Dapur BabaH & Kafe Betawi

I was already home since 3pm just now but I was busy transporting contacts from my old FS to my new one just because I feel that the old was already overcrowded. In case I have missed out sending message to any of u, please just add me at sweettiramisu@gmail.com, ok? Yet whether or not I will approve, that depends coz my new FS is strictly for people I want to keep hearing from and not someone who just come and go or people I have decided I'm better off without or vice versa. I know this sound really snobbish coming from me but well, I don't find making new friend as exciting as it used to be and I would just like to keep the friends I have and leave new friends to real life. Unless of course if I happened to bump into someone's blog I enjoyed reading like Therry, Syl and Cn's cases hehehe....

Yesterday, me and the kids left home at 1pm for Dapur Babah in Jalan Veteran. Never been there but as usual, I see the rating is 8 from the book so I decided to try it out. The place looked small from the outside. And as I was about to get out of the car, I realized I forgot to bring my purse! How careless =.= I asked my driver to go back home and get it while the kids and I continued going inside to the restaurant.

Inside Dapur Babah, it was divided into 2 sections. The darkly lit section where there are sofas and antiques but gives out a really creepy feeling and the other section is like in a normal restaurant with lights and usual dining tables. I decided to eat at the sofas seeing that it looks quite romantic from the door. Let me tell u, it really gives me the goosebumps. It was so, so dark and there were so many antiques here and there with old wooden door and stuffs. Kids were squealing silently especially when they put out that music where u normally hear people chant in the temple. Time and time again I have a sudden urge to look around to make sure there was nothing staring at me in the dark. To show u how dark the place is, I took this pic of Casey without the flash on but with the help of a small candle they put out in each table.

The food was delicious. I would love to go there again next time but sitting in a different section hehehe... Kids love the food too even though I think it's considered pretty expensive. These were what we ordered:

Maccaroni Schottel

Biterbaletjes

Biefstuk Van Kip Oen

Cwiemie Malang

Es Tjampoer Babah

Boeboer Soemsoem

Pisang Rebus Enten Enten

Luckily my driver arrived just as we finished the food or I would have to pay cash hehehe.... It cost almost Rp 380K for all that plus 2 coke and 1 fruit punch. This is another of Casey's pic posing in the dark section. She was pretty scared at first hehehe...

I wanted to bring the kids to Sam's office actually yesterday to surprise him but he was having a meeting outside so I decided to go straight to Prof. Karnen.

Arrived at the place around 3.45pm and we got no 3. The nurse first asked Cecil to take off the patch and then did another test where she poked small needles in her right hand 26 times. This was how her hand looks like after 15 mins:

When I went inside Prof. Karnen's office, I was told that she's allergic to dust mites, fake jewelleries, metals, cosmetics, and cat. The most obvious one was of course dust mites. Sam and I had tested that when we took her to Thomson Medical Center in Singapore when she was 3 years old and was already told by Dr Ang about that. The others were new such as the fake jewelleries and stuffs. We were then ushered to another room to learn more about dust mites and what kind of prevention we need to take. The clinic actually sold special pillow and bolster case for anti dust mites and it costs Rp 175K each. They also sell the bedsheet but I thought I should just try those first. With the medicine and both the pillow and bolster cases, the bill added up to another Rp 1,3K and we were told to come back again after a week. Imagine how rich the Prof. is!!!! I want my kids to grow up to be doctors. I find that dermatologist and dentist do fetch quite an awful loads of money. That way they may not need me to leave any money for them in my will since they will be earning plenty.

The trip home this time wasn't too long. In fact Thamrin was really quiet when we passed thru it. It seemed like everyone was away on holiday. We reached Susan's house at about 7.30pm. The food was already put out on the table. Susan bought from Restoran Singapore in Pluit.

To tell the truth, the food taste better than the one in Dragon City. And it probably costs only 1/6 of what Sam forked out the day before. We all especially love the Udang Mayonnaise. It's the best I've ever tasted.

As for today, we left home at 11am. Went to Dr Noto. As usual, Casey just loves going to the dentist. She had another tooth pulled out today and guess what, for that I had to pay Rp 500K! For 1 measly tooth.....aaarggghhhhhhhhh.....

We then decided to go to Grand Indonesia. We wanted to eat in Pizza Marzano initially but they don't have macaroni schotel so Casey changed her mind. In the end we ate in Kafe Betawi. It's my 1st time eating there. This was what we ordered:

The food was pretty okay. The fried rice was bland though. Otherwise, the rest that we ordered were great. And it's expensive! Masa ketoprak Rp 17K padahal di pasar biasa gua beli cuman Rp 7K. And it's not like the restaurant has a nice ambience. It's pretty plain so I think it's too pricey =.=

Went to Kinokuniya afterwards and before we went home, went to Gelato Bar where Cecil ordered ice cream and I tried the black sesame ice cream and ordered Chocolate Mint Latte.

Doesn't taste as good as it looks though. Once again, been fooled by the pic =.=

My WeeKenD

It's sunny out there. Hopefully it will stay that way for at least a year hehehe.... Okay, let's talk about Saturday now. Woke up at 6am and the first thing I did after washing up was to call home and check the condition. My maid said the electricity was back and outside it was already dry so Sam and I decided to go back home.

We had breakfast in Grand Cafe. It was pretty good but for that price (Rp 130K/pax which was Rp 10K cheaper than lunch or dinner) I don't think it's worth it. I'd chosen the lunch buffet anytime coz it has a wider range of food. We went up to bath when we had finished up our breakfast. Then we packed up and checked out at 11am. We went to Sam's office first. Had lunch with Yuyu, Ci Hera, Ci A-Ing and Ci Licu in Tony Romas. I only managed to take a pic of the drink I ordered coz u know the rule when Sam's around :P

Goonies

It's taken with my G9. But no, I haven't been practicing taking pics with it. Just to satisfy all your curiosity as to when I will put a pic up, now I present u this hihihi....

I ordered BBQ Shrimp. It's a new menu and it's quite tasty. A bit hot though.

Later on, we went to Plaza Senayan. As Sam promised, he got me a present from his soccer winning.

A Christian Dior mini messenger bag. Cute, isn't it? I wanted a purse at first but Sam said this is better. Well, it's his money so I just accept whatever come my way ^.^

Yesterday I didn't go to my dad's place even though I attended 8am sermon at the church. Sam's not having enough sleep so we decided to skip it this week. At 2pm we did go to C's Steak n Seafood in Grand Hyatt to have lunch though. I bought this book called "Best Restaurants in Jakarta" a couple of weeks ago and C's Steak is listed as one of them and the rating was 9. With such high rating it makes one wonder, right? Damn the food was expensive there. Sam ordered a plate of lamb chop which cost a little over Rp 400K. As for me, I ordered Fruit Punch and Tenderloin Steak

Fruit Punch

Tenderloin Steak 180gr

I ordered the steak to be cooked in medium rare and boy, it's just sooo juicy. It's so much better than the one in Angus House. The bill kinda burn a hole in Sam's wallet though hihihi.... He said, "Selera lu boleh juga. Tapi please, laen kali jangan liat dari buku."

As for today, Casey went with me to my dad's place in the morning right after we sent Cecil off to school. Casey is having a little fever and I'm thinking of bringing her to Dr Jani for a check-up. After all Chinese New Year is in a couple of days' time so I can't afford the kids to be sick.

My dad was about to leave home when we arrived. He gave me this box of chocolate from Penang.

It's a combination of 2 of my fav : dark chocolate & mint. When they are together, they certainly taste heavenly!

Went to Ketapang from there to Versa Tour. Chatted with Emmy and I just realized one thing, in spite of Sam's weird temper at times, he's so much better in some ways. I'll go into details about that tomorrow. Want to accompany Casey to watch "Alvin and The Chipmunks" on DVD now. Got it from my dad and Casey was so thrilled.

FridaY TragedY

Sam's out to MU Cafe to watch soccer with his best friend so that leaves me free to blog but I'm just gonna update about Friday.

Yesterday I would say it's when one of my worst nightmares turned into reality. I never felt so worried, scared and helpless all at the same time. I guess if u have kids u have to fetch but it seemed almost impossible to do so, that will make anyone feel that way.

The morning I sent the kids off to school, I thought it was just a normal rainy day. I still went to PIK to pass something to Yon's friend who was supposed to go to Medan tomorrow. On my way home, even though it was still raining pretty heavily I went ahead to Muara Karang market to have my favorite breakfast.... Bihun Goreng Medan. Nothing beats eating hot Bihun Goreng Medan in a cold weather. It was already quite flooded there. I had to sacrifice my Guess flip flop coz the water level already cover the top of my foot (not leg). Well, I try to rationalize then. I thought, "Oh well, Muara Karang had been so accustomed to flood...I guess this is still normal." On my way home, I passed by Universitas Untar. That was when I started to worry. The water covered half of a tyre of a sedan. My driver tried to ease my troubled mind saying that it's a common sight in Untar during rainy season. So there I was again, thinking it's probably nothing. Everywhere the traffic was bad but my driver said there's an alternative route to Bina Bangsa so I didn't leave home till Sam called me up at 12pm. That was when my maid said, "Non, ga bisa keluar. Banjirnya uda kaya taon lalu. Di luar uda sedengkul dalemnya." I thought she must be kidding. I mean, geez....how can that possibly be. I looked out from my FIL's room and true enough, the sight shocked me. My maid said the water even went inside Alphard. My driver didn't dare to go thru it and all I can think of were my 2 poor kids. Called Sam up and asked him what I should do. Thank goodness Sam decided not to use his Harrier to work yesterday so he told us to use that to fetch the kids. My driver was reluctant at first but Sam said there's no other choice. We had to risk it. He told me to pack some clothes for the kids and me in case we couldn't make it back home. Took a couple of pajamas, 2-3 tops and hurriedly told the maid to put the luggage into the car and off we went.

It was really, really a moment full of suspense when the car tried to go thru the flood. I guess u can say it covered the whole tyre already and I was praying hard we could make it. I didn't care how....I just need to be with the kids at that moment. When the car finally managed to get out of Intercon, I was so much more relieved. It was then I worried if I could get to school in time. The roads were all jammed so bad. Took me almost 3 hours from the normal 30 mins trip. I was going crazy thinking about what if the kids get hungry and stuffs like that. Sam didn't make it any better coz he called me up every 15 mins or so asking if I had arrived or not. Luckily I had Casey's teacher's cellphone no so I asked her to lend Casey some money for her to take lunch in school. I reached Bina Bangsa at 2.45pm. Couldn't begin to describe how overjoyed I was seeing the 2 kids again.

Sam said he had booked a room in Grand Hyatt and told us to go straight there from school. The journey was pretty smooth and we reached Hyatt at about 3.15pm. Checked in and got us Room 820. It was our first time staying there. This was how the room looks like:

Kids were happy. Seemed like it was holiday to them. What's good about staying there was the fact that we could easily get the stuffs we forgot to bring at Plaza Indonesia. I was famished so I told the kids that I wanted to eat. We ate in Mi Item. Been wanting to try the food there for quite sometime now.

I forgot the exact name of it but it was recommended by the waiter and it was indeed delicious. U guys who haven't tried, should try it sometime. The noodle is made from squid's ink and meat so it's really yummy at the very first bite. They even have Mi Item Pink.... Yes, pink noodles but I'm not interested to try it coz it's made from beetroot. That is one of the blacklisted food in my list along with honey.

It was really cold in there so I had to get a jacket. Went to Esprit to get one. And since the kids were wearing school shoes, we went to Nike to get ourselves decent sandals each. Also bought 2 new flavour from Cupcakes : Banana & Strawberry.

Banana

Strawberry

Dropped the stuffs back in the room and went back to Plaza Indonesia again to the Food Hall. On our way, we saw Delon, the winner of the 1st Indonesian Idol. He looked so heavily make up and that really left a worse impression that he already had. I really don't dig him. When he was up against Joy Tobing back then, I really think he was nothing compared to Joy. Still, these days u can get away with anything as long as u have the looks. I don't think he's that handsome as everyone said he is too. Look at him yesterday! Eew... even Casey said he looked weird. Hahaha.... Apparently his place was flooded too or else he wouldn't have been there.

Got the toothbrushes and toothpaste from the supermarket and we went to Red Pepper (the food court) to have dinner. By the time we went back to the hotel it was almost 8pm. Our first time going out that late hahaha... Sam arrived at almost 9pm but he went next door for dinner. I was really out by 10pm.

Well, time to hit the bed. It's raining again, guys.... Hopefully, it won't last long. Beneran trauma kali ini.

MeetinG Cn, Therry & SyL

I met Cn, Therry and Syl for the very 1st time today. And only one word to describe them : awesome! Hehehe... The last time I met up with new people I know thru cyber... hmm...that was sometime ago. I mean on and off during gatherings there are bound to be people I never meet before but usually it is with people I know so I'm not entirely clueless on how I should react coz if I don't feel comfortable with the new ones, I can still talk to other friends. This time, it felt like years ago when I went on my 1st gathering with IC members. Nervous and excited.

When I first arrived, Cn was already waiting outside Sushi Tei. Therry was the 1st to arrive actually but she went somewhere else. So Cn and I waited for Therry. She came with her boyfriend but he left after we said our 'hellos', saying he doesn't want to spoil the fun for us. They really look so sweet together. My 1st impression of Cn is she's the same as her pic and she's actually more gentle in reality. Oops...I hope that doesn't sound sarcastic coz I'm making a compliment here hahaha.... She's really sweet and she smiles a lot... I mean a LOT. So u can bet she's just as friendly as she sounds in her tags. Therry... I wasn't expecting she was that tall. I mean she looks petite in her pic but she proves me wrong today. She is really easy to talk to and also smiles a lot. In fact they all smile all the time! Cn has to be the most cheerful of us all coz her happiness is really infectious I tell u. As for Syl, she is the perfect figure of how u view a teacher should be. She's the quietest among us but still, she can crack u up with her jokes. And they are all awesome in their own different ways! I'm really glad we met up today coz I did have a blast. I want to do this again sometime. One thing they all have in common: love for dogs and they all own at least one *if I'm not mistaken coz Sushi Tei was damn crowded just now and they are all soft-spoken... so opposite of me!* Now it makes me wish to have a dog. Thanks for the good time, ladies ^.^ So nice to finally meet the writers behind those wonderful blogs I love to read. Kinda reminded me of what Han told me earlier today during our chat in YM. He said Therry's blog made mine look so plain. Hahaha... Yeah, don't u all start comparing mine to hers or to any of theirs after this please coz I do admit I have limited vocab inside me. While in mine u might find errors here and there, it's hard to do so even u try to look for the flaws in their blogs.

L-R: Therry, Me, Syl & Cn

Not to forget, these are the food I ate just now:

Yaki Udon

Hotate Miso Mayo

Hmm...can't remember the last one but it's like california roll with soft-shelled crab. My advice, don't order these 3 if u go there. The roll is okay and the Yaki Udon is still edible even though it's so not like the normal fried udon I ever tried. Even Casey wouldn't want to eat it! As for the scallop, expensive and too salty! Yucks... I never eaten scallops that taste that bad before. Well, now I have.

From Plaza Indonesia, the girls and I went to Grand Indonesia. Planned to watch "Alvin & The Chipmunks" at the Satin Lounge in Blitz Megaplex. It's Rp 20K cheaper than Premiere so I was curious enough to want to try it out. We bought the 4.30pm show and then went down to Kinokuniya. Kids bought their books and I bought mine. I bought a couple of books about photography. Even though I'm not planning to buy an SLR cam but I think I want to know more about it.

Wanted to look for school shoes for Casey but it was a long walk to Planet Sport (or whatever it is called) so we decided to look for it in Plaza Senayan instead right after the movie. while going back up to the cinema, I saw Forever 21 Boutique. Finally now I know what kind of clothings they have. All this time I only know that brand through Xiaxue's blog. Forever 21 supposed to have 2 floors to themselves but only the one at 1st floor is opened at the moment. Went inside to look around and was kinda surprised coming home with 2 jackets, 1 cardigan plus 3 blouses.

I deserve it!!! I've been deprived of shopping for so long! Then when we went up one floor, there was this Guess Kids Boutique. My FIL promised the girls they can buy clothes from there and he's paying so we did go inside to look around. I bought 1 identical dress as theirs.

Can only buy 1 coz my FIL will wonder why the bill adds up to that much if I kept buying the same stuffs as them. We did get vouchers and it all adds up to Rp 700K! Too bad can't use it to minus the bill. Can only use it on our next visit there.

We waited at the carpark for the driver since we got a lot of plastic bags on our hands. By the time we reached the cinema it was 16.25pm, 5 mins before the show starts. I was disappointed with the Satin Lounge. It's so not worth it even though it's cheaper than Premiere. Yes, u can straighten your legs up but that's about it. No blanket, and u can't push down the back of the chair like in Premiere. It's just like normal cinema except u watch it from the top part. Total waste of money.

Now about the movie, I just love it. I mean, who wouldn't want to see talking chipmunks in real life? I do!!!! Theodore is just so, so adorable. It's a "MUST BUY DVD" on my kids' list.... and mine too of course hehehe....

So right from Grand Indonesia, we went to Plaza Senayan. Finally found an Osh Kosh shoes for Casey. While on our way out, passed by Agatha and I bought this cute hair accessory :

Okay, time to hit the bed now. Dead tired and tomorrow we're going to the church. I don't want to go to 10.30am mass. It's just too late. I won't be able to catch my nephews in my dad's house if I arrive later than 12pm and I don't want that.

Red-Haired Ivy

Stayed for almost 5 hours in Ertien's salon today till my butt went numb but I'm satisfied with the color. Sam came back last night and only said my face looks rounder than it already is but no comment whether he likes it or not. Maybe coz I was half asleep already and he didn't get a close look at it. Well, he'll see it tonight and hopefully he doesn't say anything too disheartening. Not like I care coz Sam never really disapproves of what I did to my hair. Just that u know, (not sure if I'm speaking for all women after 30's or not) it helps to boost one's self-esteem when one's being praised especially from a family member. That's why it was quite disappointing when Casey first said I look better with long hair. She's fine with it today though. She said I look nice with the new color. I had to use the webcam to take the pic coz my N82 cam didn't quite bring the color out.

Not that I'm trying to comfort myself but it does look better in real than in pic... my hair of course not me :P

In the noon, went to Kedungsari to buy my favorite Es Kopyor. Then the kids and I went to Panecook for desserts. I ordered the Oriental Sensation and a cup of hot chocolate.

Oriental Sensation

Hot Chocolate

And this was what Cecil had for her drink :

Crunchy Hot Chocolate

The only difference from mine is that there are bite sized chocolates in her drink. They are both simply delicious. If u are a chocolate lover, u will definitely love the drink.

Okay, need to take a shower now and continue reading my book.

The New 'En' LooK

Kinda annoyed coz yesterday we didn't watch movie as planned. The sermon at the church took longer than usual yesterday coz there was an adoration sacrament carried out. We got out of the church at 12.10pm and reached home 20 mins later. By the time we reached EX, it was already 1pm and we haven't had lunch yet so kids said they will just wait for the DVD to come out.

Had lunch in En Restaurant. At first, we were confused coz the En we used to go has been replaced by Pho 2000 Restaurant. Then realized that it has moved to just opposite F Bar. It looks so much nicer now plus they have TV everywhere!

These were what I ordered:

Wakame Salad

Buta Tumire Nabe

Honey Bread Ice Cream

The Wakame Salad is my favorite. I really love Japanese salad dressing. As for Buta Tumire Nabe, the minced meat ball is so, so, so soft. It has such a texture that it melts in your mouth. No kidding! I don't really enjoy the kim chi soup though. But overall, it's okay thanks to the meat balls.

Then Sam took the kids to buy shoes since Casey complained about her shoelaces keep getting on the way. Later on, I went to look for a purse. It was me who planned to buy actually and I didn't intend to ask Sam to pay for it since he already bought me so many stuffs. It's crazy though that the price of the purse itself costs only a little cheaper than the handbag my MIL gave me last year. Still, my Burberry purse looks kinda worn out already so I bought it anyway. They do have some on sale but I don't like the design. I'm surprised that Sam offered to pay half of it ^.^ And he said if he wins his soccer bets, he'll pay all of it! Thankfully I paid it with my credit card so I still have 3 more weeks to see if he wins other bets hahaha.... If he does, then I really hit the jackpot. Well, not jackpot but still, paying half compared to not at all is quite a big difference so let's all cross your fingers and pray that he wins :P

On our way back to EX, kids asked for cupcakes so we bought another 4. This time I only got 3 pics coz one of the cupcakes is oreo which I've posted before.

Chocolate & Lemon

Raspberry

Before going home, we stayed awhile in Gloria Jeans to have coffee first.

2 nights ago, the girls n I watched "Sydney White" on DVD starring Amanda Bynes.

It's a chick flick and I think it's pretty entertaining although it's not my favorite. I like Amanda Bynes even if her acting isn't really that good. She just looks so sweet. The leading actor, Matt Long, is like the younger version of Brad Pitt except he's lack of that sex appeal though hehehe...

As for tomorrow, don't wait up for my blog in the morning. I will probably be in Ertien's salon cutting my hair. Yup, very soon, I will go for smoothing again and then color my hair too. I really want to cut my hair short but after so many hair disasters, I think I'll stay with long for awhile first.