Surabaya Adventure : Shihlin Snacking to Meeting Jiewa at My Kopi O!

Two days, one night in Surabaya was not enough definitely, especially when every day was filled with endless delicacies like the ones I'm sharing with you today. There's a funny story when I tried Shihlin Taiwan Snacks. I saw it first on my Surabayan Friend's Blog and it looked good. So on the first day I arrived at Surabaya last weekend, I said I got to try Shihlin! They look like a perfect pre-pre-lunch snack. And so I went to Sutos ordered the oh-so-famous Crispy Chicken and Seafood Tempura only to be disappointed by the brochure. Why? Cause it says they have opened their stores in Taman Anggrek Mal, Central Park, all in Jakarta. And worst of all, they have one store in Emporium Pluit, that's like 15 minutes from my house. -__- " Way to go Ruby way to go!

Anyway, back to them. See the shots below? Indeed they are as crispy and as tasty as the name offers. However, I personally think it doesn't get any more special than that. I mean I can easily fry my own Fiesta Instant Chicken and pour some chilli powder and voila! (You get what I'm implicitly saying here right? ;P YES! Go and ask your maid to fry them for ya!)

And the day goes, and as spontaneous as I most of the time try to be, I tweeted Jiewa to see if I can see him while I'm in town. For those of you, who don't know who he is, click on his name, it will link you to his awesome food blog, INIJIE.com. Or follow his scrumptious tweet @inijie. Personally I see him as someone I looked up to. He's the man. Who dared to stand on his idealistic passion and still making money out of it. I've just started foodphotoing for the past few months, and he's already like the 'shifu' in food blogging. I didn't expect much aside from being spontaneously fun, and he responded. So we got to meet at My Kopi O! Its almost like a fan meeting a role model. Partly astounded by his humbleness, and partly too excited to learn from him. What ever we shared in the precious hours is for us to keep. (Why does this line sound gay? No no, please, he's as straight as Pocky Wafer Stick, oh girls, he's single and available). See, the excitement is still here.

 

Anyway, we ordered Ice Lychee which I think was awesome. I mean, look at the way they deliver it, I've never drink from a jar before and I have to admit the drink taste delicious and refreshing. While Jie decided to order Kopi Tarik and Beef Satay. Both menu was good, especially the satay, the spices and ingredients was totally soaked in the super tender meat. YUM! I would definitely come back to these two places. With a companion like my personal stylist, Andrea Sharon and a fellow food lover / photographer / cool geek like Jiewa, a simple day could be adventurous and fruitful at the same time. It doesn't get better than that.

Smile on, Shine on. 
Fellexandro Ruby
Munch on my tweets @captainruby

[Playlist] Pursuit of Happiness

Pursuit Of Happiness (Kid Cudi Cover) by Barbara   (5369 KB)
Listen on posterous

Let's do a lil' karaoke! Hit that pint of beer and start singing:

Crush a bit, little bit, roll it up, take a hit
Feelin’ lit feelin’ light, 2 am summer night.
I don't care, hand on the wheel, drivin drunk, I'm doin’ my thang
Rollin the Midwest side and out livin’ my life getting’ out dreams
People told me slow my roll I'm screaming out fuck that
Imma do just what I want lookin’ ahead no turnin’ back
if I fall if I die know I lived it till the fullest
if I fall if I die know I lived and missed some bullets

I'm on the pursuit of happiness and I know everything that shine ain't always gonna be gold
I'll be fine once I get it, I'll be good.

Tell me what you know about dreamin’ dreamin’
You don't really know about nothin’ nothin’
Tell me what you know about them night terrors every night
5 am, cold sweats wakin’ up to the skies
Tell me what you know about dreams, dreams
Tell me what you know about night terrors, nothin’
You don't really care about the trials of tomorrow
Rather lay awake in a bed full of sorrow

I'm on the pursuit of happiness and I know everything that shines ain't always gonna be gold
I'll be fine once I get it, I'll be good

Radiantly Roaming

Colourful Day (Seams Remix) by Alan Pownall   (4614 KB)
Listen on posterous

I've been putting this song on repeat throughout the day. It's emotionally affixing, detachable at any time yet you can't help but glue-ing it back again. You know what I'm saying? It's fresh to your ears, but somehow it brings out pictures of the old days, yeah those happy pictures. You can't resist those happy pictures.

It's all in my mind now,
But I can't help thinking why it's oh so quiet.
When I woke up it was like this,
What a colourful day I have been welcomed with.

And when it reach the chorus, its like an overflowing sensation of floating. I think I just turned into bubbles, glowing colorfully in reply to the sunlight, flying, meandering, radiantly roaming over the big blue sky. And over. And over, so over the top. And .. POP! There goes off the bubble, and you know you're pressing back / replay cause once is never enough.

Listen when: you just woke up in the morning, your head still figuring out where you are and what was it that you were dreaming about, or was it a delusion of your reality.

Bubble on,
Rubs

[Trailist] Movies To Look For in August

Bisa & Biasa

(situasi di pinggir kolam renang dengan pelatih renang saya)

Saya : Mas Ujang, kolamnya masih hijau nih, payah, engga bisa berenang donk!
Ujang : Ya begitulah, saya juga sudah jauh-jauh datang mau ngajar, malah ga ada datang jadinya.
Saya : Sudah seminggu lebih loh mas saya ga berenang gara" ini, padahal harusnya setiap hari saya berenang. Kenapa sih masalahnya?
Ujang : Nah, jadi ini kolam perlu dijaga tingkat pH nya, kalau di bawah 7.1 (ini angka seingat-ingatnya saya, kalau lupa harap maklum =p) pasti cepet kotor dan airnya jadi hijau.
Saya : Lah, memangnya ga ngerti orang sini ngurusin kolam?
Ujang : Saya juga sudah komplain ke managernya, kamu juga komplain ajah. Saya sudah bilang supaya jangan cuma pake orang yang bisa tapi juga yang biasa! Kalau saya, sudah biasa ngurusin kolam di mana-mana nga pernah ada masalah.

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Di kalimat yang digarisbawahi itulah yang membuat saya berpikir. Kalau ditelaah, ada benernya juga.

Orang bilang kita bisa karena biasa. Tapi lantas kalau sudah bisa apakah sudah cukup?
Saya rasa benar kata Mas Ujang, kita perlu kembali ke biasa lagi. Tapi biasa pada tingkatan yang berbeda, supaya bisa-nya juga nambah.
Ini bicara pengalaman. Dalam segala sesuatu, kalau sudah bisa, jangan cepat puas, terus jalankan karena setiap kali pasti akan ada sesuatu yang berbeda, ada sesuatu yang baru, dan kita perlu beradaptasi dengan perubahan, permasalahan yang berbeda, jenis customer yang berbeda, bentuk tulisan yang berbeda yang diminta, kesulitan desain yang berbeda, produk baru yang berbeda segmen marketnya, dsb.

Bisa karena biasa.

Selanjutnya jangan cuma bisa, tapi juga biasa.

Tersenyumlah, Bersinarlah
Rubs

[Foodphoto] Hidden Treasures at Hongkong Cafe & Sate Khas Senayan

I've been going to these two places, Hongkong Cafe and Sate Khas Senayan for convenience reason, one is close to my church and the other is close to my office, yet I just recently discovered a great food hidden in their long list of menu. I'm just gonna highlight two out of the four in the photos below.

One. French toast at HKC is a definite must-try. The warmly fried bread topped with an extra layer of savory butter kinda tingles your nose with the milky smell. Put on the golden drops of sugar and there you go, you got a great mixture of sweetness and saltiness on a freshly baked bread. Yum! I imagine having this for breakfast everyday. How lovely my day would be. =) Oh, and it come in two choices, the bread can be toasted or fried. The toasted one has white milk topping (gonna try this soon).

Two. Now give it a short pause and think of the famous Indonesian specialty fruit, Durian. Who could have not fall in love with this fruit? ... ME! Seriously, I'm never a huge fan of durian, but when one sunny afternoon, a colleague offered me to try his Durian Cendol I fell in love for the first time with the fruit. But please don't rush it, one step at a time. I probably won't try eating the fruit as in the fruit only. For now, I'll stick with the amazingly mixed dessert.

Look at the photo, see the thick layer of Gula Jawa on the bottom?! Blend it with the white coconut milk and the pandan flavored Cendol. And the cherry on top of the cake is the slushed ice and of course DURIANS! Twist them all together and you got one super delicious drink to close your meal. I love this more since I always close my meal with something sweet and this is just perfect. I suggest next time you go Sate Senayan, save a third of your belly for this delicious drink to close your meal superbly.

Now, the choice is yours. Drool on 'em or get your car keys and drive to the nearest outlet! Hahaha. Make a wise choice. =)

Off for more treasures. Smile on, Shine on!


Fellexandro Ruby
Food Enthusiast & Photographer
Snack on my tweets @captainruby