Monday 23 January 2012

Ah Mei in Jakarta

I am not refering to the Hong Kong singer.

But I am refering to this singapore brand restaurant located here in Oakwood in Mega Kuningan.

Remember when i mentioned how expensive food is here, well, so far the food at Ah Mei is delicious and big portion too.Which is why i told dearest hubby how i dont mind eating there when the food is worth what we paid.
They even have roti canai/prata and the Ah Mei milk tea is so sedap. It's milk tea which is it's house brand is similar to teh ais. Even its teh tarik is sedap..

I remember eating at Plaza Senayan food court. The place is similar to KLCC & Pavillion. But the size of the food court is smaller than in KLCC or Pavillion. The food is expensive and smaller in portion. One need to spend like around 40,000.00 rupiah for a meal.

I would love to try the local food that is sold at the gerobak.But do not dare if i will get stomachache. So far me and hubby only dare to buy local food from the food court only.. I still do not like the alpukat or avacado drinks. The lemak taste does not suits my tastebud somehow. But hubby loves it..

I have been going to malls just to check what kind of brands do they have in there.. And sometimes I don;t do lunch even though my two girls are with me. Hubby of course la  is at work.. I either make sure my girls eat some food before going out or we come back home to eat  for lunch. It is no worth paying for lunch at most of the big malls. But what I did is i buy for ourselves some treats like ice blended or some bakery. Only 1 ice blended ye!

My friend here commented how she prefers to stay at home rather than going to malls..Well, she has been staying here for 6 years. And i am at the 1st phase of checking out the malls. Actually I am not a shopaholic. But I am eager to see for myself what has been said by other about the size of jakarta shopping malls. Memang besar bangat!

Sunday 22 January 2012

cooking

Yep!

I have been doing lotsa cooking thesedays.. How not to when my eldest requested this and that. But I really do not mind at all ..In fact I just enjoy cooking it for them.. which is why this new hat as a ibu rumah tangga fits me so well!!! hahahahah...

Anyway, things here are so expensive . And I hate wasting my husband hard earned money like we are pouring water to our flowers or like the water tap where we leave it on when we are brushing our teeth. Ops! but not me. As I dont leave it on while brushing my teeth.

I did my own apam balik for two solid reasons. First reason is because the ready-to-make apam balik flour sold on the supermarket shelf is so expensive and secondly , actually one can make their own apam balik flour too.You just refer back to the box for its ingredient. Which I did that. So apam balik is just like pancake. Except you excluded the milk or buttermilk & eggs.

So yeah, Arissa is having the marvelous time of getting me to cook this and that. I have been making apam balik these whole week. Last week was the cekodok cheese flavour...Yep! it is cekodok cheese which u just subtitute pisang/banana with cheese. OOh! It's so nice.

I have been planning to make this since my confinement period. It was put up in my cousin's blog and the recipe is purely created by my aunty.. You need to use kraft cheedar cheese for this.. Here the kraft cheddar cheese is so expensive. It's  cost about RM5 ringgit more than in Malaysia..And i did try the made-in Indonesia kraft cheddar cheese which is totally  tak sedap. So my next substitute will be the Bego brand. Will use it next when Arissa requested for it.

But I can't bake in this apartment as there is no oven. Plus all my cooking gadgets are still inside the boxes in the warehouse. So not all types of food & cooking I can do . I am limited by the gadgets and also by the food stuff that is not widely available or not available at all here in Jakarta.

Mind you all, that I have yet to see cili kering or dried chili which is the main ingredient to make sambal tumis. Sambal tumis is Arissa's all time favourite. She can have it on a daily basis.  I do not know what I will have to use when we ran out of it  later. We have packed a good amount of cili kering .But it is at the warehouse. And the frozen & cooked sambal tumis that is lovingly cooked by my MIL is almost finishing . In fact the blended cili kering is almost finishing too.. Hubby gave an idea of using cabe merah here. This I will resort in the near future..hehheh

Saturday 21 January 2012

Teh Tarikh RM10

I mentioned how food  is expensive here. Well, raw or cooked, almost everything on the supermarket shelves are expensive.

I had the greatest idea of using locally made in indonesia stuff for cooking. Nevetheless to say, i got a shock when these locally Indofood brands are expensive too. So at last, i resort to  what is cheaper. Does not matter the brand or whether it is imported or local products.

Even my indonesian maid got a shocked of her life when she found out how expensive the fresh cabe merah is. Of course the place where you buy it does play a major factor in the price. But things here are  expensive. I have made comparison of Carrefour located in Kuningan area ( upmarket) with Carrefour located in middle class market. And yes, its cheaper there. I just can't wait to do my groceries shopping at the pasar once we get our house..

About the teh tarik..yes, it is priced like that. Thank goodness it is sedap and served in big glass. Not in small glass like in some kedai mamak ok..

Thursday 19 January 2012

Ibu RumahTangga

I am wearing a new shoes these days.. And it’s a well-known brand that is recognized all over the world.


I have just started wearing it just a day before new year . Before year 2012. So far the shoes fit nicely with me. It fits nicely that I hardly notice any bruises on my toes which a new pair normally leave.

Have been wearing it every day without failed. Wanna know what brand is it?

New shoes aka SAHM status!

I am a stay at home mother/mom/mama. I am also the Finance Minister, the Event Planner, the Nanny, the BFF and also the EVIL MONSTER!!! Hahahahah.. My cousin called it “ naga berapi” aka the fire dragon. But I can be my girls fairy god mother too in a split seconds..

Anyway, I have to say that I barely notice or feel the differences in my new work..Yep! It is a work indeed. And it’s a hard work too..I really don’t know why is it that I do not notice any transition phase from being a working mother to a SAHM now.

By right I should be feeling something. But none with me. Is it because of the apartment where I am living currently? I do believe that it makes me feel like I am on a holidays. But you do not do lotsa cooking when on holiday’s right?

Maybe because I have been so busy with Arissa’s school finding.. Yep..We, err r more to I actually as hubby needs to be in the office. So I did a lot of school hunting for Arissa.

Need to pick the right school for her in the sense that the school’s education systems shouldn’t be different from Malaysian school system. This is vital as we want a smoother transition for Arissa when we come back to Malaysia for good once my husband’s contract expired.

This is why we did not pick any international school even though we can do that.

Back to my new shoes aka new status as SAHM, I feel like I am born for it ..hahahhahah… All because the shoes fit nicely and no any red marks/bruises on my toes and feet.

And I did a lot of cooking in the sense we have teas too. I really do not mind making cekodok or apambalik or any type of food that is specially requested by my two girls. But I wish I can have all my cooking gadgets ASAP. All of it is still in the warehouse waiting to be shipped here. And it will be shipped once we found a nice house . This can only be settled once we get Arissa’s school confirmed!!

I used to be worried about being a SAHM. Worried what will become of me. What if I become bored of it. But I don’t deny that could happen to me once Arissa starts her school. Argh!

Saturday 7 January 2012

Life & Live from Jakarta

Today is day eigth of my life in Jakarta.

We arrived here last Saturday Dec 31st 2011 on Garuda Airlines.Why Garuda?Well, all because  dearest hubby had found out that each seat in the flight comes with its personal tv screen. Judging from the flight interior, i think they had it redesigned. One think that it is not hard to notice is the steward & stewardes. They are in their late 30's with average looks. hahah.. I always think that they will be handsome & pretty like Ken & Barbie!

The first few days of my life without being able to stay connected to FB was horrible. I felt so loss! hahha..Hubby had a great laugh at this. I was at a new place. Living a new life. And there was no FB to make me feel like home in a new country. Alhamdulillah.. Now I got my FB back after hubby got my new local hp no.

And we are staying in what is called as Jakarta Golden Triangle..