Good Old Fried Chicken

These Indonesian style fried chicken is just so good on some cooler days. Simply eat them with warm rice and chili sauce on the side. So yummy!

Crystal Jade Teochew Jakarta

Pacific Place in Jakarta was still under construction when we went to Jakarta two years ago. By the time we were there last month, the mall is up and running and frequented by a gazillion of people. Ritz Carlton Hotel, not the one involved in the recent explosion, is adjacent to the mall. The mall has everything but nothing cheap.

There are MANY restaurants and places to eat there. Of course, out of that many, DH picked one that he is familiar with, a restaurant within the family of Crystal Jade, a place that was safe enough for everyone to like the food. We had dinner upon our arrival in Jakarta after traveling out of the city for a few days with two of my sisters and four children altogether. A party of 10, hungry and tired.

The food we had were good in general and their service was good too, as is in most Indonesian restaurants. People were really friendly and patient with our requests. I always appreciate waitresses that show willingness to wait on the table unlike some we encounter very often here.

As we finished and walked out the long corridor to the exit, every single employee that we passed and saw each of us, thanked every single one of us...... I never got as many thanks in my life before. Never ever. Really something!

Later that night, four of the ten people went to see The Transformers 2. The other six, went back for bed - exhausted.

Quick Char Siu Chicken

There was no big enough appetite in the house tonight. DH is away until Saturday and No.1 was a bit down with flu and was a little down with her appetite as well. On top of that, she has activity outside until 9PM. I found myself wanting a small dinner, more like a small supper. The two junior members left, claimed to be "quite full" after having some tea after school, but I was aware that there was always a slight possibility that it could change, depending on "the smell" of what I cook.



I wanted my meal to be ready in around 15 minutes. With that in mind, I only needed: a couple tablespoon of Char Siu sauce, around 1 cup of sliced chicken fillet, 2 tablespoon of honey and some 1/2 tsp of chilli powder. Mix all of them in a bowl and leave it for 5 minutes. I cooked white rice while waiting for the chicken to be ready for cooking. Heat a tablespoon of cooking oil in a skillet, put the chicken in, stir well, cover and occasionally stir.



Turn off the heat when the liquid nearly runs out.



My supper was served. Of course, the two juniors sniffed, followed the smell of the food and grabbed some as well.

Working With Kaffir Lime Leaves

I got a whole packet of kaffir lime leaves last week. I needed about five of them to make Indonesian snack lemper ayam, banana leaf-wrapped chicken rice parcels. Either banana leaves or crepes are used in Indonesia to wrap the rice. The kaffir lime leaves was cooked together with the chicken, the result was just great, great fragrance. I didn't have any banana leaves therefore I used crepes to wrap them. It was my first attempt and I was quite happy with the result.



I am left with still plenty of kaffir lime leaves. I know that some Thai dishes use kaffir lime leaves but I was not into Thai food at the moment. An idea came to head, another Indonesian dish that could use more of my leaves, called Opor Ayam or Coconut Curry Chicken. Searching the recipe on the net, I found that different website gives variations of the recipe, but I picked up some ingredients that I had and tossed in some leaves on my dish. I love it, despite having to answer at least four similar questions from the people that live with me here, what I cooked. I thought it was delicious and authentic. I had it with steamed white rice and I thought I would cook them again in the future. DH refused to have them because it has lots of coconut milk. I was not surprise.



I longed for something spicy all week. With a pack of shrimp in the fridge, I made a quick stir fry with onion, garlic, green and red chillis, salt, and of course, more kaffir lime leaves. Spicy and wickedly delicious. DH said he was going to eat one, yes, one shrimp only, because he is trying not to consume much of shellfish. He ended up eating two. Wowww.... that's doubling the original portion, he must have liked it!!