A Taste of Jakarta, Indonesia

Jakarta, Indonesia. Indonesia holds a mystique and mystery to chefs from around the world.  This stems from the countries gastronomic history, volcanic formations (for agriculture), and their geographical location during the spice trade.  Jakarta, the nations capitol, is nestled on the north western tip of Java (West Java). Indonesia is a nation comprised of some 1,200 islands, each with its own distinct character.  136 million Indonesians call Java home, makes sense why it is the world’s most populated island.  Java houses 60% of the country’s total population.

Have you ever been in traffic before?

I don’t think so, not until you go to Jakarta, Indonesia. The traffic in Jakarta was the worst I have ever experienced, it made the 405 in L.A. seem like the autobahn in Germany!

Jakarta, am I going to like you?

I was greeted by a close friend and chef, “Frenchy”, the Executive Chef at The Dharmawangsa, a 5 star hotel in Jakarta. Remember him from 2009 Thailand adventure?  We caught up for a bit that night and he gave me a crash course in all things Jakarta. Not sure what to make of it, but knew there was a lot to explore in Indonesia.  My time was limited so will plan to travel to Indonesia again in the future.

Was Jakarta going to have that exciting vibe, great street food, and energy of Bangkok or Shanghai?

Jakarta Street Food:

The smell of palm oil fills the narrow city streets of Jakarta.  These aromas are carried through the air from the street food vendors.  Unfortunately we did not see more than a handful of street food carts that were not frying something.  I am all for grabbing a little fried food but when you have no other options in hot & humid weather it can quickly turn to be a bust for foreigners.

We snacked on tofu & tuna fish (sorry, no blue fin here!) fried wontons covered or more like smothered in peanut and chili sauce. Caught off guard by the tangy flavor of the chili sauce, I had to do a double take. The Indonesian style chili sauce carried a sweet-tangy flavor and had the viscosity of a thin ketchup. Tasty, yes, but after only 4 bites could not stomach any more. Looking back on that moment I am asking myself why our driver did not care for any (I offered to pay), maybe he knew something? hmmm….

The following evening Frenchy had the Indonesian chefs from the Dharmawangsa Hotel prepare us an authentic Indonesian meal. Curious, after two days of Eating  Jakarta, what is an “authentic” Indonesian meal?  I get it, sate & peanut sauce, but there had to be more! I asked a dozen or so locals to tell me about Indonesian cuisine and they all gave me a mumbo-jumbo answer that was essentially a bunch of bullshit.  Ask any Thai, Chinese, European, American, Australian, South American, and you get a dissertation about their nations food.  Where was the disconnect?

The chefs prepared a large spread for us to sample.  Dishes ranged from fresh vegetables with grated coconut, coconut “Bali” beef, braised beef with curry, pulled chicken with local chili, beef sate, shrimp sate (on lemongrass), corn fritters, tofu with chili, and 4 dipping sauces used as condiments. Yes, the infamous peanut sauce made its appearance. My personal favorite was the coconut “Bali” beef, or was it the pulled chicken, or the Kobe Beef Sates? That was an excellent evening with friends and by far the best meal I ate in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Unfortunately, I had to cancel a trip to Bandung, Indonesia due to time constraints.  Bandung is another city on the island of Java. Bandung, Indonesia is known for its fresh cuisine and produce.  I pledged to EAT BANDUNG on the next Indonesian trip, but for now will have to live vicariously through my friend & chef, Maria.

See photo gallery below:

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Travel Summary of Africa to Amsterdam. Flights. Miles. Time. Kilometers. Climate. Weather. Find it all Here!

Time to call this one a wrap!  Ben and I are just totally beat from the intense  traveling. Here we are at Schipol Airport in Amsterdam awaiting our flights.  Its 5am here, and Ben and I find ourselves watching the cleaning crew and graveyard shift getting ready to leave. We sit here reflecting on this trip, this was a trip of a lifetime!  I am heading directly back to Dallas, Ben to Atlanta then to Birmingham, AL, so saying adios in Amsterdam (shortly), until I see him in Dallas in January.

In 23 days we covered the following ground-

14,058.8  air miles

3 continents (US, Africa, Europe)

Crossed over 3 massive bodies of water

drove 2,394 miles (South Africa, Namibia, Botswana) map of our driving trip

consumed roughly 6 pounds of wild game biltong

walked roughly 40 miles each

drank 41 gallons of water

crossed 6 borders

experienced 8 climate & terrain changes

ate zebra, giraffe, gimmsbuck, warthog, ostrich (and egg), panakoken, and many other treats- (you will just have to go back through all the food finds in the blog from the trip!)

saw some of the best sunrises/sunsets, wild animals, art, & architecture in the world!

That is some intense stats to produce in the better part of 3 weeks!  Stay tuned for more  adventures, we spent the countless driving hours figuring out where next.  And of course how to  become a full time tri-lingual  “Ninja”-

Travel.Cook.Eat.

Thanks for following the Africa to Amsterdam Adventure,

Chef David & Ben

A Change in Latitudes Nothing Feels Quite the Same….

In route to Africa- how did this happen you ask? Simply put, I made it happen- it doesn’t take nearly as much money as most people think!  Consider it a culinary expedition, investing in yourself, and seeing the world.  The general culture in the US is work until you are 62, retire, then “live your life”.  Now, my question is can you go searching for truffles on the mountain side of Namibia at 62? Can you spend countless hours exploring caves? Shark diving? Probably not- so learn how to take mini-retirements & adventures all while working.  It really is much easier than you think!

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Thailand Tour. Places to Travel and Pictures of Thailand. More Thailand Travels to Come!

What an Adventure!

I have just returned home from Thailand, what a day of flying Phuket to Bangkok to Tokoyo to Dallas! The one very nice thing about having all that time was that it gave me the chance to look back on all the highlights of my adventure!

Beyond the Kitchen will post some of my “out takes” soon on video- and I have to say some of the first takes are rather humerous… but hey, everyone gets a little camera shy at first.. especially when you look like the weird-o holding your own camera in front of you recording yourself! After a few times, I quickly got over it, and just had fun!  After all it is all about showing everyone what is really going on out there is this amazing world!

The Ultimate Highlight -was the Thai Food! I mean, WOW! I ate everything there I could get my hands on… okay, the insect thing was a bit weird.. but I think I just discovered where the term “I have butterflies in my stomach” comes from! I am a chef through and through, and all great chefs are passionate about food, but more so the ingredients that go into making a great dish!  The Thai’s have nailed it 100% from an ingredient stand point and a flavor profile stand point!  They have the magic of combining the ying and yang of flavors.. they just melt together perfectly!

Reflecting Back- The one thing I realized on this trip is just how much I enjoy writing- not always being politically correct, just being myself… being real- writting about what people want to read about… THE REAL DEAL… not some “tour guide” to restaurants and attractions type nonsense… where to really go, what to really see, and how great it is to interact with people and embrace their culture and customs!

I have many of special thanks to give….

Mr. Bussey owner of Left Right Now.  He has been a great inspiration of this adventure and journey through Thailand.  He is also the creator of Beyond the Kitchen, and was my techinacal support from Asia! So Thanks Bussey, and remember i still have the Sanchez Hat! Perhaps it will make an appearance somewhere again!

My parents, for supporting my wild idea of taking a culinary adventure to Asia! Not exactly I think what they had instore for their son, but see the great benefits it had! They had all their friends following my blog while I was gone!  So thank you! I have had so many of their friends say to me “I can’t beleive you ate the bug!” hahaha!

Family friends, thanks for following, please stay tuned, there will always be more to come! And during the down time, there will be posts, so don’t worry, the great humor will never end!

My friends (professional and personal)- Mike thanks for taking care of the casa, and everyone else for following and checking on me while I was gone…

My sister and my great brother-in-law Lance- thanks for following and keeping me in the loop, and not thinking that this was an insane idea!

Skype- thank god you exist!

And last but not least- O’neils (flip flops & board shorts), THANK YOU for having a durable flip flop that I wore every day and not once did you break or give my feet any trouble! Finding a great flip flop is hard to do these days.. and you passed the test!

Stay tuned for more blogs and content from Beyond the Kitchen

Thank You EVERYONE for the support!

Always remember….

TRAVEL. COOK. EAT.

Traveling by Train from Bangkok to Chiang Mai, Thailand. Second Class Ticket.

Written by Chef Dave | 17 June 2009

I took the train from Bangkok to Chaing Mai last night- well what was supposed to be a 11 hour ride turned out to be more like 13 hrs.  It was well worth the experience though, I can’t complain! I was shocked to see that 85% of the train was filled with back packers!  There was lots to talk about and of course everyone was friendly!

The seats (2nd Class) flip open into a bed, then a top bunk drops down… crazy!  The guy comes around drops fresh linen on the fold out beds, fluffs up your pillows, and are beyond friendly.

I ate a late dinner on the train of chicken curry, vegetables, soup, rice, and some fresh cut fruit… all for the bargain price of 150 baht- which is about the equals about 4.50 USD.  And they think the “get you on the train”…

The ride was shockingly smooth, although as far as the bathrooms are concerned there is a lot to be desired! There were 2 “bathrooms” in our car. one literally had a hole in it about the size of a softball that went straight out onto the tracks… yes, straight down to the ground!  The second was a proper toilet.. then 2 communal sinks for brushing teeth, etc.  Although was kind of weird-ed out by some people giving themselves a sudo shower via the sink….

I (like an idiot) landed up deleting 2 days worth of video and photos on the train… yes, 2 days of travels gone… not good, so I just invested in a flash drive just in case I slip up again and push the wrong button!

The train is worth the experience and great way to make new friends!  Although I am going to fly back to Bangkok to meet my old friend… I think once was enough and for only 20 USD. more you can fly and be there in what turned out to be 1/13th the time

Stay tuned for more on Chaing Mai!