dishes include their Ink-battered Baby Squid, Truffle Carbonara and Garlic Chili Prawns, SOCIEATY Roast Chicken and Suckling Pig, the flavors were bold and on point, and gave an updated take on some very classic dishes. For dessert I particularly loved the Floating Island, fluffy meringue floating on a bowl of creamy custard, and the Hazelnut Souffle, which was light and airy and hit all the right spots.

We welcome with open arms, this new, hip and funky all day dining concept. Be part of the SOCIEATY.

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SOCIEATY | Plaza Indonesia Level 1, Jalan MH Thamrin Kav 28-30, Jakarta | T: +62 21 2992 3888 www.socieaty.com | Instagram: @socieaty | Twitter: @socieatyid

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10

Grom Opens first shop in Jakarta

by JED DOBLE photographs by DENNIE RAMON

If you find yourself seeing a large crowd of people on the first level of Pacific Place mall, I am sure they are queuing for GROM.

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usy queued have been building up at the newly opened Grom gelato shop at Pacific Place Mall. The Italian brand, famous for its use of the best produce and ingredients to make their gelato and sorbet, opened its first outpost in Indonesia recently to much fanfare.

I being a big fan of ice cream and gelato, could not resist heading over to brave the queues the day after the formal opening.

And it was definitely a real pleasure.

Grom is 100% natural. Their gelato and its raw ingredients do not contain flavorings, colors, preservatives or emulsifiers of any kind. The idea is to apply the common principle of the world’s best restaurants to the production of gelato: the buying of the absolute highest-quality raw materials.

They have pursued this goal since 2002 by rigorously researching the best products the agricultural world has to offer: only fresh fruit from the best consortium in

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Italy and from their own organic farm, Mura Mura. No addition of artificial colorings, aromas, preservatives or emulsifiers.

Their gelato is “how it used to be made” gelato with high-quality fresh milk and cage-free eggs; sorbets with 50% fruit, water from Sparea Springs and white cane sugar. They prepare the liquid mixes at their laboratory in Turin, which then get distributed to their retail stores, respecting the “cold chain”, where they then get whipped freshly each day.

They opened their first Grom gelateria at the center of Turin in 2003 and their first store outside of Italy was opened in 2007 in New York. And now are in Jakarta.

I was lucky to have tasted so many of the flavors they had. It was hard to pick a favorite. They all were very tasty, had great mouth-feel, not too sweet and the flavors lingered on in your mouth. But if I had to choose, I would go back for (which by now I have already did) the Cinnamon and their signature Crema di Grom.

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10

Splish Splash

by RAFAEL REYES photographs by PRIMO RIZKY AND ASTRID SURYATENGGARA

The Park Lane Jakarta hosted our foodie friends for an afternoon at Riva By The Pool.

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ith the weather last month still warm and humid, spending an afternoon lounging by the pool, was always on our minds. So with our desire to gather together our foodie readers and friends, The Foodie Pool Party Meet-Up was born. The Park Lane Jakarta was the perfect venue since their RIVA By The Pool is now open to non-hotel guests on the weekends, And oh what a pool party it was. With Sababay Winery providing their wines and snacks and light bite prepared by The Park Lane culinary team headed by Chef Deden Gumilar, we were all set.

Friends, colleagues and collaborators

gathered, many coming early, all wanting to have a fun time by the pool. There was no particular agenda for the afternoon, it was just an opportunity to gather, make new friends and reconnect with old ones.

In the next few months, we will be hosting more Meet-Ups at different venues around town, to continue to build our fun, food-loving community. Watch out for our invitations on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter for our next event.

Once again, special thanks to The Park Lane Jakarta and Sababay Winery for generously hosting this first Foodie Meet-Up. See you all again on our next one!

Supported by

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SABABAY WINERY | www.sababaywinery.com | Instagram: @sababaywinery

F O O DI E L I S T S

THE PARK LANE JAKARTA | Jalan Casablanca Kav. 18, Jakarta | T: +62 21 828 2000 www.parklanejakarta.com | Instagram: @parklanejakarta @rivagrillnbar | Twitter: @ParkLaneJkt

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INDONESIAN SOTO

by RIAN FARISA, GUPTA SITORUS AND PRIMO RIZKY photographs by DENNIE RAMON AND ANDRIE RADIAN

If there was a dish which was emblematic of Indonesian soups, it has to be the soto. There are many varieties and flavors, each region and province has its own favorites. This month we searched far and wide to bring you some of our favorite sotos. This list is far from complete, since there are way too many delicious sotos out there. Enjoy.

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1 SOTO MADURA PAK HADI

Jalan Pintu Air Raya (on the right side after turning left from Juanda Station), Pasar Baru - Jakarta Opening hours: Everyday, 10am - finish

There’s a lot of nostalgia about this place for some people that I know. The existence of Soto Madura Pak Hadi has gone way back for quite some time and yet the place feels timeless as it retains the modesty of a warung makan but the taste consistency of a fine-dining restaurant – so they say. For a first timer like me, it is high time to test it.

The soto arrived hot and very straightforward with its appearance. The soup is not that transparent as opposed to some sotos from mainland Java but it has a flavor depth that I have never realized before. The refreshing taste came from a good mixture of basic Indonesian spices and a bit of a squeezed lime. The deepness of the flavor clearly came from a prolonged cooking process for the beef broth.

Why would I say straightforward is because that Pak Hadi’s version only uses bean sprouts and generous chunks of beef which are already cooked well and tender. There are no hard-boiled eggs used, potato fritters, or even cassava for this dish. Just a simple soto with rice.

Even in Madura itself, there’s a clear distinction between the three derivatives of soto Madura – from Bangkalan, Pamekasan, and Sumenep. However, even if Pak Hadi’s version may be a fusion or came from a heritage recipe he has been using all these years, I am simply falling in love with everything about it.

This is a benchmark that I would like to remember when, one day, I can finally compare the difference between each soto from this island.

4 SOTO BANDUNG BSM

Kawasan Kuliner BSM, Jalan MH Thamrin / Jalan Sabang, Jakarta Opening hours: Everyday, 7am – 10pm

Searching for soto Bandung in Jakarta is like finding a needle in a haystack, let alone hoping to find something in par with the city’s legends like Soto Bandung Ojo Lali, for example.

Even though it came from a city which is closer to Jakarta than any other places in Java, the popularity of soto Bandung in Jakarta seems to be overwhelmed by those coming from Kudus, Lamongan, or even as far as Padang.

With a little bit of effort however, we were lucky to find the one and only vendor of all the hawkers available in the street food alley that connects Jalan Sabang and Thamrin.

The soto Bandung is sold by a small vendor that also offers bubur ayam and nasi goreng. They might be playing it safe, but for those with keen eyes, the soto Bandung should be an apparent choice of all.

While other soto usually uses coconut milk, soto Bandung relies on the power of beef broth and its clear appearance of the soup.

The use of lobak (radish/daikon) is the most prominent feature of this soto and is accompanied by chunks of brisket and a lot of fried soybeans. Emping crackers are optional, but would be a great addition for the dish.

The soup needs a lot of work to do but still, it is nostalgic for those who know how soto Bandung should smell. For that, Soto Bandung BSM nails it. The amount of beef was generous but I would have my emping next time separated just to avoid them getting too damp because of the soup.

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2 SOTO PADANG H. ST. MANGKUTO Jalan Pintu Air no. 26, Jakarta Opening hours: Everyday, 8.30am – 9pm

It’s totally easy to find soto Padang anywhere in Jakarta these days, but ever since the day when I visited the real deal back in West Sumatra; a question then arises.

“Will I ever find another soto Padang as good as the one at Soto Garuda here in Jakarta?”

The day came when it’s time to try Soto Padang Sutan Mangkuto as a lot of considerations and voices were pointing me to this direction.

The serving portion of soto Padang here is true to its authentic nature and similar with soto Kudus – in small bowls, which might require you to have seconds if you are that hungry and feel like spending more.

Soto Padang has two interesting elements that are not seen in other soto dishes. One is the use of crispy fried beef lungs or alternatively the meat, and rice crackers colored in red sometimes smashed altogether inside or served separately. To accompany the lungs, traditionally there would only be a potato fritter and a bunch of vermicelli.

To answer the early question, I should say, yes, even only after a few scoops of the soto. It might be expensive but the satisfaction beats the price already. Although, ultimately I still favor Garuda’s than Sutan Mangkuto’s, the soup quality here has that depth of flavor that you always yearn from a good soto. Secondly, the fried lungs are in abundance which makes the whole soto an exquisite treat.

3 SOTO BETAWI H. HUSEIN Jalan Padang Panjang no. 6B, Jakarta Opening hours: Everyday, 7am – 1pm

Each popular soto Betawi vendor in Jakarta has its own signature style. There are those who use only coconut milk for the broth and some use milk – which is the similar case as well for sop kaki. There are those who rely on the spices alone and there are some who also add the chilies to make the soup appear redder.

Clearly, what makes a soto Betawi deemed delicious is based on the power of the soup as people would expect it highly because of the use of milk or santan.

Per chance, our best bet this time goes for Soto Betawi Haji Husein’s on Manggarai. This popular dining spot opens only from 7am until before lunchtime finishes due to high demand. Despaired are the faces of those who came too late and a sigh of relief can be heard from those who made the extra effort coming in a bit early.

What’s special about Haji Husein’s soto is the trace of spices that was roughly ground and can be found on the bottom of the soup. This give not just extra texture but a scent and flavor which are unnoticed before in other soto Betawi that I have ever been to.

Some might prefer lighter character, but if you are up for a thicker soup, then this would be right place to try.

The rest came from the goodness of the toppings. The flavorful soup can then be graced with the presence of beef lungs, tripes, or the meat. Each gave out a distinctive flavor in accord to our preference and as for me, I’d have every part of each plus the emping crackers. Now, it is your turn.

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5 SOTO BANJAR “NYAMAN” BU H. AMIR Jalan Pangeran Antasari no. 50, Jakarta Opening hours: Everyday, 7.30am – 9pm

Quite similar with the case of Soto Ambengan Pak Sadi on Jalan Antasari, Soto Banjar “Nyaman” has also undergone several relocations until finally it settled on this inconspicuous spot for a restaurant.

This seemingly half-done restaurant that actually appears like a garage holds an important culinary legacy of South Kalimantan in Jakarta. Luckily, Soto Banjar “Nyaman” has prepared an airconditioned room for the customers who wish to seek their complete offering of Banjarese cuisine.

The soto Banjar here has two versions – milky or clear. While both of these are equally authentic; we decided to try one of each.

The looks may be familiar with other sotos but there is a significant difference in taste because of the certain spices that are used. Soto Banjar differs itself than the rest of the competition with the use of cardamom, cinnamon, and clove.

In terms of taste, the clear soup version has stronger character than the one using milk. The latter almost feels like another kind of soto Betawi. Even so, the topping is again very much different. Soto Banjar uses vermicelli, shredded chicken, and potato fritter instead.

To ensure a complete experience, it is advisable as well to pair the soto with other Banjarese delicacies such as the famous sate Banjar or masak habang. One last thing, be sure to choose the rice cake as the carbo companion of the soto if you feel like having it the Banjarese way.

8 SROTO SOKARAJA ELING-ELING Jalan Tebet Utara I no. 48C, Tebet, Jakarta Opening hours: Everyday, 10am – 10pm

This soupy dish that is originally from Banyumas - a region in Central Java - has a distinguished name of sroto, but actually it is pretty much similar to other sotos. The Sroto Sokaraja’s soup looks almost like any other soto dish in Central Java with the clear and mildly flavored broth. However, sroto obtains its uniqueness from the special condiment that complement the dish, which are peanut sambal made of ground nut, red chillies and garlic. This peanut sauce gives Sroto Sokaraja its unique savory and slightly sweet taste.

While the original Sroto Sokaraja has shredded chicken meat and chunks of chicken liver and gizzard in the soup, there is a modern version that uses fine pieces of beef. You will also find baby bean sprouts and red chips made of tapioca starch in a bowl of sroto, which create a crunchy texture in every mouthful of this dish.

Interestingly, this sroto is served with ketupat (rice cake) instead of regular steamed rice.

One thing that you must not forget when enjoying Sroto Sokaraja is tempe mendoan, which is another popular food item from Banyumas and the neighboring areas. This side dish is made of tempe dipped in batter and fried halfway cooked, resulting in a fritter that is kind of chewy in texture but satisfying to the taste buds. In Jakarta enjoy sroto, at Eling-Eling in Tebet, South Jakarta. The Javanese restaurant presents live performance of sinden on the weekend to bring the atmosphere of Banyumas for visitors to enjoy.

6 COTO MAKASSAR MAMINK DAENG TATA Jalan KH Abdullah Syafei no. 33, Tebet, Jakarta Opening hours: Everyday, 9am – 2am

Do not let the bold appearance of this soto dish intimidate you. In fact, the brownish and dense soup has a great flavor that you may not find in any other soup dishes.

The taste of this signature Southern Sulawesi soto – which is called coto in the local dialect - is dominant with the strong beef flavor and exotic aroma that comes from the complex mix of spices including biji ketumbar (coriander seeds), jintan (cumin), and lengkuas (galangal).

In Makassar, there are varieties of coto with choice of cow or buffalo meat and innards, but in Jakarta, most of the coto restaurants only serve beef meat and innards, such as liver, intestines, spleen, heart and tripe.

Another defining element of coto is that it should never be eaten without the tauco sambal made from fermented soya beans.

This hot and savory condiment gives a fresh kick to the soup.

Coto is commonly served with buras (steamed rice cake) to replace regular steamed rice.

7 WONG KUDUS

Jalan Fatmawati no. 21, Jakarta Opening hours: Everyday, 24 hours

In Jakarta, Soto Kudus would be the most ubiquitous of all when compared with other soto vendors from all over Indonesia. There’s a strong presence of Javanese migrants from generation to generation here who have made the recipe well-known and preserved.

Served mixed with rice, soto Kudus comprises of ayam kampung, bean sprouts, and vermicelli only. Its yellowish yet transparent appearance of the soup may remind us a bit of soto Lamongan but when served in a small bowl, one could easily make a distinction right away.

Wong Kudus is a well-known soto Kudus and soto Kudus chain restaurant found in several parts of Jakarta. Its version of soto Kudus did not require me to put additional seasoning to it once i tried it. While the soup itself is already rich and the chicken delicious, the perfectly thinly sliced fried garlic contributed a lot to the whole flavor.

Here, I was reminded again at why people would use garlic at everything from before a dish cooked and even when it is already served. For this one, even a small idea like this became a noteworthy experience.

Even without the garlic, this is a proper place to enjoy soto Kudus and perhaps next time, you might want to pair it also with the garang asam. The refreshing taste from the soto and the boldness of garang asam would light up your spirit all the way!

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9 SOTO MIE BETAWI H. ALI Jalan Tebet Barat 8, Jakarta Opening hours: Everyday, 9am - 3pm

This particular soto dish is known as a hearty meal, because in a bowl of soto mie you can find different kinds of fillings that are enough to satisfy your hungry pangs. Most of the street food stalls or restaurants that serve this dish use a mix of tenderloin, brisket, and pieces of beef offals from the head, legs and also gristle as the main filling. Besides this mix of beef cuts, it is also common to add rice noodles, egg noodles, potato patties, fresh vegetables such as tomatoes and cabbage, and risoles - which is unique to this soto. The broth is clear and lean without significant note of complex spices.

Interestingly, unlike other soto dishes that are commonly regarded as main course, soto mie is often enjoyed as light meal, maybe because of its clear and refreshing broth, or due to the contents of this soto that are not too filling. Therefore, it is common to see packed soto mie stalls during the lunch hour, or for afternoon snack.

10 SOTO UDANG MEDAN AKWANG Jalan Pluit Sakti Raya no. 1, Jakarta Opening hours: Everyday, 4am – 10pm

Unlike many other Indonesian sotos that are made using chicken or beef broth base, this shrimp soto from Medan, North Sumatera, is quite different. It has a thick seafood soup that has balanced savory and sweetness from the shrimp. And similar to other Sumateran dishes, coconut milk is added to the broth to enrich the soup.

The broth of this soto is made by slowly boiling giant freshwater prawns. Once the broth is ready, the shrimp are taken out and fried. The fried prawns, along with potato patties, build the body of this soto dish. You don’t need to travel all the way to Medan to try this shrimp soto, because at Pluit Sakti foodcourt area in North Jakarta, you can find Kedai Soto Udang Medan Akwang that serves this flavorsome dish. The large sized fried prawns beautifully arranged on the display will definitely make your mouth water in no time!

11 SOTO TANGKAR & SATE KUAH H. DIDING Jalan Pintu Kecil III, Proyek Pasar Pagi Lama, Asemka, Jakarta Opening hours: Everyday, 7am – 4pm

This dish has similarities with Soto Betawi in terms of the contents, which mainly consist of different cuts of beef (but most of the time only beef ribs are used) and offals, including the gelatinous kikil (the skin and tendon of cow’s legs). However, it is strikingly different from Soto Betawi by its look. Soto Tangkar has a thick and somewhat reddish/yellowish broth that is attributed to the mix of spices used for the soup, including turmeric, garlic, shallots, dried small shrimps (called “ebi”) and shrimp paste or terasi. You can choose to enjoy Soto Tangkar with beef satay with its pleasant and smoky, charred flavor that will go very well with your soto.

If you are seeking for the authentic Soto Tangkar, we suggest you to try the version of this dish served at a humble stall owned by Haji Diding that is located at the Pasar Pagi Asemka in West Jakarta. Don’t get deceived by the look of this small and simple stall, because it has been serving their popular original soto dishes since 1960 using the recipes that have been handed down from one generation to another.

Make sure you come early because there will be not much left after lunch hour.

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Uniquely Italian

by GUPTA SITORUS AND PRIMO RIZKY photographs by DENNIE RAMON

Although it has only been around for a few months, GIA has become the topic of discussion among foodies, especially when it comes to the menu it offers.

This latest Ismaya Group venture serves Italian food in a way that we have never imagined before.

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he first thing that we noticed as we stepped into GIA is the elegant and chic interiors. Modern Italian flair – that was our first thought as we sat inside the space, attributed to the monochrome and stylish interior design. In only a few minutes, we were greeted by Tomasso Gonfiantini, the restaurant’s executive chef who holds the key role in creating the eclectic flavors that have become a unique characteristic of every dishes presented from GIA’s kitchen.

The Foodie Magazine talked with Tomasso about his life story and his vision for modern Italian cuisine that he brings to GIA, all the while enjoying several soup dishes that he specially prepared for us.

The Foodie Magazine: How did you start cooking?

Tomasso Gonfiantini: I started cooking as a passion. When I finished my studies at science school, I realized that I was not ready for university, so I started to learn cooking from a family restaurant. From there I learned every single thing about cooking and slowly became the sous chef.

With big passion for travel, I then decided to leave Italy and learn about new things, different recipes, and different techniques of cooking.

The first place I visited was Indonesia back in 2005. At that time, surprisingly I was called by an Italian restaurant in Bali to work in their kitchen and then moved to Jakarta to set up their next premises here.

From experiences I had there, I learned so many things –not just about cooking, but also the management skill, how to deal with people and how to manage your ego.

It was hard because I was quite young.

After awhile I decided that I need to move on from Indonesia because I was growing complacent, since the market was not so competitive, and I was not getting many possibilities to learn new skills.

I then went back to Europe and started working in Rome. I was there for a couple of years with Chef Filippo La Mantia at the Hotel Majestic doing Sicilian cuisine.

I also did a show called La Notte Degli Chef on television with three master chefs: Gennaro Esposito, Davide Oldani, and Fulvio Pierangelini. During the production, I somehow built a good relationship with Chef Fulvio and he asked me to work with him at Verdura Resort in Sicily for three months and then moved back with him to Rome.

TFM: What brought you back to Indonesia?

TG: After Rome, I moved to New York and met this Indonesian lady who asked me to come back to Indonesia and open a new restaurant-cum-concept store. I realized that if you want to do well in the culinary business, Indonesia is a great place to be. The scene is busting and exciting. It is harder to make it big in the larger cities like New York because it its very competitive.

TFM: How long did it take to you to understand the Indonesian palate?

TG: Before it was easier. When I was first here, there were not many authentic Italian restaurants in town. So people came and ate what we prepared – in the original Italian way. But now, there are so many different outlets that have been opened, so people can compare the food.

Cuisine is just about palate. I prepare my dishes, some may like it, some don’t.

You really have to accept criticism from others. Because if you don’t know how to accept it, that means you are not ready to reach the top.

TFM: With all your experiences, what are you bringing to GIA? TG: At GIA, we are not offering classic Italian dishes. Here we are trying to offer modern Italian food with an American twist. We get lots of inspiration from Mario Batali and his places like Del Posto and Babbo. I believe that this way of cooking is good because Italian cuisine needs more innovation. Because of this world crisis, lots of guys like me have gone around the world and have tried to open their own Italian restaurants – and it has become boring.

Wherever you go now it is almost the same.

You really need to innovate.

I believe that Italian is one of the best cuisines in the world. It is just a matter of ingredients. Because our cuisine is actually very simple, we don’t treat and transform the ingredients that much.

I am not a magician, I am a chef. If you don’t get the right ingredients, it is very difficult to have a good dish. That is why here in GIA the most important thing is to get the right ingredients. For instance, the tomatoes we use are from an organic farm in Bandung, meanwhile cherry tomatoes are from Australia. We always try to find the best one.

TFM: How do you see local produce for Italian cooking?

TG: When we talk about vegetables, I try to compromise by using good local

producers. If you eat it raw, you can easily feel the differences, for others which are cooked, the right combination of ingredients and spices help to enhance flavor.

TFM: What can we expect from you and GIA in the future?

TG: We are trying to bring a new perspective on Italian cuisine. GIA is not a fine dining place, but is also not a casual dining place – it is somewhere in between.

I personally don’t like eating in very fine dining establishments because it can be too formal. But I also want to keep standards high and food quality excellent.

TFM: As this is our Soup Issue, how do you like your soups?

TG: Soup is a very nice meal to be enjoyed during rainy days. I don’t eat soup regularly, though. My mood about eating always changes everyday according to the weather outside. But I still love soups –I love mine mixed with mix pasta.

Here in Indonesia, when we are talking about soups you mostly think about broth with some noodles or something else inside and has to be really liquid. As for me, soups can be thicker just like velouté.

It is a bit different how Asians and Italians interpret soup.

Actually, there is this dish from Sicily named couscous alla trapanese where they serve soup from seafood stock, cinnamon, almonds, herbs, and eat it with couscous –just like what you do here with rice. It is kinda similar.

TFM: Can you tell us a little bit about the soup that you are preparing for us today?

TG: This Tuscan tomato bread soup originated in Florence. Long ago, when the Medici family ruled the region, there were so many poor people. Families had to make use of leftover, dry, stale bread so they turned it into various dishes throughout the week. One of these dishes was this soup which only calls for simple ingredients; stale bread, tomatoes, garlic, and basil. The modern version of this tomato soup that I made is using stracciatella di buratta. It is a cheese that is quite similar with mozarella but the difference is the straciatella inside the cheese that makes it creamier. I finish the soup with straciatella and add some confit cherry tomatoes, parmesan –we don’t use grated one, but instead we shave the cheese on top of it, fried basil, basilinfused oil, and fresh black pepper –just like what we all did in Tuscany.

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FUNGHI VELOUT WITH ESCARGOT

40 gr Leeks • Use a hand blender to create a 250 ml Chicken Broth smooth cream.

1 gr Chili Flakes • Return to medium heat and stir Serves: 1 1 gr Salt constantly, until thickened. Season 1 gr Black Pepper with salt and pepper.

INGREDIENTS: 1 gr Nutmeg • In a small frying pan, heat the 80 gr Portobello 120 gr Sour Dough Bread remaining butter and add escargot, Mushroom, chopped 25 ml Extra Virgin Olive Oil garlic, parsley and leeks, sauté for 2 70 gr Potatoes, chopped 50 gr Butter minutes.

50 gr White Onion, sliced • Add to soup along with grilled bread 25 gr Garlic, chopped STEPS: and finish with deep-fried leeks angel 100 gr Escargot • In a soup pot, combine mushrooms, onion, hair pasta for garnish.

25 gr Flat Leaf Parsley garlic, potatoes and chicken stock and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes.

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ROASTED TOMATO PAPPA SOUP

MUSSEL LIVORNESE SOUP

Serves: 1

Serves: 1

INGREDIENTS:

INGREDIENTS:

200 gr Plum Tomatoes 50 gr Red Onion 40 ml Extra Virgin Olive Oil 100 gr Sour Dough Bread 30 gr Garlic 5 gr Sugar 1 gr Salt 1 gr White Pepper 30 gr Burrata Cheese 20 gr Parmesan Cheese 100 gr Fresh Herbs 200 ml Vegetable Stock 1 gr Chili Flakes

STEPS

• Pre-heat oven to 180C • Wash and cut tomatoes, placing in a shallow baking dish cut side down.. Add onion pieces, garlic, oregano and basil to the pan.

Drizzle vegetables with olive oil and chili flakes. Season with salt, sugar and pepper. Bake for 45 minutes.

• Place roasted vegetables and bread in food processor bowl or blender and puree. Slowly add broth or water until soup has desired consistency. Continue blending until smooth. An immersion blender also works very well.

• To serve, ladle into bowls and garnish with Burrata cheese if desired, and Basil infused extra virgin olive oil.

150 gr Blue Mussels 50 gr Onion, chopped

15 gr Garlic, finely sliced 50 gr Tomatoes, chopped 25 ml White Wine 10 gr Flat Leaf Parsley 3 gr Chili Flakes 100 ml Fish Stock 10 ml Extra Virgin Olive Oil 100 gr Sour Dough Bread 1 gr Salt 1 gr Black Pepper

STEPS

• In large saucepan, heat oil. Add chopped onions, and garlic and cook until translucent. Add parsley and chili flakes and cook for 1-2 minutes.

• Increase heat and add white wine, fish stock and bring to the boil.

Add tomatoes and bring back to a boil.

• Add cleaned mussels and cook covered over a moderate heat for about 5 minutes. Discard any mussels that have not opened.

• Season with salt and pepper and serve.

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Splendid Spanish

by JED DOBLE photographs by DENNIE RAMON

BAM! Tapas & Sake Bar at Plaza Indonesia is exciting many diners with its modern take on Spanish and Japanese cuisine. The talented executive chef, Arturo Godó shares with us his vision.

I

personally love Spanish food. Growing up in the Philippines, Spanish cuisine forms an integral part of our own dining table staples. Paella, callos and lengua are just some of the dishes which were brought to the Philippines by Spanish colonists but are loved and accepted as Filipino dishes. So it was with lots of excitement that I heard of BAM! Tapas & Sake Bar since Jakarta is in dire need of a good Spanish restaurant. So when Chef Arturo invited me over, I was truly overjoyed.

Arturo hails from Barcelona, a city known for its love of food and wine. I remember fondly my past trips to Barcelona, it is truly a foodie destination, a must-visit.

The Mercato de La Boqueria on Les Rambles is an iconic market and draws thousands of visitors daily. I thoroughly enjoyed the many tapas restaurants and cervecerias around. Arturo has worked and trained in some of the best restaurants in the world.

From the one Michelin starred Restaurant Jean Luc Figueras in Barcelona, the two Michelin starred Restaurant Mugaritz under Chef Andoni Luis Aduriz in Errenteria, Spain.

He also worked at the one Michelin star Restaurante Dos Cielos at the Melia Hotel in Barcelona. Before moving to Jakarta, Arturo worked in the Dominican Republic at the Catalonia Bavaro Beach Resort as executive sous chef.

Arturo tells me that his love for food all began with his mom and all the women in his family. “My earliest food memories are of my grandmother’s sofrito, it is the best I have ever tasted up to today,” Arturo fondly recalls. He also remembers his grandfather, who lived in Salamanca, used to make chorizo during family reunions. But

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most of all, he remembers the passion of his mom when she cooked. “I was five or six years old, I remember very vividly.”

When he finished high school, Arturo was undecided as to what to take up in university. But in the end, he heeded the call of the kitchen. “The kitchen was my sanctuary, I loved to cook. So I began to study and started to train at the best restaurants possible.”

Arturo started his culinary career by apprenticing at the age of 19 at the Museum of History in Barcelona. Back then they had a classical French restaurant. Here he began to learn is craft. He then continued to finish his culinary degree and began doing stages every summer.

Since there are not many Spanish restaurants, Arturo took time out to describe Spanish food. “Spanish cuisine is the same as its people..Spanish people have lots of character, and that is reflected in the food.” Flavors in Spanish cuisine, Arturo says are bold and fresh. There are three ingredients he says that are always present in his kitchen and in many Spanish dishes: olive oil, paprika (pimento Dela Vera from Spain) and garlic. Since Spain has lots of different landscapes from mountains to sea, and varied regions, climates and seasons, their food reclects all these. Paella, gazpacho and cochinillo (roast suckling pig) are some of the most iconic Spanish dishes. Tapas, which is now a growing trend the world over, originated in Spain. It was originally conceived as a pairing with wine.

Long ago, when a guest ordered a glass of wine, he would be give a tapa. This was to help put some food in his stomach to prevent him from having a headache or to

prevent him from drinking too much. And all this was free. Now of course, aside from Granada and Arturo’s grandmother’s hometown of Salamanca, tapas are not anymore free. But the idea has caught on and the concept of these small plates is found all over the world.

At BAM!, the concept is a mix of Asian and Spanish flair. It is difficult to make classical Spanish food in Jakarta, Arturo says because of the difficulty in sourcing imported ingredients. So instead, he sources excellent local produce and combines this with traditional ways of cooking Spanish dishes. “We now use around 70% local ingredients and 30% imported,” Arturo reveals. He works with a vegetable supplier from Bogor and souces many of his seafood from Lombok, such as grouper, snapper, clams and lobster.

This month, since it is our Soup Issue, Arturo showcases his Sweet Corn Soup.

Using the freshest sweet corn from Blue Boots Farms in Bogor, he mixes ricotta cheese to give it a creamy texture plus highlights the dish with truffle. “If ingredients are excellent, it takes me five minutes to create a dish. This sweet corn soup is just like that, it is elegant and delicious.”He also shares their twist on the classic mushroom soup. A dish originally created by Chef Pepe of BAM! Singapore, he uses sake butter, parmesan and balsamic vinegar to give the mushroom soup an update.

Of course, you should not visit BAM! and not sample their paella, one of the most iconic Spanish dishes of all time. For those who have not tried Spanish food, now is this is an opportune time to head over to BAM! and sample what Chef Arturo has to offer.

BAM! TAPAS & SAKE BAR | Plaza Indonesia, 3rd floor, Jalan MH Thamrin, Jakarta | T: +62 21 2992 4222 Instagram: @bam _ jakarta

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BART VAN OLPHEN | FISH TALES | www.fish-tales.com | Instagram: @bartfishtales | YouTube: youtube.com/bartfishtales

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Argentine Flair

by JED DOBLE photographs by DENNIE RAMON

JW Marriott Jakarta’s newly appointed executive chef Francisco Brown is passionate, delightful and indulgent, just like his food.

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he minute that he walked into the room, I knew I would like Chef Francisco. His nerdy, thick rimmed classed couldn’t hide his charming and friendly personality. We immediately hit it off and I thoroughly enjoyed our conversation. And what do you talk about when you meet a chef – food of course!

Francisco tells me that he started cooking at a very young age. His first food memories are of his grandfather. He tells me that as a young boy of 6 or 7 years old, he would always stay at his grandparents’ house during summer vacations since they lived on the beautiful coast of Argentina. Every night, his grandfather would cook for all of them, a big family. “I remember always being behind him watching what he was doing and from time to time he would let me put my hands on something, I think the first thing he allowed me to touch was the mashed potato,” Francisco remembers fondly. “And I remember once we finish cooking, and sat down at the table with all the family, we started to share the meal. Everyone enjoyed the meal together, and I felt fantastic, knowing that I had a small part in it.” He considers his grandfather and his mother his culinary inspirations. “Not only did they love to cook, they also loved to explore new recipes. I think my passion for cooking and working in different countries really comes from them.”

As we settle down, me with my iced coffee and Francisco on his second bottle (of sparkling water), he continues and says that

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he knew that he had always loved food and cooking. His epiphany came after working at a bank for a year, he realized that it was not for him and at that point he decided he wanted to cook professionally. “I felt sad and miserable, so I quit and went completely on a different direction, from the bank to the kitchen. And once I started, I never looked back.” And he definitely didn’t look back.

Francisco has worked all over the world, in kitchens in his native Argentina, to Spain, Dubai, Oman, Malaysia, Trinidad & Tobago and the Seychelles, before finding his way to Jakarta. He tells me that compared to his past posts, which were mostly resort properties, JW Marriott Jakarta as a city hotel, has many events and responsibilities different from his past experiences, which certainly excite him.

As we continue our conversation about food, I inevitably ask what he likes to eat and what he likes to cook. “I like to try everything I come across at least once. My favorite food is everything that contains wheat: pasta, pizza and sandwiches,” Francisco reveals. “And of course, I like to cook pasta too, in all shapes and forms, al dente always and using super fresh ingredients all the time.”

And since this is our Soup issue, we turn to the soups Francisco has prepared for us today. “I love these sort of soups, hearty that they keep you warm when its cold and they nourish the soul, not only are they satisfying, they are like an all in one meal, you can use many ingredients that you can

find in your pantry or fridge.”

The two soups Francisco is sharing with us come from his home country, Argentina.

They are both very popular, the Locro is a national dish, which is always eaten during the National Day holidays, and the lentil soup is always shared with family and friends.

“I decided to share them because they are a part of me and where I come from, I grew up eating this food, it takes me back to those wonderful times with family and friends, and being far away from home I thought it was now a good time to share them.”

Francisco also takes time to tell me that in his role as executive chef, he is able to steer the hotel’s kitchen into using local and sustainable produce. He has made it his mission to find the best local produce to use in the food they serve. I see the passion in his eyes when we talk about his initiative.

“We work closely with some farmers who supply organic produce and I will continue to find new suppliers so that the dishes we serve are not only fresh and delicious, but also sustainable.”

As we finish our chat, I ask my favorite question whenever I meet chefs: I ask Francisco what his food guilty pleasure is.

In reply: “I cannot live without cheese in all forms and shapes, so every day I have to have a piece no matter what!”

With his burning passion for his craft, I am sure we will see lots of hearty and wonderful dishes from Francisco’s kitchen in the months to come.

JW MARRIOTT JAKARTA | Jalan Dr. Ide Anak Agung Gde Agung Kav. E 1.2 No. 1 & 2, Kawasan Mega Kuningan, Jakarta T: +62 21 5798 8888 | www.marriott.com/jktjw | Twitter & Instagram: @jwmarriottjkt

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BART VAN OLPHEN | FISH TALES | www.fish-tales.com | Instagram: @bartfishtales | YouTube: youtube.com/bartfishtales

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RUSTIC LENTIL SOUP Serves: 6

INGREDIENTS: 15 ml 2 pcs

60 gr 60 gr 60 gr 250 gr

Extra Virgin Olive Oil Garlic Cloves, peeled and chopped Onion, cubed Carrots, cubed Celery, cubed Bacon (pork or beef) cut in strips

150 gr Chorizo (pork or beef) 250 gr Brown Or Green Lentils 1 can Peeled Tomatoes, finely chopped 750 ml Chicken Stock 50 gr Parsley, coarsely chopped 1 pc Bay Leaf 5 gr Thyme Sea Salt

Black Pepper, freshly ground

STEPS:

• In a big pot with a thick bottom, heat olive oil at medium heat. Fry bacon and chorizo until golden brown, then remove and set a side leaving the fat behind in the pot • Add the carrots, celery, onion and garlic and cook for 5 minutes • Add the lentils, stir well, cook for two minutes. Add the chicken stock until the lentils are completely covered. Add peeled tomatoes, bay leaf and thyme bring to boil and let it simmer for 30 minutes • Season with salt and pepper and finish with parsley. Serve with bread

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LOCRO CRIOLLO Serves: 6

INGREDIENTS: 100 gr thick slices 100 gr 200 gr 100 gr 100 gr 200 gr

Whole Corn, cut into Cannellini beans Beef Shank Chorizos (pork or beef) Bacon (pork or beef) Pork Ribs (optional)

100 gr Pumpkin 3 pc Garlic Cloves 50 gr Leeks 1.5 L Chicken Stock 25 gr Green Onions 3 gr Paprika 1 gr Cumin 1 pc Bay Leaf Sea Salt

Black Pepper, freshly ground

STEPS

• Soak cannellini beans in water overnight.

• In a big pot with a thick bottom, add chicken stock, bay leaf, beans, beef shank (seasoned) and pork ribs (seasoned), bring to boil and simmer for one and half hours.

• Add bacon, chorizo, pumpkin, leeks, green onion, garlic, cumin, paprika, salt and pepper to taste. Stir occasionally. Once the beans and the pumpkin are tender, the soup is done. Serve hot with bread.

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Rolf’s Tomato, Eggplant and Cachew Soup

Chef Rolf Knecht of the Grand Hyatt Jakarta shares with us a cold soup inspired by his grandmother and made for his daughter.

by JED DOBLE photographs by DENNIE RAMON

We love our fish and seafood! And if you have a fish craving, head over to Monty’s where Chef Christer Foldnes, awarded Norway’s best seafood chef, dishes out the best in town.

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W

e have literally gone through so many soups this month. And as our cover title says, we have savoured them all. Although this one from Chef Rolf Knecht is quite special. He has two inspirations for it. His grandmother and his daughter. We’ll get to it later but we start by asking Rolf about his love for soup.

“I love soup!” he acclaims. Having been born and spent his formative years in Switzerland, Rolf knows all too well the comfort a hot bowl of soup brings.

During the winter months, his favorite preoccupation is skiing. Coming home to a hearty bowl of soup, warms him up and gives him that cozy feeling he says. They would have big bowls of potato cream soup, lentil soup and beef stock soups. During the summers, he would travel to Italy, to be with his grandmother, who lived in Sicily. Here, the soups were different, they were cold and refreshing. “My grandmother would prepare tomato soup and a roasted bell pepper soup, all cold. She had a way of cooking about her, she knew how to add acidity to her dishes which gave added flavor and made her soups pop out.” These cold soups were served for lunch, then for dinner, if there were leftovers, they would heat the soup up, put in some bread, shave some parmisan cheese on top and eat that.

The soup he is sharing is inspired by his grandmother. He tells me that these days, at home, everything is about healthy eating.

His daughter has recently been diagnosed with gluten and dairy intolerance, so he has to be on top of the food preparation, making sure dishes are dairy and gluten free.

The Tomato Eggplant and Cachew Nut soup he shares is a cold soup. It is 100% vegan and he adds some chia seeds to it too. He says that it can be challenging sometimes to prepare such meals, but it has to be done.

Of course, without compromising flavor.

For this soup, he roasts the eggplant a bit, so give it a smokey flavor, which permeates the soup once it is combind with the

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tomatoes and cachew nut paste. Another thing he learned from his grandmother was her use of vinegar. “Today, chefs around the world are playing around with vinegars, it’s the new fancy ingredient. My grandmother, way back then, already was using vinegar to perk up her soups. She would have different bottled vinegars all over the kitchen,” Rolf recalls.

Rolf started his career in Switzerland, he began his first apprenticeship at the age of 15. He then trained in Zermatt, Geneva and Zurich, all at five star hotels. But he wanted to learn English, since he only spoke German, French and Italian. And since Switzerland did not have treaties with Europe yet then, he decided to move to Canada. He settled in Endonton where he joined a hotel with a convention center.

The executive chef there was the coach of the Canadian Culinary Team, so he was immediately immersed in lots of banquetes and competitons. He recalls that it was here that he earned his cooking stripes. He then moved to the Fairmont, where he says he was taught to become a manager. His move towards Asia was courtesy of the Hyatt Group. He moved to the Grand Hyatt Shanghai, spent a few years there, then to the Grand Hyatt Fukuoka, and now finds himself in Jakarta. Lucky for us.

Rolf is a flavor junky, he reveals: “My flavors are bold and very honest. I use simple ingredients, normally just four to five ingredients in a dish. If I make a tomato soup, I want you to definitely taste the tomato.”

Chef Rolf further shares that he is starting to make an initiative to use more local supplers at the hotel. He is very picky with his suppliers and goes to many lengths to source the best local ingredients. He has traveled to farms in West Java and to coffee plantations and prawn farms, all in the name of freshness.

With bold and honest flavors, using the best local ingredients, how can you go wrong.

COLD TOMATO-EGGPLANT SOUP WITH CASHEW NUT CREAM Serves: 4

INGREDIENTS: 500gr 1pc 10gr 10gr 100gr 100ml 100gr 200ml To taste To taste Stock

Tomatoes, fresh Eggplant Garlic Onion Tomato Paste Olive Oil Cashew Nuts Water Salt, Pepper, Cilantro Lemon Juice, Vegetable

STEPS

• For the cashew nut cream: Soak nuts in water overnight, blend using high speed.

Add water if the mixture is too thick.

• Char the eggplant skin over fire until the skin is very well charred and the eggplant is a bit soft • Peel the skin off but keep a few small chunks of skin for a smoky flavor and cut into medium sized chunks • Cut the tomatoes into quarters – try to pick very ripe, red, flavourful tomatoes or

C’S STEAK & SEAFOOD RESTAURANT | Grand Hyatt Jakarta, Jalan M. H. Thamrin Kav. 28-30, Jakarta | T: +62 21 29921234 www.jakarta.grand.hyatt.com

if not available you can also use canned pelati tomatoes • In a pan, fry the chopped garlic and onion and add the tomato and eggplant. Season well with salt, pepper and cilantro and only give it a very quick stir to mix all the ingredients well • Place all in a mixer and blend it very well until nice and smooth – set aside • Add the cashew nut cream to the soup to give it a nice cream consistency – please note that this recipe depends on the liquid of the tomatoes. If they are not very juicy you might want to consider to add some vegetable stock to give a better consistency.

• Blend it all together in the mixer, season to taste with lemon juice or your preferred vinegar and place in chiller.

• The soup can be served very cold as a refreshing meal and garnished with chopped spicy cashew nuts .

• It can also be frozen into savoury popsicles for a party • It also goes great as a warm soup with some seafood added or some stale bread that has been tossed in a garlic butter. If eaten warm you might want to consider adding a bit more liquid into it.

• This soup is a very versatile base to get your soup adventures started !

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soups of The World

by JED DOBLE photographs by DENNIE RAMON

We may safely say that eating soups is a culture found all over the world. Here we present to you some of our favorite soups from around the globe.

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TOM YUM GOONG (THAILAND) Serves: 4

INGREDIENTS: 200gr 150gr 100gr

100gr 1 stalk

Beef Scraps, blanched and diced String Bean, cut in to ½ cm long Cayote / Siam Pumpkin, peeled and large diced Carrot, peeled and large diced Lemongrass, bruised and knotted

1/2 cm 40gr 2 pcs 500ml 4 tbs 1 pc

STEPS:

Galangal, washed and sliced Shallot, peeled and sliced Red chili big, seeded and bias cut Beef Stock Sweet soy sauce Salam leaf Salt & Pepper, to seasoned

• Heat a medium pot, saute shallot, garlic,galangal and lemongrass until fragrant.

• Stir in diced beef and saute for 5 minutes.

Add the beef stock and bring to boil.

• After boiled, bring all vegetables into pot starting from carrot, string bean and cayote.

• Season the soup with salt, pepper and sweet soy sauce.

• After vegetable ingredients became almost soft, remove pot from fire and serve.

• Fried shallot for garnish.

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HOT AND SOUR SOUP (CHINA) Serves: 4

INGREDIENTS: 6 pcs

4 cups 1 tsp 1 tbsp 1/2 cup

450 gr

3/4 cup

Dried Shiitake Mushrooms Chicken Stock Salt Soy Sauce Canned Bamboo Shoots, drained and sliced into matchsticks Boneless Pork Cutler or Chicken Breast Firm Tofu, sliced into matchsticks

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1/4 tsp 4 tbsp 3 tbsp

1 pc

1 pc

STEPS

Ground White Pepper White Vinegar Cornstarch mixed with 4 tablespoons cold water Large Egg, lightly beaten Sesame Oil Scallion, finely chopped

• Rehydrate mushrooms by soaking them in hot water for 15 minutes.

• In a pot, add chicken stock, salt and soy sauce and bring to a boil. Cut the pork (or chicken) into strips 1/2-inch long and 1/4inch thick.

• Remove the mushrooms from the hot water. Strain the mushroom water, then

add the water to the soup pot. Slice the mushrooms thinly.

• Add the bamboo shoots, sliced mushrooms, and sliced pork to the now-boiling soup. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 3 minutes. Add the tofu, pepper, and vinegar to the pot. Bring to a boil again.

• Stir in the cornstarch mixture into the pot, and continue stirring until the mixture is thickened.

• Turn off the heat and add the egg, stirring gently.

• Ladle the hot soup in bowls and garnish with a teaspoon of sesame oil and some chopped scallions.

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ASEM ASEM (INDONESIA) Serves: 4

INGREDIENTS: 200gr 150gr 100gr

100gr 1 stalk

Beef Scraps, blanched and diced String Bean, cut in to ½ cm long Cayote / Siam Pumpkin, peeled and large diced Carrot, peeled and large diced Lemongrass, bruised and knotted

1/2 cm 40gr 2 pcs 500ml 4 tbs 1 pc

STEPS:

Galangal, washed and sliced Shallot, peeled and sliced Red chili big, seeded and bias cut Beef Stock Sweet soy sauce Salam leaf Salt & Pepper, to seasoned

• Heat a medium pot, saute shallot, garlic,galangal and lemongrass until fragrant.

• Stir in diced beef and saute for 5 minutes.

Add the beef stock and bring to boil.

• After boiled, bring all vegetables into pot starting from carrot, string bean and cayote.

• Season the soup with salt, pepper and sweet soy sauce.

• After vegetable ingredients became almost soft, remove pot from fire and serve.

• Fried shallot for garnish.

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CLAM CHOWDER (BOSTON) Serves: 6

Salt

Freshly Ground White

Pepper

INGREDIENTS:

STEPS

1 kg Fresh Clams 250 gr Bacon (pork or beef), diced 3 pcs Medium-sized White

Onions, peeled and diced 3 tbsp Flour 1 kg Potatoes, peeled and

cut into 2cm cubes 3 cups Milk 3/4 cup Heavy Cream 3 tbsp Butter

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• Clean the clams under cold running water to remove grit and sand. Discard any that don’t close when tapped.

• In a large pot, place clams with 3 cups cold water. Cover and bring to a boil over medium heat. Steam the clams until they open, check frequently and remove clams with tongs when they open. Discard any that don’t open. Strain the cooking liquid and set aside.

• In a separate pan, cook the bacon, over low heat until crisp. Drain the oil on paper

towels, and set aside.

• Add onions to rendered fat and cook over low heat until translucent. Remove clams from shells. Coarsely chop clams and set aside.

• Add flour to onions, stir for 1 minute, then add potatoes, reserved clam cooking liquid, and enough water to cover. Increase heat to medium, cover, and simmer until potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes.

• Add clams, milk, and cream to pot. Simmer (do not boil) until just heated through, about 5 minutes.

• Add in butter and season to taste with salt and pepper.

• To serve, ladle into bowls and top with crispy bacon.

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FRENCH ONION SOUP (FRANCE) Serves: 6-8

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup unsalted butter 4 pcs onions, sliced 2 pcs garlic cloves, chopped 2 pcs bay leaves 2 pcs fresh thyme sprigs

Kosher salt and freshly

ground black pepper 1 cup red wine, about 1/2 bottle

3 tbsp 4 cups 1 pc 30 gr

STEPS:

all-purpose flour beef stock baguette, sliced Gruyere Cheese, grated

• In a large pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onions, garlic, bay leaves, thyme, and salt and pepper and cook until the onions are very soft and caramelized.

• Add the wine, bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer until the wine

has evaporated and the onions are dry.

Remove the bay leaves and thyme sprigs.

Add the flour to the onions and stir well.

Turn the heat down to low so the flour doesn’t burn. Cook for 10 minutes to cook out the raw flour taste.

• Add the beef stock, bring the soup to a simmer, and cook for 10 minutes. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper.

• To serve, ladle the soup into bowls, top each with 2 slices of bread and top with cheese. Put the bowls into the oven to toast the bread and melt the cheese.

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MINESTRONE (ITALY) Serves: 6-8

INGREDIENTS: 2 tbsp 1 pc 4 pcs 2 stalks 1 pc 150 gr

Extra Virgin Olive Oil Large Onion, diced Garlic Cloves, minced Celery, diced Large Carrot, diced Green Beans, trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch pieces (about 1 1/2 cups)

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1 tsp

Dried Oregano 1 tsp Dried Basil

Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper 1 cup Tomatoes, diced 1 can Tomato Sauce 6 cups Chicken Broth 1 can Kidney Beans, drained and rinsed 1 cup Elbow Pasta 1/3 cup Parmesan Cheese, finely grated 2 tbsp Fresh Basil, chopped

STEPS:

• In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until translucent. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add the celery and carrots and cook until they begin to soften. Add in the green beans, dried oregano and basil, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and pepper to taste.

• Add the diced tomatoes, tomato sauce and the chicken broth to the pot and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in the kidney beans and pasta and cook until the pasta and vegetables are tender. Add salt to taste.

• To serve, ladle into bowls and top with the parmesan cheese and chopped basil.

C O V E R F E AT U R E

SUKIYAKI (JAPAN) Serves: 4

INGREDIENTS: 1/2 cup 2 tbsp 1 cup 1/4 cup 450 gr 1/4 cup 2 pc

Soy Sauce Sugar Beef Stock Mirin Thinly Sliced Beef Sugar Medium-sized Onions,

120 gr

1 cup 2 stalks 1 cup

1 cube

1 bunch

2 pcs

sliced Yam Noodles (shirataki), Vermicelli as substitute Bamboo Shoots, sliced Celery, sliced Shiitake Mushrooms, soaked, rinsed and sliced Soft Tofu, cut into 2.5cm cubes Green Onions, cut into 5cm lengths Cabbage leaves, sliced

STEPS

• In a mixing bowl, combine soy sauce, sugar, beef stock and mirin together.

• In a pot, arrange vegetables and noodles.

• Pour cooking liquid into the pot, set on medium heat. Bring to a boil.

• To serve: arrange beef slices onto a plate.

Quickly dip beef into boiling soup and serve in individual bowls with noodles and vegetables.

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C O V E R F E AT U R E

PORK SINIGANG (PHILIPPINES) Serves: 6

INGREDIENTS: 1kg

1 L 1 pc 2 pcs 2 pcs 1 pc

Pork Belly, cut into cubes Water Onion, thinly sliced Tomatoes, diced Eggplant, sliced Radish, sliced

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8 pcs

1 bundle

2 pcs 1 cup

STEPS

String Beans, cut into matchstick length Water Spinach (Kang- Kung), leaves and stalks Green Chili Fresh Tamarind Juice

• In a soup pot, cover the pork belly with water and bring to a boil. Skim the scum off. Take off from heat, discard water.

• Add in the water, bring to a boil Add onions and tomatoes. Cover pot. Cook until meat is tender. Add move water to make up for evaporation.

• Add the string beans and radish. Cook until soft. Add eggplant, water spinach stalks and chili. Cook for 5 minutes.

• Add water spinach leaves and tamarind juice. Simmer for 2 minutes.

• Serve hot with steamed rice.

C O V E R F E AT U R E

SOPA DE TORTILLA

BY CHEF JAIME F. ROJAS L Serves: 6

INGREDIENTS:

60 gr Large Dried Pasilla

(Negro) Chili, stemmed

and seeded 40 gr Ancho Chili, stemmed

and seeded 450 gr Fresh Tomatoes, fire-

roasted then diced 70 gr Olive Oil 160 gr White Onion, sliced 1/4- inch thick 30 gr Garlic Cloves, peeled 2 L Chicken Broth 60 gr Zucchini cut into large

pieces 30 gr Carrot, cut up into large

pieces 25 gr Fresh Cilantro 100 gr Epazote 800 gr Boneless, Skinless

Chicken Breast Halves,

cut into 1/2-inch cubes

medium-high heat. Add the onions and 250 gr Ripe Avocado, pitted, garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until

flesh scooped from the golden, about 7 minutes. Scoop up the

skin and cut into 1/4- onion and garlic with a slotted spoon,

inch cubes, for garnish pressing them against the side of the pan 20 gr Shredded Mexican to leave behind as much oil as possible,

Melting Cheese and transfer to the blender. Process until

(Chihuahua, Quesadilla smooth.

or Asadero) or Monterey • In a pot, heat the chicken broth and poach

Jack, brick or mild cheddar the pieces of chicken and vegetables until cooked.

400 gr Tortilla Chips, roughly • Return the pan to medium-high heat.

broken When quite hot, add the puree and 200 gr Mexican crema or Sour stir constantly, until thickened to the

Cream consistency of tomato paste, about 6 1 pc Lime, cut into 6 wedges, minutes.

for serving • Add the broth and epazote. Reduce the STEPS heat to medium-low and simmer for 15 • Toast the chilies in a dry pan over medium minutes. Taste and season with salt. heat, pressing it flat for a few seconds, • Just before serving, add the chicken and then flipping it over and pressing it again. vegetables to the simmering soup. Cut the Break the chile into pieces and put in avocado. a blender jar along with the tomatoes • Garnish the soup with chopped onion, previously charred and two pieces of corn cubes of avocado, sprig of cilantro, tortilla previously fried until golden brown.

Mexican cream and cheese and fried • In a medium saucepan, heat oil over tortilla chips strings.

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FI N E R T H I N G S

Indonesia Reimagined

by SAHIRI LOING photographs by DENNIE RAMON

Arianti Darmawan, co-founder of Sari Rasa Nusantara, speaks to us about perpetuating our culinary traditions into the future by going back to the past.

I

t was a pleasure to meet with Arianti Darmawan, co-founder of Sari Rasa Nusantara, owner of famous restaurant brands Sate Khas Senayan and Te Sate.

She was anything but inarticulate, in fact, I actually kind of got a short course on the little known intricacies of Indonesian tradition.

An example: talking about a subject as simple as restaurant lighting I acquired a new insight. “Indonesians are not normally accustomed to bright white lighting,” she says. “We’re more familiar with soft yellow or orange light that originates from oil lamps or candles.” From experience she also has gathered juicy tidbits about our people’s eating habits: men commonly prefer sweettinged food while women like it spicy and less sweet. I guess that piece of information can be valuable if you work for a restaurant group with 44 stand-alone outlets and 5 express counters.

Artianti says she is more in the business of preserving the sacred bond between food and culture, and displaying it proudly to the patrons of their restaurants. This year, on the opportune day of August 17th, Indonesia’s Independence Day, they unveiled their latest restaurant, 1945, located at the luxuriously grand Fairmont Jakarta.

“Here we focus on authentic taste but using modern cooking techniques,” she explains. “We want to break the idea that Indonesian food has to use traditional methods to get that authenticity.”

Technique is key, naturally, and she said that the right one can boost certain qualities that matter to traditional cooking, such as texture, saucing, prime ingredients, how-to,

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and presentation—all essential to achieve a high standard of quality in Indonesian cuisine.

FAMILY LEGACY This isn’t her first time dabbling in modernized Indonesian cuisine: under the Sari Rasa Nusantara Group, she and her husband were the ones responsible for rejuvenating the family legacy of Sate House (established in 1974), which they then renamed into the now top-of-mind Sate Khas Senayan.

“There weren’t that many Indonesian restaurants back then,” says Arianti. “And customers who came were mostly older people, like 40 and above. And so, we wanted to change that. We started with the architecture, the ambience, and increased the variety of food on offer. But of course, the one thing that didn’t change was the local cuisine on the menu.”

And it’s very refreshing to see her take on creating an Indonesian-specific restaurant.

While others might play on the nostalgia factor, Arianti travels on a different, more contemporary route. “I’m a modern person,” she says. “And the thought of having Indonesian elements in our restaurants is not because we want to go back into the past and making it a nostalgic symbol. Instead, it’s about action of moving forward to a new era, a future.”

Her subsequent endeavors certainly reflect that mission: after the success of Sate Khas Senayan she followed it up with another local-centric restaurant, the premium TeSate, which its younger sister 1945 actually shares a similar idea: “We wanted to have a place where it’s more proper to bring guests to, especially foreigners,” the Boston

College graduate reveals.

DELICIOUSLY THEATRICAL And 1945 is definitely more than proper. An elegant setting, red seems to the dominant color, with subtle touches of culture.

Being a trained architect, Arianti imbues the setting with a somewhat theatrical flair.

“We deliberately set up the interior as a performance space,” she says. “The servers and the guests all interact with the space as in a theatre performance.” It helps that her other hobby is photography. She has done many exhibitions of her journalistic, peoplefocused work.

I can definitely not complain about the food either: starting from my appetizer pecel kembang. “We make it just like a Western salad with fresh, crunchy vegetables as well as edible flower called turi and telang, then dress it with a sauce made from sesame seeds and cashew nuts.” Then a main course of Steak with Lada Hitam Sauce and sambal matah, then finished off with Srikaya Soufflé with Ketan Bakar. The rest of the menu is certainly consistent with her vision of creating a modern Indonesian cuisine. And judging by the taste, modern technique— such as the sous-vide to cook rendang meat for example—seems to be a non-issue. In fact, it’s an asset—just like the food itself.

“It’s unfortunate Indonesian cuisine is not well-recognized internationally,” she laments.

“We are proud to be Indonesian, and we should take the risk in bringing our food into the next level. Indonesian food reimagined.”

With a sharp eye for aesthetics, Arianti’s vision of the future will always remain clear.

FI N E R T H I N G S

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FI N E R T H I N G S

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FI N E R T H I N G S

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I CO N I C

SOTO AYAM AMBENGAN PAK SADI (ASLI)

by RIAN FARISA

When a restaurant is putting the face of the owner as its public image, it’s only natural to think that there’s a notable persona who was or has been contributing immensely for its current stature right now – legendary or not.

At times it might be just a marketing gimmick, as such in the case of snacks or small businesses nowadays. But when we are talking about Soto Ayam Ambengan Pak Sadi - there’s more to it than just a face.

P

ak Sadi and his famous soto restaurant are two things inseparable. His establishment is the embodiment of Pak Sadi’s hard work through the ups and downs of his life since the adolescent days more than 50 years ago. Born in the vicinity of the small town of Lamongan, he was already taught to cook the town’s specialty soto and East

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Javanese’s pride - tahu tek-tek.

Like what happens in many parts this country for years now, the citizens of rural Indonesia have always been attracted to living in big cities. Once arrived, many of them saw their dreams shattered once realizing how tough it is living in a metropolis, but some persevere and make it to the top like Pak Sadi.

If several issues ago we have the story about how Pak Misjaya jumped off the train to seek for a better life in Jakarta with only the clothes he was wearing that day and now that he runs a very successful nasi ulam business, Pak Sadi started it less radically than that thanks to his cooking skill.

But it is not without a lot of hardship.

“There was a time when I was forced to relocate and that people were simply not interested with my food. I don’t know where else to go but I was glad to have a generous friend who asked me to stay at his place and set up my business again there”, reminisces Pak Sadi.

After some time standing on his feet again, he finally started fresh with a humble vendor on Jalan Ambengan. Finally after several years, Pak Sadi had his breakthrough moment of success when he eventually can afford his own house there and the street became known nationwide as a branding name for anyone who wanted to start their soto Lamongan business.

“Quite some time ago, I tried to get the “Ambengan” name patented but I was denied since I cannot use the name of a public street for my soto. That’s why I put my name and the word asli for the restaurant to differentiate it”, says Pak Sadi.

From his modest beginning at Jalan Ambengan, Pak Sadi has since expanded his empire to several cities all over Indonesia with his strongest bases at Jakarta and Surabaya. “My first ever outlet in Jakarta is here at Jalan Wolter Monginsidi. We moved around for several times but this time I

I CO N I C suppose we have become permanent”, shares Pak Sadi.

Now, as a grandfather of eleven, Pak Sadi is enjoying his retirement days and travels between Jakarta and Surabaya a couple of times in a month. He is now delegating the business to his children who are actually making his traditional business more colorful.

“My son Hartono is brimming with ideas.

He opens Soto Pak Sadi outlets in shopping malls and expands it beyond the borders I knew back then”, he says. It is no wonder now that we can now find more traditional street food at Pak Sadi’s Wolter Monginsidi outlet. It was all because of his children’s initiatives.

Pak Sadi himself is true to his words when he’s talking about his soto recipe. In his restaurant, you will find yourself facing a generous serving of soto ayam Lamongan with complete offering from ayam kampung, half of hard-boiled egg, vermicelli, and optionally with a lot of koya made from real prawn crackers.

Indeed, there’s more to it than just Pak Sadi’s face on the billboards or the plates used at his restaurants. Pak Sadi started it seriously and now his restaurant is known as the true name behind any soto Ambengan you can see around – on par with other top soto from all over Indonesia.

That alone is already a huge contribution of this country’s massive culinary legacy and his heritage continues still thanks to a great family teamwork, very much likely until far in the future.

SOTO AYAM AMBENGAN PAK SADI (ASLI) | Jalan Wolter Monginsidi no. 28, Jakarta | T: +62 21 7279 3057 Opens at other places in Jakarta and Surabaya

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T R I E D A N D TI P SI E D

Miss Mortlach

by JED DOBLE photographs by DENNIE RAMON

W

hisky aficionados and connoisseurs in Indonesia are rejoicing with the news that Mortlach Scotch Whisky is now available in the country.

Mortlach is one of the finest single malts to come out of Scotland, and is dubbed ‘The Beast of Dufftown.’ There are three new expressions: Rare Old; 18-Year Old; and 25-Year Old. Powerful and unique in flavor, Mortlach is the ‘best-kept secret’ among those in the whisky-know, with previous limited quantities on sale being snapped up quickly by enthusiasts. Now, after decades as a single malt captured by blenders for use in some of the world’s finest Scotch whisky blends, Mortlach is being given its own time to shine as a highquality, luxurious single malt in its own right.

“Mortlach was the first legal distillery in Duffton, which is in the heart of Speyside, the epicenter of Scotch whisky production in Scotland. And for many years, Mortlach was a well-kept secret,” global brand ambassador Georgie Bell reveals. “Before these bottlings, if you mentioned the name Mortlach to a avid whisky connoisseur, his eyes would light up. They would speak about it fondly, like a long lost love. It is that special.”

“If you speak to whisky creators and whisky blenders, they will tell you that Mortlach is their secret weapon. It has been going into some of the world’s best blends for decades, as a testimony to that John Walker & Sons bought the distillery in 1923. And at that time, they only owned one other distillery, so for them to buy it, it meant that Mortlach was very important for their blends.”

Georgie contines: “Within a blended whisky, Mortlach adds body, backbone, character and finesse. It’s that basically, why it is highly prized by blenders” With these extremely valuable whisky traits, it was not unusual that those who knew kept it a secret. Production was all being taken up by those using Mortlach for other blends, hence there was not much opportunity to bottle it on its own. Before this current bottling, Mortlach was very hard to come by and is only now readily available.

Throughout its history, there have only been nine official bottlings, and a plethora of private and independent bottlings, people/ groups who buy single casks and bottle the whisky themselves.

“The richness and authenticity of Mortlach‘s heritage is what, along with

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Diageo recently launched Mortlach luxury single malt scotch whisky in Indonesia with global brand ambassador Georgie Bell.

its extraordinarily distinct flavor, really sets it apart. Dating back almost 200 years, it embodies the brave vision of its entrepreneurial founders, the Scottish civil engineer George Cowie and his son Dr. Alexander Cowie. They, like other likeminded Victorian whisky-makers of that golden age, are responsible for creating the unique and astonishingly complex process 2.81 distilled, that characterizes the richly flavored whisky we know today,” Georgie explains.

Inspired by the golden age of engineering in which the liquid was born, Mortlach is presented in a striking and iconic

contemporary-style bottle, which boasts strong lines and a generous decanter- style neck designed to protect and enhance the fine whisky it contains. For any with a passion for the very finest of Scotch whiskies, Mortlach should fittingly take pride of place front and center of the drinks cabinet.

“With the launch of these three new expressions, each beautifully powerful and complex in their own way, Mortlach can finally take up its rightful position as one of the finest premium single malts in the world and be enjoyed by more than just a handful of privileged connoisseurs.”

T R I E D A N D TI P SI E D

www.mortlach.com

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T R I E D A N D TI P SI E D

Undoing the Ordinary

by SAHIRI LOING photographs by DENNIE RAMON

There are sophisticated ways to explain why you enjoy a glass of wine, which may put you at risk of being labeled a snob. But for Anthony Walkenhorst, chief winemaker of Kim Crawford, it’s the simple things that matter.

B

eing a winemaker takes a specific set of skills. They supervise and coordinate the production of wine, which involves overseeing the growth, harvest, fermentation, aging, blending and bottling of grapes. It may come naturally to some, and to some it might be a calling, just ask Anthony Walkenhorst who first discovered the beauty of winemaking during his teenage years.

“When I was 16 I got two weeks off from school to get work experience,” says the chief winemaker of Kim Crawford. “And I immediately fell in love with the job from day one. I remember having lunch outside near the vineyards and thinking that this might be the job I want to do for the rest of my life. I love the physical appeal of working with your hands, as well as the hard work in order to make the perfect wine.”

Anthony was on a tour tour across Asia to promote the New Zealand-based wine brand. We got a chance to meet him at the swanky and wine-sipping-approriate E&O restaurant at Mega Kuningan, where he was having a food pairing event with a selection of Kim Crawford’s high quality wines. And it was a delicious pairing indeed, especially the 2013 Pinot Noir with the savory Massamam Lamb Curry or the Sauvignon Blanc with my personal favorite from E&O’s signature dishes, Crispy Fish wrapped in rice paper rolls and assorted fresh herbs.

The Melbournian has been working hard at the winery for eight years now, and his vast experience in cultivating the best flavors in wines certainly comes in handy when he became part of the Kim Crawford family. Interestingly, his approach to wine making might tempt you to call him a grape whisperer. “I do like to give my own touches to it, but I don’t want to tweak it too much since the way they grow it is already perfect,” he says. “I prefer to give the process a minimal winemaking input because I also want the grapes to express themselves. Letting Mother Nature to do the rest.”

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T R I E D A N D TI P SI E D

OTAK OTAK BINATU AN | Jalan AM Sangaji No. 23, Jakarta | T: +62 21 6386 4027

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T R I E D A N D TI P SI E D A FAMILY AFFAIR Kim Crawford may be considered young—it was founded in 1996 by husband and wife team, Kim and Erica Crawford—but their output has already been internationally recognized, especially for their Sauvignon Blanc, Unoaked Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio and Pinot Noir. Their initial method of winemaking is a bit unorthodox: they sourced the grapes from contract growers and made their wines at other wineries.

This kind of processing is called virtual wineries, and Kim Crawford was one of the first brands in New Zealand to use such a technique.

Anthony certainly has nothing but respect for the esteemed winemaker. “Kim Crawford won the title of New Zealand’s best winemaker twice in a row which was unprecedented,” he says. “And for me Kim Crawford’s wine is a great representation of the variety of wines that are distinctive to New Zealand.” His favorite amongst their screw-cap line by far is the Sauvignon Blanc: “It’s very aromatic, good flavors on the palette. It just jumps out of the glass”. In fact, the 2013 Kim Crawford Small Parcels Spitfire Sauvignon Blanc was named

by Wine Enthusiast magazine as one of its “Best of New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs” awarding the wine 91 points.

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So what sets them apart? “At Kim Crawford, we want our wines have a consistent fresh, fruity, and clean character,” he answers confidently. Their state-ofthe-art winery in the Marlborough region (at the northern end of of New Zealand’s South Island) enables them to pick grapes at optimum ripeness without the restrictions of processing facilities. Its abundant sunshine coupled with cool nights definitely help preserve the wine’s vibrant flavors.

MARLBOROUGH MAN Though he grew up in Melbourne, these days Anthony has settled comfortably in the small town of Marlborough with his wife and two children. “It’s a town of 30,000 people, no traffic lights, and everything is five minutes away,” he says fondly. Its mountain range provides perfect fodder for vineyards. “Our wineries in Marlborough are just great, giving us classical flavours as well as hints of tropical fruits such as the star fruit.”

His early days were filled with peripatetic journey across the U.S, Europe, Canada, and, of course, Australia, where he spent his days studying the art of winemaking.

“Among the many things I learned from my travels, the most important was that it

really opened my eyes to how varied wines are and the many different styles in making wine,” he recollects. “And the rest is just learning the techniques of highly regarded winemakers. What I discovered is that there are no set ways as every winemaker has his own artistic ways.”

The artistic elements are definitely what captivates him the most, though there are certain guidelines to follow in making wine “But there’s also science behind it, a certain chemisty in which there are other elements you can use to make your mark.

But for me, simply seeing the evolution of the grapes from the vines into something beautiful in a glass is more than enough.”

Their campaign for Kim Crawford bears an intriguing concept: Undo Ordinary, which he said suits the company very well.

“Undo Ordinary is one of the ideas behind making our wines,” he explains. “We want everybody to enjoy our wine and have fun with it, such as the wine popcicles they served that night at E&O. The aim is not to be too serious with wine.”

Anthony says that the day-to-day life of a winemaker, like the act of turning grapes into wines, are varied and are rarely regular. And indeed, with a glass of Sauvignon Blanc in one hand, why should you take life seriously?

T R I E D A N D TI P SI E D

KIM CRAWFORD WINES | www.kimcrawfordwines.com | Facebook: Kim Crawford Wines | Instargram & Twitter: @kimcrawfordwine

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TRIED AND TESTED

Soups by Chef Yuda

by JED DOBLE photographs by DENNIE RAMON

It has been awhile since we first featured Chef Yuda Bustara, so we got hold of him and asked him to make some of his favorite soups.

Y

uda Bustara is a busy man. He has so many things going on, that it was quite difficult to pin him down for this feature. But lucky enough, we got hold of him and he readily accepted our challenge to share with us his favorite soups.

“I love soups, any kind of soup!” Yuda acclaims. “I’m the type of person who doesn’t really like to chew on my food too much. My ultimate favorite would be the classic wild mushroom soup, with chanterelles and truffle, if possible and cauliflower soup.” Yuda shares with us his roasted cauliflower soup for us this month.

“I got this recipe when I was working at Crown Melbourne. I found out that to make good soups, you don’t need a lot of ingredients, in this case you just need two, cauliflower and water. But to give it an edge, to make it fancier I add goat’s cheese and homemade spiced oil, this is really worth to try at home. It’s so easy to make and very nutritious.”

He also shares for us his Thai tomato soup. “I’m making the Thai tomato soup since I love tom yum gong a lot, but I don’t really like it when its too spicy, so I decided to lighten it up by making it more tomato-ish so everybody can have it.

The last soup Yuda is sharing is a sweet soup or a dessert soup, inspired by all the Taiwanese dessert stalls that you find all over Jakarta. “I’m making a salted caramel hazelnut soup. You can serve this ice cold, or warm with a glass of milk. Perfect to end a heavy meal.”

But we won’t let him go just yet, of course we want an update on what has been keeping him busy. “I am still doing my TV show for the Asian Food Channel and my YouTube channel. I am also preparing for my own tableware collection. We are now designing it, so hopefully we can launch it at the end of the year. I am also off to Europe soon, to shooting for a new cooking show with Swedish chefs and local celebrities. Our goal is to introduce Indonesian food to the world. So that is pretty exciting. Watch out for it!” the busy chef reveals.

Well, Chef Yuda’s proverbial plate or in our case, soup bowl, seems pretty full at the moment. Exciting times for this young chef.

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TRIED AND TESTED

THAI TOMATO SOUP WITH LIME LEAF OIL Serves: 4

INGREDIENTS: 800 g 1 cup 1 tbsp 1 tbsp 1/2 cup 2 tbsp 1 tsp 1 tbsp

Tomatoes, blended Water Shrimp Paste Tom Yum Paste Coconut Cream Lime Juice Fish Sauce Oil

STEPS

• In a saucepan, heat oil and sauté shrimp paste and tom yum paste until fragrant.

• Add the blended tomato, water, coconut cream and let it boil, once boil turn down the heat and let it simmer until soup reduces and thickens • Add tlime juice and fish sauce to taste.

• Serve with crusty bread and garnish with kaffir lime leaf oil • Kaffir Lime Leaf Oil: Blend all ingredients together in a food processor.

Kaffir Lime Leaf Oil 5 lime leaves 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

pinch of salt

YUDA BUSTARA | @yudabustara | www.youtube.com/c/yudabustarakitchen

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TRIED AND TESTED

ROASTED CAULIFLOWER SOUP WITH GOAT CHEESE AND SPICED OIL Serves: 4

INGREDIENTS:

1 head Fresh Cauliflower,

roasted in the oven until cooked 1/2 pc Onion, sliced thinly 2 cups Water 70 gr

Goat’s Cheese

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1 tbsp

Extra Virgin Olive Oil salt and pepper to taste

Spice Oil 1 tsp 1/2 tsp 3 tbsp

Chili Flakes Cumin Powder Olive Oil Pinch of Salt

STEPS

• In a pot, sauté onions until soft and translucent

• Add roasted cauliflower and water, let it boil and turn of the heat • With a hand blender, blend everything until smooth, season with salt and pepper • To serve, crumble goat’s cheese on top and add spice oil • Spiced Oil: Sauté all ingredients in a saucepan until fragrant and let cool

TRIED AND TESTED

SALTED CARAMEL HAZELNUT SOUP Serves: 1

INGREDIENTS:

90 gr Hazelnuts, roasted until brown

3 tbsp 1/2 tsp 2 cups 2 tbsp 3 tbsp

Sugar Sea Salt Water Rice Flour Evaporated Milk

STEPS:

• In a blender, blend hazelnuts, water and rice flour until well blended and creamy.

• Pass the mixture through a sieve • In a pan, add sugar and 1 tbsp water and let it turn into caramel, once the color turns to dark amber, add in the hazelnut liquid and let it simmer for about 8 minutes.

• Once the soup thickens, add in the sea salt, mix well.

• Serve the soup warm, topping with some evaporated milk

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STUFF OF LEGENDS

CHEF BUYUNG RADIANSYAH – THE IRON CHEF

by RIAN FARISA photographs by RIAN FARISA AND CHEF BUYUNG RADIANSYAH’S PERSONAL COLLECTION

Here we meet Chef Buyung Radiansyah, our first ever professional and celebrity chef that we had in our past culinary scene. Here we can learn more on why he deserves to be called an Iron Chef and as somebody who fulfills his life.

TRIED AND TESTED

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STUFF OF LEGENDS

D

uring the earlier era of cooking competition TV shows, we knew not of MasterChef, Top Chef or Cutthroat Kitchen. There was a time when Gordon Ramsay, George Calombaris, or the stature of celebrity chefs had not yet ruled over what we see in television or Youtube.

That was the time when Iron Chef was all that we knew. The competition that pits two professional chefs against each other over a title dubbed as the Iron Chef in categories such as Western, Chinese, or local cuisine. The fierce competition requires each chef to battle their might and magic in cookery skills for not only taste but presentation over a random main ingredient, decided only before the clash.

The show ,which originated from Japan, became hugely popular and franchised to many countries such as The States and also Indonesia. Here, it was renamed as Allez Cuisine and received warm response from the public during the course of its air time for more than a year in the early 2000s.

For those who used to be fans of the show, like me, would have remembered Indonesia’s first ever Iron Chef - a professional chef who managed to hold his title for ten times in a row.

It was Chef Buyung Radiansyah - a shy, tall chef who owns a huge talent but modesty at the same time. Being a chef for almost 25 years now, Chef Buyung welcomes us at his home to retell the story of a hero behind the hot kitchen who experienced what it was like being a professional and a celebrity chef at the same time.

Chef Buyung started his career in Bali after finishing his high school. “I was not born from a traditional food loving family and I can’t even speak English that time, but even with such limitations, I love working in the kitchen”, he admits modestly.

His knack to withstand the long hours assisting in the kitchen even without the extra pay earned him respect from his comrades. Soon he was asked to be a full timer and that was the offer he had been longing for. “Afterwards, I bought myself two thick books about English grammar and conversation. I was determined to be a better chef for international level”, says the

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chef laughing.

Starting from his gig with Hyatt at Nusa Dua, Chef Buyung had since been around working at the group’s establishments in Jakarta and other countries as well. “I moved to Grand Hyatt Jakarta for some time and also at Aryaduta when it was still owned by Hyatt. Other than that, I spent my life abroad when I was still with the group”, explains Chef Buyung.

His first time experience abroad was when he was tasked to assist in the Sultan’s palace kitchen in Brunei Darussalam. The hospitality affairs at the palaces there are apparently managed by Hyatt.

“It was massive. I have never seen a kitchen so big with equipments more numerous than any of the hotels I had ever been at in Indonesia”, he says. “During the Ramadan, the team cooked in colossal scale every day since the Sultan wants to distribute complete iftar offerings for every mosque in the country. One time, I was tasked to oversee more than two dozen rice cookers at one time. That was something”, continues the chef.

After around half a year, his next destination abroad was Dubai during the peak of its development in the late 90s.

For Chef Buyung, his experience here was the one that proved his mettle with the challenges in the kitchen. “In Dubai, our team was comprised of people from many nationalities and since we were just starting, we experienced shortages in human resources. Therefore we have to make it up by working long hours”, tells the chef.

There was a time when he had to fill in the gaps left by the other fellow chefs who fell sick that day. Chef Buyung had to work for more than 24 hours straight until he finally got that break time that he deserved so much. During his tenure there, he was also tasked to improve the presentation of Indonesian food as well.

“Slowly but surely, I made Indonesian food more presentable and our nasi goreng and sop buntut became a big hit there”, he says.

It was in early 2002 when he returned to Indonesia and worked at Hyatt Aryaduta.

Suddenly an offer came up for him to join the Allez Cuisine. Hesitant at first, finally he decided to join the game with his

trusted friend as the sous chef.

“My first challenge is to beat the incumbent Iron Chef of Chinese Cuisine and he’s a colleague of mine from Grand Hyatt Jakarta”, he retells the competition.

He says that his opponent did well with the execution and was very methodical, meanwhile Chef Buyung himself decided to be more daring with his presentation.

“The juries ultimately decided that I won that battle and I became the next Iron Chef!”, he exclaims with a surprised look, as if the competition just happened yesterday.

From there, it was smooth sailing for Chef Buyung. His improvisations with his Chinese food and his proven mentality to face pressure earned him a straight nine wins after his first match. He was undefeated until the 10th round and finally it was time for him to resign as per the regulation of international Iron Chef.

“That was the time when people began to recognize my face. They asked me for selfies and even a lady from far away sent me a bouquet of flowers”, remembers Chef Buyung laughing.

However, Chef Buyung in the end decided to return back to the place where he truly belongs – the hotel kitchen.

There was a lot of offers for him to star in advertisements and even a tour around the country, all of which he ultimately declined.

For Chef Buyung, his career was all about harmony in life. His latest spell now at Bidakara Hotel Jakarta gave him peace of mind as he can divide his time equally for family and his spiritual needs as well. “My tenure here at the fifth year now marks a new achievement for me. Here I can finally be at peace with everything that I do every day personally and professionally”, admits Chef Buyung.

There may be a lot to be seen from Chef Buyung if he ever decided to walk down that path long ago but instead he chose to be a hero in recluse. Perhaps what we can actually appreciate is not all about what one can gain from fame, but the peaceful solitude where one became composed with his life and at ease with his surroundings.

Whatever the path that he chooses, he will always be our first ever Iron Chef.

STUFF OF LEGENDS

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PA N T R Y 1 0 1

ALL ABOUT STOCKS

by KYLE GREGORIO

Chicken Stock

Salmon Fish Stock

INGREDIENTS:

INGREDIENTS:

4 lbs

1 pc

2 qrts 2 tbsps 2 pcs

Chicken backs, wings, and/or legs that have been hacked with a cleaver into 2-inch pieces.

Large yellow onion, chopped Olive oil Boiling water Salt Bay leaves

STEPS

• Heat 1 tbsp. of olive oil in a large stockpot. Add one chopped onion. Sauté until softened and slightly colored - 2 to 3 minutes.

Transfer to a large bowl.

• Add half of the chicken pieces to the pot. Sauté until no longer pink, about 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer cooked chicken to bowl with onions. Sauté the rest of the chicken the same way. Return onion and chicken pieces to the pot. Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook until chicken releases its juices, about 20 minutes.

• While the chicken pieces are cooking, fill a large teakettle with 2 quarts of water, bring to a boil.

• After the chicken pieces have been cooking for 20 minutes, raise the heat level to high, add the 2 quarts of boiling water, 2 tsp of salt, 2 bay leaves. Return to a low simmer, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon, then cover and barely simmer for about 20 minutes.

• Strain stock and discard solids.

• Pour into jars and let cool, before putting into the refrigerator.

Stock will last a week or so in the refrigerator or frozen for several months.

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1 pc 1 pc 2 cloves 1 pc 1 pc 3 pcs 5 pcs 6 cups 1 cup

STEPS

Salmon head (2 to 2 1/2 pounds) Small onion, quartered Garlic Carrot, cut into 2-inch chunks Bay leaf Sprigs fresh thyme Peppercorns Cold water Dry white wine

• Rinse the salmon head and remove the gills, if necessary, leaving the gill plates intact. Using a sharp knife split the salmon head in half lengthwise. Place the salmon in a 6-quart saucepan and add the onion, garlic, carrot, bay leaf, thyme, and peppercorns to the pan. Add the water and wine. The fish head should be completely submerged; if not, add a bit more water. Bring the liquid to a boil and then reduce to a bare simmer. Partially cover the pot and simmer for 1 hour.

• Transfer the pieces of salmon and the vegetables to a large fine-mesh sieve set over a large bowl to catch all the juices. Do not press on the solids. Pour the stock through the sieve into the large bowl. Discard the solids. Let the stock cool. Stir the stock occasionally to help cool it down. Cover and refrigerate the stock for up to 2, days. Once the stock is chilled, skim any congealed fat from the surface using the side of a large spoon. To keep the stock longer, transfer to a freezer container, allowing 1 inch of headspace, and freeze for up to 6 months.

PA N T R Y 1 0 1

Ever wonder how to make your own stock as a flavored liquid preparation? Here, we have easy recipes of basic stocks to help you in your next cooking endeavor.

Vegetable Stock

Beef Stock

INGREDIENTS:

INGREDIENTS:

1 tbsp 1 tbsp 1 pc 2 pcs 2 pcs 1 stalk 1 bunch Several sprigs Several sprigs 1 dried

STEPS

Unsalted butter Olive oil Onion, (about 1/2 pound), coarsely chopped Carrots, (about 1/4 pound), coarsely chopped Parsnips, (about 1 pound), coarsely chopped Celery, coarsely chopped Red or green Swiss chard (about 1 1/2 pounds) Fresh thyme Fresh flat-leaf parsley Bay leaf

• In a medium stockpot over medium-high heat, melt butter and olive oil. Add onion, and cook, stirring, until caramelized, about 8 minutes. Add carrots, parsnips, and celery; cook until tender, about 15 minutes.

• Wash and drain chard thoroughly. Chop into 1-inch pieces. Add to the vegetable mixture. Then add 3 quarts plus 2 cups cold water, thyme, parsley, and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and let simmer about 1 hour; liquid should be highly flavored.

• Remove from heat, and strain stock through a fine sieve, pressing on vegetables to extract juices. Discard vegetables. Stock can be refrigerated for 3 to 4 days or frozen for up to 3 months.

10 pcs To taste

1/4 cup

Beef bones- Knucklebones and oxtails that are rich in gelatin Variety of veggies: Carrots, onions, celery, and garlic are my staples Black peppercorns Sea Salt Basil, Oregano, Rosemary, Thyme, Parsley, Sage, or other herbs and seasonings of your choice Apple Cider Vinegar Cold Water

STEPS

• Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Place the bones in a shallow roasting pan and allow them to roast until sufficiently browned.

• Wash and coarsely chop the veggies– don’t be afraid to include the carrot, celery, and onion tops.

• Add the veggies and bones to your slow cooker and season with your choice of herbs and spices.

• Cover completely with cold water and add 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar to help the bones release some of their minerals and gelatin.

• Set your slow cooker (or pot on the stove) to high and allow the stock to come to a boil, then reduce the setting to low and allow it to cook for anywhere from 12-24 hours.

• After 24 hours of simmering, you are ready to strain your homemade beef stock.

• Carefully pour the stock mixture into the colander.

• You could use your stock right away in a delicious soup, store it in the fridge for several days, freeze it, or can it.

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W H AT C H E F E AT S

DEWA PUTU RAI

by RIAN FARISA

When you are caught in confusion on what to pick between two good choices, sometimes you just have to pick both. In this issue, Chef Dewa Putu Rai decided to share both of his favorite meals to us.

S

ince we first started What Chef Eats back in December 2013, we have now known more about our friends from the kitchen. Through this rubric, we are discovering every month about their true calling - from the most primal dish and up to a gourmet recreation of comfort food they would love to enjoy from time to time.

There are those who simply share how enjoyable it is to escape once in a while with instant noodles or dining out on a warteg.

On the other hand, there are some who were inspired by their childhood memories.

This might sound very basic but chefs are humans after all.

Take Executive Chef Dewa Putu Rai of Pullman Jakarta Central Park as an example.

He went through his childhood living in a Balinese village. The young chef used to participate in festivities so many times in a year. During these events, usually every household would cook something special and that’s why his mind was set immediately to share us his secret comfort food – bebek betutu.

“My father cooked the best bebek betutu ever. Of course, living in the village required us to cook only with wood fire but I would relive the experience cooking it once in a while for the sake of nostalgia”, shares Chef Dewa.

However, there’s more than just bebek betutu for him apparently.

“Sometimes I drew my inspirations from my travels everywhere. Once I stopped by at a warung for a meal during a trip through East Java. Expecting nothing, I was utterly impressed with their nasi bakar. Which is why, I sometimes share my version of nasi bakar once in a while in the menu”, he continues.

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