Monday, June 05, 2006
Just a Little Update of Sorts...
Cooked pasta for the 3rd time just now and I finally found a good formula for...I think you can call it bolognaise pasta, though if I had added chili, it would have been a rather nice arrabiatta somewhat reminiscent of the one they cooked at Angel's cafe at SRC :) Lorraine is right...cooking is therapeutic, though I dun think I have talent for it like some of the ppl I know. Next, I wanna try out tomato fried rice when I have the chance. It is a Dutch-style dish that is still widely served in East Java. Saw Weijian cook it back in hall and I think it's relatively easy to do, just that I'll add chili.
Dunno if anyone ever heard of J.Co Donuts? Think it comes from the US. It just arrived in Indonesia and is selling like hotcakes (pardon the pun hehe). Braved the queue twice and I find it quite delicious, esp when you eat it immediately.
Had a nice time at the wet market in the Pluit district yesterday, a place dominated by Chinese, especially those who came from Medan. The place is filled with stalls selling great-tasting food and is always crowded on weekend mornings. Realised that goods from China is increasingly flooding the market everywhere, there included. Parents spent a long time at a stall selling goods from DVDs to Chinese knee guard and this nice brand of toohpaste called Maxam. While eating, a man came bringing a large bag and tried to sell us many made-in-China stuff like medicine to calculators. Had a feeling that was proven true when he spoke to his fren: he is a Henghua, like us. Looks like many Henghuas are coming to Jakarta to try to make a living these days. There are a few living in my apartment and we are well-acquainted with one who set up a restaurant serving Henghua dishes, also in the above-mentioned district. For all we know, in the future Henghua may become the prevalent dialect in Jakarta instead of Hakka or Hokkiens...haha.
In case the many mentions of food lead the readers to think Jenn must be ballooning in size, I have actually slimmed down. Hmm not good. Shd put on a bit of flesh again.
Anyway, I oso realised that people here are increasingly learning to speak Mandarin, after years of suppression under the Suharto regime. I first heard a pribumi (Native) speak to me in Chinese five years ago in Bali, which I dismissed as being typical of a place that relies so heavily on tourism for a living. But soon, there were other instances of pribumis speaking to me in Mandarin, like this guy who used to work in the minimart downstairs complimenting me on my looks in Chinese, the peddlers at Mount Tangkuban Perahu who told us their wares were very pian yi and made my parents so happy with their proficiency in Chinese that my Mom actually conceded to buy the trinkets from them and oso the peddlers who said,"Bai tu! Bai tu!" to me yesterday when I couldn't resist looking at their cute baby rabbits.
My parents have asked if I wanna go abt doing something and I just told them, after some deliberation, that I'm fine with it. Lets wait and see if it takes off... Will be quite interesting if it does.
Driving here can be bad for your nerves for those of us used to the safe and predictable roads in S'pore. Not only do you have to contend with other (sometimes reckless) drivers who cut into your lane, refuse to give way even when you have the right to it, etc etc, you cannot afford to let your eyes wander because there are always pedestrians who decide to cross the road at will (zebra crossings here are as good as non-existent), peddlers who slowly push their wares on the roads (we dun have much pedestrian paths), motorcycles who weave in and out of every gap in between cars etc. Very different from the Japanese, who are very courteous drivers just like the British. I rarely, if ever, heard any honking then.
Saw a pict of Bro on his Friendster last nite. His dressing and hair made him look a lot like Bae Yong Joon xia...hahahaha ;)
Dunno if anyone ever heard of J.Co Donuts? Think it comes from the US. It just arrived in Indonesia and is selling like hotcakes (pardon the pun hehe). Braved the queue twice and I find it quite delicious, esp when you eat it immediately.
Had a nice time at the wet market in the Pluit district yesterday, a place dominated by Chinese, especially those who came from Medan. The place is filled with stalls selling great-tasting food and is always crowded on weekend mornings. Realised that goods from China is increasingly flooding the market everywhere, there included. Parents spent a long time at a stall selling goods from DVDs to Chinese knee guard and this nice brand of toohpaste called Maxam. While eating, a man came bringing a large bag and tried to sell us many made-in-China stuff like medicine to calculators. Had a feeling that was proven true when he spoke to his fren: he is a Henghua, like us. Looks like many Henghuas are coming to Jakarta to try to make a living these days. There are a few living in my apartment and we are well-acquainted with one who set up a restaurant serving Henghua dishes, also in the above-mentioned district. For all we know, in the future Henghua may become the prevalent dialect in Jakarta instead of Hakka or Hokkiens...haha.
In case the many mentions of food lead the readers to think Jenn must be ballooning in size, I have actually slimmed down. Hmm not good. Shd put on a bit of flesh again.
Anyway, I oso realised that people here are increasingly learning to speak Mandarin, after years of suppression under the Suharto regime. I first heard a pribumi (Native) speak to me in Chinese five years ago in Bali, which I dismissed as being typical of a place that relies so heavily on tourism for a living. But soon, there were other instances of pribumis speaking to me in Mandarin, like this guy who used to work in the minimart downstairs complimenting me on my looks in Chinese, the peddlers at Mount Tangkuban Perahu who told us their wares were very pian yi and made my parents so happy with their proficiency in Chinese that my Mom actually conceded to buy the trinkets from them and oso the peddlers who said,"Bai tu! Bai tu!" to me yesterday when I couldn't resist looking at their cute baby rabbits.
My parents have asked if I wanna go abt doing something and I just told them, after some deliberation, that I'm fine with it. Lets wait and see if it takes off... Will be quite interesting if it does.
Driving here can be bad for your nerves for those of us used to the safe and predictable roads in S'pore. Not only do you have to contend with other (sometimes reckless) drivers who cut into your lane, refuse to give way even when you have the right to it, etc etc, you cannot afford to let your eyes wander because there are always pedestrians who decide to cross the road at will (zebra crossings here are as good as non-existent), peddlers who slowly push their wares on the roads (we dun have much pedestrian paths), motorcycles who weave in and out of every gap in between cars etc. Very different from the Japanese, who are very courteous drivers just like the British. I rarely, if ever, heard any honking then.
Saw a pict of Bro on his Friendster last nite. His dressing and hair made him look a lot like Bae Yong Joon xia...hahahaha ;)
// posted by Jenn @ 4:07 PM 
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