frisky whisky friday

apologies again. been a while. not that i haven't been drinking but just had not time to write about it. the pleasure is in the drinking, rather than writing.
be that as it may, have a couple of friends down in jakarta and we will resuscitate the frisky whisky fridays that we used to have in kuala lumpur just over a year ago.
and since all the trips have brought forth a treasure trove of duty-free bottles and then some, it will be a pleasure to imbibe a few drams for a great weekend.
apart from the nasi padang that they all love so much. especially the sambal ijo.
by the way, malt closed down. it stopped getting single malts. and business just died.
there are a couple of other places that serve decent single malt in jakarta.
will update with a list.
soon.
i promise.
meanwhile, just got onto twitter so i can tweet and add pics on the run.
and after all that, slainte!

drinking at the malt

took a colleague to the malt in jakarta and there was a table reserved for me. not that it mattered as there were only a few tables occupied for the opening night.
one would think it would be packed but the chill of the global financial meltdown must have spooked many in the indonesian capital.
hence we were made very welcome.
there was not that much by way of choice except for the special on highland park 16 years old or the glenmorangie quinta ruban. we went for the highland park and some snacks.
the single malt came neat with ice cubes on the side, sticks of bittersweet chocolate and a carafe of japanese green tea. yes, the insidious mixture seemed standard at the malt but i would have none of that. asked for water if any was required.
that came promptly.
the highland park 16 years old was a deeper gold as the 40 percent alcohol by volume single malt is sherry casked. its nose had faint notes of smoke and vanilla together with some nuttiness.
took a sip of the dram together with the bitter chocolate - an excellent combination when trying out any single malt. the highland park 16 years old tasted of fruits with some spice and smoke.
the finish was pleasant without any drama. had to have more of the chocolate to keep this orkney whisky a pleasant dram.
by the way it was the gold medal winner - best in class at the international wine & spirit competition in 2006.
there wasn't that much of choice for other single malts as most were sold by the bottle.
will have to round up a crowd to get some of their bottles most of which i have had previously elsewhere. prices are higher than other cities but not as bad as other places in jakarta.
still, its next to the office and that is a plus point.
and this blog has just reached a milestone of sorts.
this is the 100th post.
have i drunk so much? or so little?
cheers!

malt follows me

been going past this place outside my office in jakarta and was wondering why it had a sign that simply said malt.
it became clear last night. the lights was on, there was a single girl inside and so, i dropped by.
turns out that malt is a bar and resto, thats restaurant in indonesian parlance. and guess what, they serve single malts. posters of lagavulin, oban and other familiar brands draped the walls around a cosy island bar filled with fine chairs and candle lights.
but no drinks were available last night. and i did not bring along my camera.
but there is a special open night tonight. single malt - either highland park 16 years old or a glenmorangie quinta ruban - together with a partagas cigar for rp375,000++.
pricey.
but i'll be there. at malt. no 2, jalan haji agus salim, jakarta.
tongue ready. camera ready.
and a whole lotta other things to update about.
cheers.

fast feast

its the fasting month and jakarta is a feast for both the eyes and belly.
thus far, the metaphysical hunger is greater than the physical hunger but jakarta can be decent for the soul if not sumptuous for the stomach.
anyway. this all brings us to resto kembang goela which is a renowned restaurant right in the city's business district along jalan sudirman. the restaurant, which tags itself as the isles of colourful spice, is in a handsome house filled with batik pieces in a parking lot behind plaza sentral.
also, in local parlance, kembang goela means candy. goela is the bahasa indonesia spelling for gula in bahasa malaysia which means sugar in english.
but there is more than candy in the store.
there is food.
good food from across the archipelago of 17,000 islands that blends together the best of the east and west - a melange of chinese, dutch and spice islands - for a feast to end a fast.
the kicker was es van midden java - thats dutch for ice from the middle of java - and for the rest of us, its cendol with ice cubes, not crushed or shaved ice. a colleague remarked that of course, penang has great cendol and specifically, the famous penang road cendol.
for the uninitiated, cendol is a pandanus flavoured and coloured starch noodles in a coconut milk with palm sugar syrup and ice - cubed, crushed or shaved.
i wondered who actually created the first cendol or es van midden java? the mamaks, chinese, dutch or javanese, sumatrans and what have you? apparently, it is from java.
my colleague, she travels to eat, did all the ordering.
we had keropok which is standard fare with some sambal, asem-asem noni (similar to clear thai tomyam) that just did the trick, ikan krapu bakar (grilled grouper) that was fresh and tasty, oseng brocoli (chinese-style brocolli) that was not that crunchy and tahoe telur beledek (egg with soya bean curd) that went well with is lovely dark soy sauce and something to really try.
ok. what else because it didn't end there.
we also had bebek bumbu lengkuas (duck friend with galangal and spices), ayam laos (fried chicken), bihun goreng (fried rice vermicelli) and my favourite and possibly the most awesome of dishes - the dendeng balado (thinly sliced pan-fried dried beef with chilli dressing) that is definitely the bomb.
scrumptious. delicious. just heavenly.
of course, it all went together with rice. had an extra helping of rice as the sambal - ground chili relish - came late. we had sambal ijo (green chilli), sambal terasi (the usual belacan) and sambal mangga (manggo sambal - quite nice) and drinks to go, including some sweet tea.
as it was the fasting month, the feast was quite fast. we finished in no time but lingered on for a colleague who was a bit late but no less hungry than the rest of us.
we were so full we couldn't try any more dishes or even the desserts.
if you are ever in jakarta, go try it for a good meal.
kembang goela is at plaza sentral parking lot, jalan jenderal sudirman kav 47-48. call +6221 5205651 for reservations.

harum manis jakarta

like kuala lumpur, jakarta is known for its street food, a variety as vast as the archipelago itself. and the mind boggling number of restaurants across the city of too many million people and gigantic grinding gridlocks.
but there is the food. and that helps though the mainly javanese diet is a tad too sweet for me.
the better half of sorts flew in and her friend recommended a decent restaurant for us to go to, as i was planning to celebrate her birthday. suffice to say the recommendation was great - a resto - as restaurants are called locally - named harum manis.
which also happens to be the name of a variety of mangoes. and you though it was only the alfonso.
the servings at harum manis is huge despite the decidedly high price for locals but decent enough for those from abroad as can be seen from some rave reviews.
we ordered standards like sop buntut, gado gado, some duck, crabs and of course keropok which came in a huge platter. the javanese cuisine and decor makes it a great restaurant to taste a bit of the rich indonesian cuisine.
the sop buntut was as good as i remembered it from another place a long time ago - the hotel sabang which now lays abandoned across from my jakarta office. the soup and quality ox-tail with almost no trace of fat was just too good to be true.
the duck or bebek was excellent as was the gado gado and the keropok. we were too full to touch the crabs but i heard it was great from a friend who took it off us.
what took the cake was the dessert. we had durian brule - creme brule with durian inside.
the heavenly creamy brule with its caramelised top combined rather well with the durian ensconced deep inside the brule.
it was a great end to a wonderful meal. she was happy. i am happy.
and if you want to be happy too in jakarta, then head to harum manis at the pavillion apartment retail arcade in jl kh. mas mansyur kav 24, jakarta 10220.
oh yes! you can order the durian brule for take-away but best consumed within hours. we nearly decided to take it across back to malaysia but it felt more comfortable in the stomach than a box.

nasi lemak komplit

not quite what i had in mind for a hearty breakfast but in jakarta, you get what you ask for.
have been stationed in the indonesian capital for a bit and had a couple of friends who came over for a visit at my current digs last week and they were hankering for a breakfast fit for champions.
since i didn't have much in the apartment, including coffee for the caffeine-addicted-visitors, we headed out towards the one-year-old grand indonesia shopping centre - spanking new and grandiose with tonnes of stuff - just minutes from where we were.
ie. the empty apartment.
we went to the food court in the lower ground floor next to the food hall supermarket and the meal du jour for them was of course mie goreng jawa and sop buntut. and of course coffee.
i decided that the nasi lemak komplit looked temptingly delicious and ordered one.
plus a cup of steaming hot toraja coffee. toraja is a mountainous district in the celebes highland. fact of the matter, coffee is endemic to indonesia, hence the term a cup of java just like its a cup of joe.
back to the nasi lemak komplit, it came complete with banana leaf as its base together with the fried scrawny chicken that seems standard in most indonesian dishes. the sambal came separate and while not spicy, had a crunchiness of spices and ginger reflecting the possible use of a mortar and pestle rather than the ubiquitous blender.
there was the usual complement of anchovies, nuts and strips of egg omelette that adorned the nasi lemak which wasn't that lemak.
having said that, it was a pretty decent nasi lemak and was more than complete for the entire day. something that has to be tried and tasted.
the coffee? it was great.

moshi moshi sushi

the jolly japanese journey continues in djakarta... errr jakarta with a visit to the smashing sushi groove restaurant tucked in the happening kuningan district.
my old friend new straits times correspondent amy chew had suggested the japanese joint famed for its ambience and amiable staff apart from good food. and to chew fat over past, present and future in the new year.
first off, the sushi groove is located in setiabudi plaza - a building with great collection of restaurants offering a spectrum of cuisine from east to west, north and south. and of course, the ubiquitous starbucks where i dawdled with a java chip frappucino before dinner.
what can i say, sushi groove had a funky fun look with two long communal tables with stools for an ecletic experience in dining. amy was slightly late so had the standard miso soup and edamame beans with chilled ocha.
the little lady turned up soon after and we turned our attention to the menu with help of the ever-smiling staff.
i settled for the ziggy roll when i noted it was my favourite combination of deep-fried soft shell crab with cabe rawit or birds eye chilli or chilli padi as we know it in kuala lumpur. but the cabe rawit was sliced too thin and would have been better if a bit chunkier.
actually i had this combination in another sushi joint in jakarta and it was called a kalimantan roll while there is a similar dish in kuala lumpur at shrooms in klcc. whatever it is called, it went well with the wasabi and more than provided the explosive zing.
amy opted for her favourite baby dragon roll that combined shrimp tempura with with unagi and crab salad with avocado and tobiko for a savoury experience. it was a nice and crispy experience.
especially with more wasabi than soyu.
we chewed more edamame apart from fat about the ways of the world when the lion roll turned up. it was the waiter's recommendation and we looked at it with anticipation.
the lion roll looked every bit like a group of lion dancers performing during the chinese lunar new year celebrations. a combination of silver cod and spicy tuna, the roll hit the right spicy fishy notes on its own and was heavenly when dipped with wasabi and soyu.
the place was getting crowded and chatty but the ambience with some light music plus the good food aroused our appetites further. we decided to make one last order and picked the golden gate roll.
bearing a slight resemblance to its more famous american namesake, the golden gate roll is fresh salmon and avocado topped with tuna. we thought we bit off more than we could chew but the roll surprised us.
the fresh salmon and avocado was heavenly especially with some wasabi. we took our time to savour the flavour, nibbling and chewing it as we sipped our ocha.
what a meal it was. and i must say jakarta is proving to be a gourmet's heaven. can't wait to try out the restaurants in setiabudi plaza and other parts of the sprawling city.

whisky galore

whisky galore - there is just so much to write about whisky this week.
friends in kuala lumpur went for the chivas 18 whisky tasting while the enthusiastic zeal of the freshly-converted-to-single-malts in djakarta ensured a steady supply of whisky for me.
also, there is a remake of an old film based on a Sir Compton Mackenzie book which i have read called - whisky galore! and guess what, surfed the world wide web and found that there is a beverage afficionado who has made a videocast of tastings called the beverage review.
the latest videocast - with host michael lam in his christmas cap - is on the macallan cask strength single malt.

meanwhile, after a couple of weeks in djakarta, my single malt enthusiast-friend amazed me by getting his brother come over from kuala lumpur with more single malts.
a surfeit of single malts to delight us all.
apart from the half bottle of 15-year-old french oak reserve the glenlivet, our choice expanded to the bowmore cask strength and the bowmore darkest.
the host had the privilege of choice and he chose the bowmore darkest.
good choice and we imbibed it with care, this time with an ice-cube to release the serpent that coiled out sinously like a belly-dancer jiggling her way through the floor.
a bit of toffee, some cinnamon and the oily peaty finish in the bowmore darkest made us finish a fair bit of the bottle. i had three tumblers of the darkest and left for home satisfied.
considering that we had some beers and sake earlier during a superb meal at the hamako japanese restaurant in blok m, djakarta. the salmon was firm and fresh and went well with the wasabi.
might post a review of the restaurant if i do make a return visit there.
merry christmas and a happy new year folks!

blogging burgers

the news from jakarta is that there is a pricey burger in town!

JAKARTA (Reuters) - A hotel in Indonesia is dishing out a hamburger that costs more than twice the monthly minimum wage in some parts of the country.

The $110 hamburger offered by the Four Seasons is made of Kobe beef with foie gras, Portobello mushrooms and Korean pears -- served with french fries, of course.

They're not exactly selling like hotcakes yet, but the hotel says it has sold 20 of the 1.0 million rupiah ($110.1) hamburgers since they were launched this month.

well, i haven't tried it yet but away from wading through whisky - i actually found a spot that makes pretty darn good burgers.
it's called the burger spot and is located at the plaza indonesia entertainment x'ntre along jalan mh thamrin in central jakarta.
let's just it's easier to say it is located just below the hard rock cafe in jakarta near the very famous roundabout or circus where many a protest is held every other week!
it's a simple set-up, just walk in and order your burger - the choice is between the hamburger, the cheeseburger and the double cheeseburger. there is also the other burger - barbeque bacon cheeseburger!
don't worry! it's all halal and made from beef patty. they put in a special sauce which gives it an extra zing.
i liked it! the beef is minced and ground into the finest of beef patties and grilled fresh together with fresh lettuce, juicy tomato slice, grilled onions and with the option of creamy cheddar.
there are the usual side-orders of a shake salad, french fries, curly fries and onion rings. of course, there is a soda fountain together with iced lemon tea and milk shakes.
what can i say! been there more than a couple of times and had a great time every time. i've had burgers in many places and this spot is one of the better ones.
and the best part is that it won't cost you US$110! the most expensive burger is the double cheeseburger and that is just about 10 ringgit or about US$3!
go for it whenever you are in jakarta.