California Central Coast

For a delicious journey...........

Buana Tavola's insalata di gamberi - $13,25

First stop was Montecito for a cup of joe. Then to San Luis Obispo for a light yummy lunch at Buana Tavola, our favorite spot for Italian food in San Luis Obispo. Namanya juga light lunch saya cuma pesan salad udang insalata di gamberi dan segelas minuman kesukaan -air es - :-)  Komposisi udang dan arugulanya seimbang dan rasanya segar dengan potongan tomat segar yang lumayan banyak. Cakep pesan tortelloni di zucca; pumpkin and riccotta cheese in mascappone & sage sauce. Semilir angin sesekali menerpa saat kami menikmati hidangan di udara terbuka di patio restoran. Perfect. Sebelum meninggalkan SLO, mampir sebentar di Up Town Espresso Cafe, tempat ngeteh langganan waktu masih tinggal di kota ini untuk makan sepotong home made chocolate cakenya. Sayangnya hari itu chefnya nggak niat bikin, jadi kami gagal makan chocolate cake.

Buana Tavola's Tortelloni di zucca - $11.50

Makan malam kami sempatkan untuk menikmati kembali nikmatnya masakan Thai di My Thai Cuisine di Marina District. Restorannya sederhana dan tidak terlalu besar, lebih seperti rumah tinggal. Masakan di saji dengan porsi yang generous. Menurut Sam Bhundhumani, yang punya restoran kelahiran Bangkok, mereka menyajikan masakannya sebagaimana masakan tersebut disiapkan dan disajikan di Thailand. Berhubung saya belum pernah mencoba masakan Thai di Thailand, saya tidak bisa menyebutkan masakan My Thai Cuisine ini otentik atau tidak. Yang penting mah enak dan cocok dengan selera sayah makanya dibela-belain ke sini kalau berkunjung ke Monterey Peninsula soalnya biarpun di LA banyak bertebaran restoran Thai, sampai hari ini kami berdua belum menemukan restoran yang betul-betul kami sukai masakannya. Malam itu saya menikmati kembali Pad Thai mereka.

First Awakenings di Pacific Grove, tujuan kami untuk makan pagi keesokan harinya.  First Awakenings sudah menjadi salah satu tempat makan pagi favorit kami setiap berkunjung ke Monterey.  Kali ini saya memesan Creppeggs, crepe tipis dengan topping keju Swiss, buah alpukat,  irisian jamur dan sprouts yang disajikan dengan  potongan kentang dan English muffin.  Porsinya sangat generous yang membuat saya masih kenyang sampai waktu makan siang tiba.  Setelah jalan-jalan sebentar di pusat kota Monterey dan menghabiskan 1/2 porsi Jamba Juice, saya langsung ke Carmel untuk cuci mata dan jalan-jalan di pusat kota yang cantik. Saat perut terasa lapar saya mampir ke Nielsen Bros Market Deli untuk membeli turkey sandwich, apel dan air putih dan menikmati makan siang di bangku taman di tengah kota Carmel. 

Kembali ke Monterey, istirahat sebentar sebelum kembali lagi ke Carmel untuk makan malam di Julihanh, restoran yang menyajikan masakan Vietnam yang dipadu dengan Asian-Californian.  Saya pesan jumbo scallops dinner yang disajikan dengan green bean with garlic and prawn rice.  Suami pesan basa fish dinner yang di broiled dan di sajikan dengan green bean with garlic dan nasi putih. Selain itu kita juga pesan salah satu dish yang rupanya sangat popular dari restoran ini pasta in garlic butter sauce. 

cookies from Patisserie Bechler 

Makan pagi berikutnya kami lakukan di hotel. Setelah check out, jalan-jalan sebentar di Monterey sebelum mampir ke Patisserie Bechler untuk makan siang dan  beli pistachio cake - my favorite dan kue kering untuk dibawa pulang.  Seperti biasa, pilihan makan siang saya turkey sandwich dan soup of the day. 

Buano Tavola
1037 Monterey, San Luis Obispo, CA
First Awakenings
125 Oceanview Blvd., Pacific Grove, 831-375-0846
Patisserie Bechler
1225 Forrest Avenue, Pacific Grove, CA
Nielsen Bros Market Deli

San Carlos & 7 Avenue, Carmel by-the-Sea, CA
My Thai Cuisine
210 Reindollar Avenue, Ph. 883-9677 Marina, CA
Julihanh of Carmel
Dolores & Ocean Ave, Carmel by-the-Sea,  (831) 626-0288

Amedei 9 - Bitter Chocolate Extra 75%

                                                                    

Berwarna  merah gelap dalam kemasan 50 gr yang cantik, Amedei 9 segera menjadi favorit. Samar-samar tercium aroma buah Cherry dan cengkeh dari permukaan yang tidak terlalu shinny. Aroma khas dark chocolate yang menyenangkan terasa dominan.

Rasanya sendiri tentulah tidak mengecewakan karena Amedei tidak memproduksi bad chocolates. Karena keterbasan pengetahuan dan jam terbang yang belum banyak dalam menikmati dark chocolate, agak sulit buat saya mendeskripsikan rasanya secara spesifik. Yang jelas enak pisan dan kompleks!

Walaupun mengandung cacao 75%, saya tidak mentrace rasa bitter sedikitpun.  Padahal Amedei melabelkan Amedei 9 sebagai Bitter Chocolate.  

What Amedei says: The "family treasure". This blend fully expresses the Amedei philosphy. Combined here are cacaos from 9 plantations which, over the years, have been discovered, restored, and rendered productive again by Alessio Tessieri: an exceptional raw material. From this, Cecilia created a powerful and balanced dark chocolate, in which the aromas of the plantations persist in the unmistakeable flavour of this chocolate.

Ingredients: cocoa mass, cane sugar, cocoa butter, vanilla. May contain traces of hazelnut, almond, pistachio, walnut, milk.

Spring Flowers in Monterey

My husband and I were in Monterey again last month. I was fortunate to be able to enjoy beautiful spring flowers and colors. I found myself taking pictures after pictures of so many spectacular flowers. And I wished for one that I had that fancy camera. But for now, I am grateful with what I have. My pocket camera did a great job capturing a small beauty of this world. I feel content. They are simply spectacular!

I spent most of my days in Monterey looking for flowers and plantation around Monterey and Pacific Grove area. I just think that every single of them is beautiful and perfect. Even the leaves! Yes they are all green, but all is different in shape and texture. Amazing!

New addition to our restaurant list in the area; First Awakenings for breakfast and Patisserie Bechler for lunch and yummy dessert.

                                   

 

First Awakenings:

American Tin Cannery
125 Ocean View Blvd #105
Pacific Grove, CA 93950

(831) 372-1125

Patisserie Bechler

1225 Forest Avenue

Pacific Grove CA 93950

PH 831-375-0848

4 Days in Tampa, Florida

April 14: Our flight to Tampa was 5 hours. But flying with cakep is so much fun that I didn't find it boring at all. We played a couple rounds of cribbage and I continued reading In the Footsteps of the Prophet when cakep needed to work on his stuff.

We took a taxi to our hotel only to find that our room was not ready. Feeling unhappy, we dropped off our luggage at the concierge and left the hotel, passed the Tampa Harbour to Channelside to get some dinner. We found nothing special about this place, other than a small shopping complex and restaurants.

To our surprise though our dinner at Grille 29 in the complex was superb. We sat outside on the restaurant's patio facing the canal with the cool breeze from the water. The breeze especially felt really nice in the uncomfortable, muggy and sticky 77 degree Tampa. I slowly enjoyed my 10 oz New York Strip Steak with Lobster Mashed Potatoes and brocollini on the side. Cakep ordered the Salmon Brulle which according to him was really good.

April 15: After having breakfast at the hotel's Avanzare Cafe, I bought a $4.00 one-day pass to ride the city trolley and streetcar to explore the city. Whenever I am in a new place, I try to ride public transportation and taking the city routes as much as possible. That way I get the feel for the city I visit and can go places where tourists don't mostly go. So I took a lane to Old Hyde Park, an outdoor shopping complex which could be interesting if you like to shop. Since shopping is not my favorite activity, it was just an okay visit. I was more interested in checking out the neighborhood at the Old Hyde Park. I found something interesting; an avenue that seems "out of place" in Tampa. If you see the picture below, you would know what I meant :-)

While having lunch at Thai Than we met a couple of Indonesian crew ship from Carnival Legend that harboured at Tampa Bay for that day enjoying their lunch on the land for the day. The ship was so huge that it covers the entire Channelside deck. 


Early evening riding the bright yellow streetcar, we went to Ybor City, a Latin Quarter that was once famous for cigar making. The city was dead when we got there around 4. Most restaurants and shops were closed. Only a couple of cigar stores opened with very few customers inside smoking cigars. Of course it is quiet in the afternoon. With more than 60 restaurants, bars and nightclubs, Ybor city draws party goers on weekend nights. Well, since we are not in to the "night life", we chose to see the city during its sleep. We ended the day by having dinner at the famous "Columbia Restaurant" that received rave reviews by a lot of people online. Well, we were not impressed with the food. We found the food we ordered to be very oily and overpriced. 

April 16: I explored Tampa by riding the city bus again. It might not be something most people like to do in a new place. But, I like to know what's going on in the place I visit beyond the tourists spots. I would like to see the place as locals see. Of course it is impossible to get the real feel for the city in a few days, but at least I got something. To me, that's always interesting. 

In the evening cakep and I went to watch Stanley Cup Playoffs that was played on Tampa Stadium located just a few blocks away from the hotel. I saw a college-level game in Los Angeles few years ago but I had never been to any professional hockey game before. Since we've been talking about going to a professional hockey game many times - but our desire to watch the game was put off when we think about having to drive to Staple Center to watch the game-, we might as well do it now when we don't need to fight the traffic in LA highway and we don't need to find parking! So off we went after dinner to the stadium to get the tickets. We were not sure if we could ever get one given we didn't book them in advance. Guess what? Not only we got one of the best seats that were close to the ring, but the two tickets were given to us for free. Not bad experience for my first ever professional hockey game. It was so much fun watching the game life. Much better than watching the game on TV. Of course

April 17: After breakfast, we visited the Florida Aquarium to have a nice relaxing time before flying back home. I took so much pictures of Mumlbe's family from the happy feet. By the time we got to my favorite creature - jelly fish- my camera already run out of battery. Darn. Took a shuttle to the airport shortly after lunch.

A Day Trip to Santa Barbara

Artwork made of sands from Nepal

Since last fall, we really get hooked with a day visit to Santa Barbara.  A typical day in the American Riviera city for us would be enjoying fresh brewed decaffeinated latte at the Santa Barbara Coffee Roasting Company, strolling down the State Street in downtown, having fresh sea food at the Santa Barbara Shellfish Company for lunch then heading back home after a quick peak at the pier.

Bent Nude - Francisco Zuniga

On yesterday's visit, we added a visit to the Santa Barbara Museum of Art to our routine. The museum is on the small side with a nice lay-out and flow. It doesn't feel crowded at all.  It featured the works of acclaimed Mexican artist Rufino Tamayo and an exhibit of Ansel Adam's photographs. I was especially captured by Adam's photos of Yosemite National Park and the beauty of images he created.   Unfortunately, due to the vulnerability of Tamayo's works and Ansel's photos, no photograph is allowed.  But, I am happy with a picture of Rodin's sculpture -even though it was not "The Thinker", it's still Rodin's - and a neat sculpture by Zuniga.  

The inside part of the gallery are displayed a few paintings from Monet, Van Gogh and other artists whose names I cannot remember. On the upper level of the museum we found some art works from Asian countries, mostly Japanese sculptures and cute jars. We are intrigued by one artwork from Nepal that was made of sands! At the first glance it looked like a colorful painting. It's so detailed.   It must be a great  challenge to transport this piece to the Museum.


Santa Barbara Museum of Art

1130 State St
Santa Barbara, CA 93101
(805) 963-4364

Admission: $9

A Great Sunday in Gasol Organic Farming, Cianjur, Indonesia

He who would travel happily must travel light - Antoine de St. Exupery

I love not to check in my luggage when travel domestically - that's how hubby and I travel here. It is really hassle- and stress-free to have only a carry-on when traveling. What I enjoy the most is not to have to arrive at the airport as early and to be able to leave the airport in a jiffy. Not to mention to  have peace of mind knowing my belongings are with me when I arrive at the destination and not to worry loosing them to misrouting or theft. 

I always wanted to try to travel light internationally as well. So far I haven't been very successful especially when I go to Indonesia and wanted to bring stuff for my family. Last month though when I went home for 8 days I decided to give it a try and only had one carry-on and a back pack with me - boy was i glad with my decision. I didn't have to wait at baggage carousels after the immigration, went out to get a taxi within minutes then straight into Jakarta traffic. Very fast process.

Lumbung -  to store rice after harvest

My time in Jakarta unfortunately went as fast as my travel. Between attending Stanvac Family Reunion and participating in Jalan-jalan ke Petak Sembilan (take a stroll to Petak Sembilan, part of Jakarta Old Town in Chinatown area), a fun event arranged by Jalansutra, I managed to convince my family to visit Gasol Organic Farming in Cianjur on Sunday. Cianjur is a small city in West Java, located in the middle of the road between Jakarta and Bandung, and is known as one of the best growing areas for rice in Indonesia. Gasol Organic Farming is owned by Ika Suryanawati, an Engineer in Agriculture by training, who  grows her farm using only organic fertilizer (goat manure and azolla) and traditional tools and methods during harvest. 

Ika, her husband, her two kids and her mom greeted us when we arrived at the farm around mid-morning. Shortly after we arrived, rain started to pour so we went inside one building adjacent to the main house that opens all sides so we could still enjoy the rice fields while listening to Ika's history and stories about her organic farm. I was fascinated by her courage and passion to grow her farm organically in the area where everyone else does the opposite. Ika hoped that other farmers will follow suit someday. I hope so to Ika. We tasted your rice and would want our children and grand children have the chance to also have access to organic rice in the future.

By now the rain had stopped. So off we went to the fields with a great excitement and started walking in the rice fields on foot and breathe the fresh air. Ika and her family walked along and warned us repeatedly to walk carefully and slowly as the soil from the rain was slippery. The soil was indeed slippery and muddy but it felt so good on our feet. Everyone really enjoyed the walk and the beauty of the fields. It was great to see my father, who was not foreign on walking in the rice fields while growing up in West Sumatra, enthusiastically explain what he knew about rice paddies. The smell of the goat manure that Ika used to fertilize her farm didn't seem to bother us at all. If all, it was such a nice reminder that we're getting back to nature for a change. Where can we smell fresh manure in the city? :-)

And the lunch we had after our nice walk - served on banana leaves instead of plates - was simply delicious! Ika's mom prepared Nasi Liwet Sunda, a traditional rice dish from West Java cooked in water, lemongrass, sauteed shallots and local spices in a heavy pan. To accompany the already-delicious nasi liwet were fried fish - the fish were from the pond right outside the place where we're having our lunch (talk about fresh!), fried tempe and tofu, sayur asam (clear vegetable tamarind soup), sauteed kangkung (water spinach), perkedel jagung (corn fritter), home-made sambal oelek, and of course kerupuk, a must-have item in every meal in Sundanese family. We were so happy with the food that we talked about it again during our dinner at Kafe Mangiare and still talked about it the next day. :-)




Gasol Pertanian Organik 
Desa Gasol, Kecamatan Cugenang
Kabupaten Cianjur
e-mail: gasolpertanianorganik@gmail.com

New Orleans, LA

Photos of Mardi Gras Parade during our recent visit to New Orleans.