Masakan Padang di Waterina

Dengan ambisi menjadikan Kedai Ibu sebagai salah satu saingan terberat restoran Garuda yang baru buka cabang di Singapura, Teh Ellen sedang mencoba kemampuan beliau untuk memasak makanan Padang/Minang (yang asli, tentu saja, bukan nasi padang Melayu ala Singapura). Alhamdulillah, saya dan istri pun turut "kecipratan rejeki" dan diundang sebagai salah satu (eh, apa salah dua, ya?) tester untuk mencoba masakan Padang hasil karya beliau.

Acara tersebut diadakan hari Sabtu kemarin (30 Desember 2006) di tempatnya Niko dan Mirna di Waterina. Tadinya acara makan malamnya akan diadakan di apartemen, tapi ternyata walaupun mendung, alhamdulillah tidak turun hujan, sehingga akhirnya acara diadakan di BBQ pit yang terletak bersebelahan dengan beberapa kolam renang yang ditata dengan apik. Inka dan Irza pun segera mengenakan pakaian renang mereka dan ikut menceburkan diri ke kolam renang, menyusul teman-teman mereka yang sudah berenang seperti Iffah dan Wafa.

Sambil mengawasi anak-anak mereka bermain dan berenang, para orang tua mulai menikmati masakan asli padang buatan Teh Ellen. Saya bold-kan kata asli-nya karena memang benar-benar masakan padang asli, seperti sate padang, ayam bakar, dendeng balado, rendang, gulai nangka, ayam goreng, ayam pop dan segala macam lauk padang lainnya. Memang cukup mengherankan, Teh Ellen yang asli orang Cirebon ini ternyata ahli memasak masakan padang.

Setelah selesai berenang, Inka dan Irza pun bergabung dengan teman-teman lainnya seperti Dandy, Algo dan Aily, serta Izan dan Ika, untuk bermain di playground yang juga terletak tidak jauh dari BBQ pit tempat acara diadakan. Saking asyiknya mereka bermain, sampai anak-anak tetangga lain yang ada disana juga ikutan main, dari mulai kejar-kejaran sampai bermain sepak bola. Bahkan, ada satu anak tetangga yang ngikutin Inka dan Irza sampai ke apartemen Om Niko di lantai atas! Walah, apa ngga dicariin tuh sama orang tuanya? :) :)

Foto-fotonya bisa dilihat disini dan disini (terima kasih kepada Judhi).

Padang Food Banquet at Waterina

Tante Ellen, the master chef of the famous Kedai Ibu food stall in Tanjong Pagar Complex, was trying her skills in the real nasi padang (Minang) culinary. Not the usual Malay-type nasi padang, of course. So she invited some of here friends, including my wife and I, fortunately, to try her real Padang cooking. The feast was conducted yesterday (Saturday, 30 December 2006) at Om Niko and Tante Mirna's place at Waterina.

The food is, simply, spectacular and wonderfulicious. :) :)

Inka and Irza were having a great time swimming at the swimming pool, which is located next to the BBQ pit where the feast took place. They were also having a great time playing with their friends, such as Aily and Algo, Dandy, Iffah, Wafa, Izan and Ika.

More pictures can also be found here (thanks to Om Judhi).

Mudik Trip #9: Pondok Indah Mall

One of our favourite shopping mall is the Pondok Indah Mall (PIM). Since it's quite near from our place in Cinere (about 30 minutes' drive during normal traffic without unexpected traffic jam), it's full of amenities. Parking is also now no longer a problem since the PIM 2 has plenty of parking space in the basements.

Sorry, didn't manage to take quite a lot of pictures of the mall, instead I took pictures of the kids. They had a good time exploring the mall. Their favourite place is, always, the Timezone, which is located on the second floor of the PIM 1. On top of that, Inka also had a great time playing at a playground, which is located on the third floor of PIM 2.

Our favourite makan place is the Bakmi GM, which is located on the same floor as Timezone, in front of the 21 Cineplex. The new PIM 2 building also has a very nice food court on the third floor.

Other pictures

http://www.flickr.com/photos/indrapr/tags/mudik2006/
Some of our other pictures taken during our mudik trip from end November 2006 to early December 2006, which was not inside the Photo Album.

Mudik Trip #8: Depok

My mother-in-law is going to Saudi Arabia for her Haj pilgrimage this year. Since she lives in Gandul, Cinere, which is (now) part of Depok, she needed to go to Depok quite often to make the necessary arrangement and preparation. In Indonesia, it's common for the whole family, relatives and neighbours to escort a Haj pilgrim to the departure point. Therefore, one day before her departure to Saudi Arabia, we went to Kelapa Dua, Depok to "escort" her to the buses waiting to take her and other pilgrims from Depok to a temporary Haj accommodation in Bekasi, before going to the Jakarta's Soekarno Hatta International Airport the next day to board the flight to Jeddah, which is the gateway airport to the Holy City of Mekkah.

After the buses left Kelapa Dua for Bekasi, we went to Margo City, a new shopping mall which is located along Jalan Margonda Raya, the busy main road leading to Depok from Jakarta. The shopping mall is located not too far from my ex-University campus, where I studied there for more than four years. Margo City is indeed a luxurious shopping mall, with Centro Department Store as the anchor tenant. J.Co Donuts and BreadTalk are also housed there, and there's Timezone amusement centre and food court on the second floor.

Inka and Irza were happily playing at Timezone while we were having our lunch at the food court there. Aunty Tessa, my wife's younger sister, ordered a Makassar-specialty grilled ribs (konro bakar) for me, which turned out to be very delicious! :) Before we left Margo City, we also stopped by at the counter of the famous J.Co Donuts to buy some nice handmade doughnuts. Inka is indeed, a very big fan of J.Co donuts!

Mudik Trip #7: Andung's House in Cinere

During our mudik trip to Jakarta, Indonesia, last month, we receive invitation from Andung, which is my mother-in-law's elder sister, to have dinner at her place in Cinere. "Andung" actually means grandmother in Minang language, and that's how Inka and Irza usually call her.

One of Andung's specialties, which is a hit for the kids, is her macaroni soup. I believe Inka finished couple bowls of macaroni soup at that time.

Happy New Year 2007

Wishing all my Christians friends a joyous and wonderful Christmas.

Wishing everyone a happy new year 2007. Hopefully we're looking forward to a better and wonderful year ahead.

Restoran Garuda

Restoran Garuda adalah sebuah restoran Indonesia yang menyediakan masakan Padang/Minang yang asli, bukan nasi padang yang banyak dijual di kedai-kedai Melayu Singapura. Berpusat di Medan, restoran tersebut sekarang sudah merambah ke kota-kota besar lainnya di Indonesia (termasuk Jakarta), dan bahkan sudah membuka cabang di Singapura. Mereka mempunyai cabang di Orchard Road, Singapura, di belakang pusat perbelanjaan The Heeren Shops, dan baru saja membuka cabang baru di VivoCity, Harbourfront, di lantai basement two (B2) dekat hypermart Giant.

Berita mengenai pembukaan restoran Garuda tersebut cukup mendapatkan sambutan yang cukup "meriah" dari komunitas Indonesia di Singapura di mailing list Indo-Sing. Harap maklum, di Singapura yang dipenuhi tempat makan Nasi Padang ala Melayu ini, sangat sulit untuk mendapatkan makanan khas Padang/Minang asli yang autentik. Beberapa rekan di komunitas Indo-Sing malah sudah pernah mencoba makan disana. Feedback dari mereka, makanannya lumayan enak dan asli Padang, walaupun harganya cukup mahal karena termasuk dalam kategori restoran kelas menengah di Singapura.

Selama di Singapura, saya belum pernah makan di kedua outlet tersebut. Saya malahan berkesempatan mencoba makan di Restoran Garuda pada waktu saya sedang mudik ke Jakarta bulan lalu. :) Restoran yang saya kunjungi terletak di Jalan Arteri Pondok Indah, di sebelah kiri jalan kalau kita dari arah Pejompongan ke arah Pondok Indah, pas sebelum perempatan lampu merah Kostrad.

Makanannya memang asli Padang, dan saya dan istri pun menikmati semua masakannya seperti gulai otak (hati-hati kolesterol!!), dendeng balado dan ayam bakar. Lumayan lah untuk perut yang biasa dikasih makanan Singapura dan selalu "rindu" masakan asli Indonesia. :) Tapi, untuk ukuran Jakarta, kayaknya makanannya tidak jauh beda dengan restoran-restoran Padang lainnya yang banyak bertaburan disana, seperti Sederhana dan Simpang Raya, padahal harganya lebih mahal. Sebagai contoh, satu potong gulai ayam di Garuda harganya sekitar 11-12 ribu rupiah, dibandingkan dengan di Sederhana yang harganya cuma sekitar 7-8 ribu rupiah.

Selain itu, kebetulan restoran yang saya datangi, walaupun ber-AC, tidak bisa bebas dari problem lalat. Banyak sekali lalat yang bertebaran di dekat meja, dan staff-nya pun tidak berupaya untuk membantu, misalnya dengan menyalakan lilin di atas meja untuk mengusir lalat. Dan, last but not least, istri saya pun kehilangan nafsu makannya setelah ada salah satu lalat yang jatuh dan masuk ke salah satu piring berisi kuah salah satu makanan yang disajikan...

Foto-foto (makanan) -nya bisa dilihat disini.

Mudik Trip #6: Garuda Restaurant

Garuda Restaurant is an Indonesian restaurants chain serving authentic Padang / Minangkabau food. They have a branch in Orchard Road, Singapore (behind The Heeren Shops), and just opened another branch at VivoCity's basement floor.

I haven't visited both outlets, instead, I managed to visit one of the restaurants in Jakarta during my mudik trip to Jakarta last month. The one I visited is the branch located along Arteri Pondok Indah highway. If you're taking the highway from Pejompongan towards Pondok Indah, the restaurant is located on the left side of the road, before the Kostrad junction.

How about the food? Well, we might appreciate its Minang-authenticity in Singapore, but in Jakarta? Not too much different from other Padang restaurants such as Sederhana or Simpang Raya. Furthermore, each dish is priced a bit more expensive compared to its competitors, so I don't see any added value to it. But still, the food can satisfy our Singapore-fed stomach craving for authentic Minang food. :)

Mudik Trip #5: Villa Cinere Mas

During our mudik trip to Jakarta, we also got the chance to visit Papa Dodi, Mama Inda and Naya's new house at Villa Cinere Mas, not far from my parents' house in Cinere. Mama Inda is my wife's closest cousin. Inka and Irza were very happy to play with Baby Naya. We also got the opportunity to have the famous Bakmi Villa as lunch.

Senayan City

Pada waktu kita mudik ke Jakarta kemarin, kita berkesempatan untuk mengunjungi Senayan City, sebuah pusat perbelanjaan baru di seputaran Senayan, tidak jauh dari Plaza Senayan. Saya pertama kali mengetahui tentang keberadaan pusat perbelanjaan baru ini setelah membaca salah satu postingannya Devi, salah seorang teman blogger saya di Jakarta. Tadinya saya pikir Senayan City ini adalah gedung baru yang terletak di pinggir Jalan Sudirman dekat Hotel Atlet Century Park itu, eh ternyata bukan. Itu malah mall baru yang lain lagi! Halah, memangnya harus ada berapa mall sih di sekitar situ, apa ngga kebanyakan? :)

Pusat perbelanjaan Senayan City itu ternyata terletak di seberangnya Plaza Senayan di Jalan Asia Afrika, dekat kampus Universitas Prof. Dr. Moestopo. Kalau tidak salah, dulunya disitu adalah taman bermain yang cukup rindang, sayang banget yah kok taman hijau tersebut malah dihilangkan dan diganti pusat perbelanjaan. Shopping mall ini benar-benar mewah, dengan banyak toko yang menjual barang-barang yang kita pun tidak sanggup beli. Salah satu keunikan mall ini adalah sebuah sepatu merah raksasa yang di-disain "menyangga" eskalator panjang dari lantai satu ke lantai tiga. Hmm.. apa hubungannya ama Sepatumerah partner-nya Dodol Surodol, ya? Jangan-jangan Okke itu disainer-nya? :) :)

Di lantai basement (atau lantai lower ground floor?) ada toko donat Krispy Kreme dengan salah satu petugasnya yang membagikan donat gratis! Wah, lumayaaaan... :) Krispy Kreme ini benar-benar menjadi saingan beratnya J.Co Donuts, yang tokonya juga di lantai yang sama, bahkan seberang-seberangan! :) Sayang yah, baik Krispy Kreme maupun J.Co ngga ada cabang di Singapura sini... :(

Untuk anak-anak, Timezone tetap menjadi tempat favorit mereka. Di Senayan City, Timezone terletak di lantai lima, satu lantai dengan food court. Food court-nya juga bagus, dengan suasana yang asyik. Inka dan Irza suka banget dengan pizza dari Trattoria Pizza, salah satu kedai di food court itu, karena pizza-nya tipis dan crispy, mirip pizza-nya New York Pizza yang mereka suka makan di Harbourfront Centre, Singapura.

Foto-fotonya bisa dilihat disini.

[English version]

Mudik Trip #4: Senayan City

During our mudik trip to Jakarta, we took the opportunity to visit Senayan City, a new luxurious shopping mall at the vicinity of Senayan, south Jakarta, not too far from Plaza Senayan. I first knew about this new mall from one of the posts written by Devi, my fellow blogger from Jakarta. She said that she really loves the mall (well, who doesn't?) so we went there just to have a look.

The mall is, indeed, luxurious, with many shops selling things we cannot afford. Somewhere in the basement -- or is it lower ground floor? ah, who cares... :) :) -- there's a Krispy Kreme donut outlet, with one of its staff giving out free donuts! Wow! This Krispy Kreme is really a stiff competitor to J.Co Donuts, which outlet is located on the same floor, just the opposite! Unfortunately, we cannot find both outlets here in Singapore.

As for the kids, Timezone is still, and will always still be, their favourite destination. In Senayan City, Timezone is located on the fifth floor, on the same floor as the food court. The food court is also nice, with great ambience. Inka and Irza really likes the pizza from Trattoria Pizza, one of the stalls in the food court selling pizza. Why? Because the pizza is thin and crispy, similar to New York Pizza which the kids usually eat at Harbourfront Centre in Singapore.

[Indonesia version]

Ulang Tahun Inka

Hari ini, 11 Desember 2006, adalah hari ulang tahun Inka yang ketujuh. Rencananya, Inka akan merayakan ulang tahunnya di rumah orang tua saya di Cinere sore ke malam nanti, bersama keluarga besar disana. Duh, sayangnya saya sudah berada di Singapura lagi sekarang jadi tidak bisa ikut menghadiri acara ulang tahunnya. Jadi sedih juga nih. Walaupun demikian, tadi pagi saya sudah menelepon Inka di Jakarta untuk mengucapkan selamat ulang tahun.

Jadi ingat acara ulang tahun Inka yang keenam tahun lalu, acaranya diadakan di McDonalds King Albert Park di dekat rumah. Waktu itu kita mengundang teman-teman Inka di sekolahnya yang dulu (Modern Montessori International), termasuk Gail, teman terdekatnya Inka di sekolahnya pada waktu itu. Selain itu, kita juga mengundang beberapa teman Inka, yang beberapa diantaranya baru kenal pada waktu itu. Diantaranya yang datang pada waktu itu adalah adalah Marsya dan Fadzil, Aidan, Hanan dan Haifa, Fira dan Adam, Qurratayun dan Qiratullah, Rifa, Nigel dan Ernest, dan beberapa teman lainnya. Tanpa terasa, setahun sudah waktu berjalan sejak saat itu hingga sekarang. Foto-fotonya pada waktu itu bisa dilihat disini.

Insya Allah, nanti kalau istri dan anak-anak sudah pulang ke Singapura, foto-foto ulang tahun Inka hari ini akan saya upload juga. Hingga saat ini, saya masih belum sempat meng-upload semua foto-foto selama saya dan keluarga mudik kemarin, akhir minggu kemarin baru sempat upload sebagian aja ke situs Multiply saya. Nanti kalau sempat akan saya upload semuanya disana.

Duh, jadi ngga sabar pengen cepet ketemu istri dan anak-anak... *sabaaaar.... tinggal tiga hari lagi...* :)

Singapura, 11 Desember 2006
*yang lagi kesepian dan kangen berat sama istri dan anak2* :) :)

Mudik Trip #3: Gandul

We also went to my mother-in-law's house in Gandul, a small village which is located east of Cinere. Normally, it will only take around 10-15 minutes to reach Gandul from Cinere, however there's a bridge construction which leads to the closure of the Jalan Bukit Cinere road, the main artery road from Cinere to Gandul. Therefore, to reach Gandul, we need to go through south Cinere (near Limo), and the roads are not in good condition, and the journey is taking much longer, around half an-hour's drive.

My mother-in-law held a small dinner event at her house in Gandul, since she would be going to Mecca for her Haj pilgrimage (she's currently in Saudi Arabia at the time of writing). We invited some of our relatives, and the food were marvelous. :) Dendeng balado, one of my favourite Padang dish, was on the menu list (my mother-in-law is a Minang). Some cakes were also being served, and to my surprise, comro (oncom di jero, a traditional Sundanese snack), is included as well.

Aunty Tessa (my wife's sister) bought frog balloons for both Inka and Irza, while the horse-cart toy was bought during our trip to Kelapa Dua, Depok for my mother-in-law's Haj departure.

Mudik Trip to Indonesia #2: Cinere

In my parents' house in Cinere, south of Jakarta, Inka and Irza were so happy to meet their cousins, Alif, Kayla and Baby Rafa. Alif and Kayla are the children of Uncle Arief and Aunty Via, while Rafa is the son of Uncle Firman and Aunty Ria.

Mudik Trip to Indonesia #1: Changi Airport

End of November until early December, the whole family went back to Indonesia to perform our mudik ritual. We usually went back to Indonesia during the Hari Raya holiday, but for this year, we can only go back to Indonesia during our children's school holidays, since Inka is already in Primary 1 this year (will be in Primary 2 next year) so our mudik schedule will now have to be synchronised with her schedule.

My wife, Inka and Irza flew off to Jakarta on 23 November 2006, while I followed two days later. I came back to Singapore last Tuesday, while my wife and kids are still in Jakarta now (at the time I write this article) and they will only be back mid next week.

Below are their pictures while they were at Changi Airport on 23 November 2006, on their way to Jakarta. They took Valuair flight to Jakarta. Valuair is a subsidiary of JetStar, and we chose them since it is the cheapest airline we can get for the days of our travel. Actually, Lufthansa had a promotion and their 7-day ticket was cheaper than Valuair's, however we couldn't use them since our stay in Indonesia would definitely be more than 7 days.