Excelso Summer Holiday Beverages: Indonesian Foodblogger Gathering.

I was super duper excited when I received the invitation to join another gathering held by Indonesian Foodblogger. When I looked at the invitation, it was a straight yes!!!

This event was held in coordination with Excelso Indonesia as well as the chance to promote their SUMMER HOLIDAY BEVERAGES, I mean, I don't think that this brand needs anymore introduction since it's currently the top leading coffee producers in Indonesia and I am actually one of its fan!

Wait, have I mentioned that Excelso originally came from Indonesia? Some of you might think that it's an international brand for what you see on its packaging and outer physical appearance, well, they're expanding internationally, but originally it's a local brand and I am so proud of this brand for winning a lot of hearts, there you go, quality always the reason why something survives.

The event took place at its outlet at Food Society, Kota Kasablanka and for the record, they already have 105 outlets spread all over 19 cities in Indonesia. Bravo! I love how the restaurant is divided into two areas: one for smoking and another one for the non-smokers, I mean, who wants to eat in a restaurant where there's smoke flying around, it's such a major turn off, and hey, do you know that cigarette's smoke is one of the reasons that degrades the quality of coffee beans? It does!!! And I guess that's very smart of this restaurant to have separate areas for smokers.

You'll notice major usage of wood elements in this restaurant, it adds the minimalist yet classy atmosphere to this restaurant which is good!

Say hi to Ms. Hanny A. Elvind, she is the Marketing Communication Manager of Excelso Indonesia and she is the person behind all the publication and promotion of this campaign (going to that later on).

For Excelso "Summer Holiday Beverages" campaign, they're promoting this five drinks which has originally been parts of their regular menu, but what makes this summer proper? Definitely the base of the drinks: FRUIT!

Imagine you're in a summer season where everything tends to get hot and beach is everyone's favorite destination to play around, get tanned while sipping their favorite beverages! I personally would have wanted something fresh with mix of flavors from the fruit and I'm so ready to get impressed! So are you guys ready to see the beverages from the "Summer Holiday Beverages" series? Wait... I'm going to get there in a while, so fasten your seat belt and hold your cravings for splash of freshness.

For now, I'm going to review the food they're serving us at the event.

Cripsy Cass
Chocolate and Cheese - IDR 27.5k
Chocolate, Cheese and additional Ice Cream - IDR 32.5k

I recommend this one during your visit to Excelso any time for a light bite, either appetizer or dessert. This one is made from Fried Cassava and Tapai. To be honest, I am not a big fan of tapai dish, but this one is slightly different because they're making the tapai to taste so good and smooth while not overpowering everything. Nice!!!

Excelso Club Sandwich
IDR 59.5k

Did I mention that I am a big fan of this restaurant? Well, apparently not only me, but also my dad. This dish is my dad's favorite and he almost always order this everytime he visits this restaurant. I mean, this one is certainly good! The filling of this sandwich consists of chicken slices, smoked beef, sliced egg, onion, tomatoes and fresh garden greens, served by the company of french fries. This one is my standard of a good old sandwich <3.

AND NOW!!!

I'm ready to present you guys...

EXCELSO SUMMER HOLIDAY BEVERAGES!

Just like what I've mentioned earlier, there are five highlighted drinks of this campaign and let me tell you upfront... they're awesome.

Left to right: Maharani, Summer Splash Freeze, Banana Split Frappio.

Maharani
IDR 41.5k

This drink is the mixture of fruits like banana, pineapple, cherry, lychee, mixed with pineapple juice, orange juice and strawberry sauce, but, here's the twist: the thing that adds the uniqueness of this drink to a whole new level is because this drink contains coffee in it! And wait, don't start presuming that this would taste bad when in fact, this one tastes so good! Even the coffee adds something special and won't reduce the freshness. Another positive thing about this drink: IT'S SO PRETTY LOOKING! I adore the selection of the glass!

Summer Splash Freeze
IDR 41.5k

Another sweet looking beverages from Excelso is this Summer Splash Freeze, but is it as sweet as it looks? The answer is friggin yes!!! It's not just plain sweet, it's fabulous sweet. This drink is the mixture of red berries, cherries and apple juice, somehow the mixture of those three items created a light sour to keep you freshened up. Make sure you have this right the second it's served, the colder the better. Brrrr...

Banana Split Frappio
IDR 41.5k

Since it's a 'frappio' beverage, this one contains coffee, but since I am a coffee worshiper, I have no problem with it. This beverage is a chilled coffee blended with whole banana, chocolate syrup and strawberry topping. This one is fresh yet chilling, if you're a big fan of banana and coffee beverages, go for this one! Three drinks served and I have nothing negative to say, what for when you love each and one of it? This one is again, AWESOME! Applause for the usage of walnuts and cherry on top, just adds the prettiness a level higher.

Banana Split Freeze
IDR 41.5k

This drink might look identical with the previous mentioned above, but what makes this one different from before is that this one is coffee-free and the color is a little lighter. If you're not a fan of coffee but you still love banana, this one is proper for you. It's again, fresh, memorable, sweet, addicting and creamy.

Mystery Drink!
Can you guys guess the last drink of this "Summer Holiday Beverages" series?
I'm going to give you a little hint: it's fresh, it's pretty and it's awesome.....

Still doesn't have any clue? Okay, I'm going there in a while but I have a little story to tell.

At the invitation (attached from the email), it was mentioned that there's a drink decorating competition. We've been told that the drink would be this one called "Maui Fruit Punch" (which is by the way the name of the last drink, so there you go!), but without knowing what's inside the beverage and all, I go with my way of decorating the drink, I wanna keep it simple since the beverage itself NEEDS TO BE THE HIGHLIGHT! And I wanna emphasize the pretty colors of this beverage!

Summer for me is bright colors everywhere, fun, fresh and yet a little flirty at the same time, and in this case, flirty equals to the drink itself. So I go by adding flowers in pink gradations and transparent glass rocks to symbolize the ice, while the base is simply a white plate.

See?! The color of the drink is so beautiful already that I don't think I need to add a lot of ornaments to emphasize it. I believe simplicity sometimes equals to classy and I love how the background of these pictures I took is the leaves from the restaurant's decoration. It pretty much looks like my ideal summer beverage! I can imagine myself having this in the middle of a hot day in a pretty beach :).

Maui Fruit Punch
IDR 41.5k

This drink is a fruity drink made from banana, cherry and lychee, with pineapple juice, orange juice and topped off with strawberry syrup. I got to taste the drink myself and I pretty much love this! It's so refreshing and yet the exciting part of this drink is you can guarantee the freshness by having the real fruit chunks (pineapple, lychee and cherry) inside.

If you're too busy travelling this summer, having these fabulous beverages from Excelso is almost equals to a fun summer holiday!

To celebrate the release of these fabulous "Summer Holiday Beverages" from Excelso, Excelso is giving you guys lovely treats <3.

For minimum transaction of IDR 100.000 (including one of five "Summer Holiday Beverages" in the transaction), Excelso's giving you free complimentary of Melba or Blossom Freeze!!!

Isn't it such a nice deal? It's like freshness doubled!

This promotion ends on July 31st so hurry up, drive to your nearest Excelso outlet and don't miss this chance!

Special thanks for Excelso Indonesia and Indonesia Foodblogger (IDFB) for this fun event and for gathering us on a special day!

Till then,

HAPPY SUMMER HOLIDAY EVERYONE!

Excelso Cafe Kota Kasablanka || FACEBOOK | TWITTER

Food Society, Kota Kasablanka

Upper Ground Fl. Unit MU-36

Jl. Casablanca Raya, Kav. 88

Jakarta Selatan 12870

FACEBOOK || TWITTER || INSTAGRAM

email: eatandtreatsindo@gmail.com

Bloggers Tea Time with Dapur Cokelat Menteng

Hello my lovely readers! How are y'all doing??? I don't know why I am so happy today, I feel like my metabolism is rising and my endorphins are working very well. I don't know why am I even saying this but I am just happy! Why oh why? 

Oh! Maybe because this post contains a lot of endorphin source! CHOCOLATE!!!

So last week I was invited for an exclusive bloggers tea time session with Dapur Coklat Menteng by Chef Adith. Basically, Dapur Cokelat is now releasing their version of an awesome tea time with the theme "New Look, New Sensation: New Personal Cake!". This invitation just comes in a right time, literally when I am on my high tea mission, and what's Dapur Cokelat without their selection of awesome chocolate cakes??? That makes this one certainly not to be missed. The growth of the restaurants offering you a nice tea time experience is so rapid, and for ones, it's a good thing.

Dapur Cokelat is like a bottomless pit of chocolate factory.

Three photos below taken with Samsung Galaxy Camera.

Don't worry, those above were just the "appetizers", and again, don't worry, the chocolate foodporns don't stop right here, I still have tons to show you guys. 

Chef Adith told us that there are 17 cakes to be served for us for presentation and the excitement don't stop right there, we are allowed to taste the cakes!!! Certainly not each and every cake because I'm going to end up closer to diabetic (just kidding), no, honestly sweet treats somehow make you very full, but I still managed to at least have one bite of some cakes expecting to be impressed.

Left to right:

DC's Choco (16k)

Raspberry Jefa (21.5k)

Opera Cake (20k)

Choco Monkey (15k)

Chocolate Caramel (22k)

Here are some of the cakes that I managed to take an individual shot and some I tried myself.
Choco De La Creme
IDR 25k

This cake is the star of the night because from the overall tasting, I'd say this is the best! This cake is the mixture of Vanilla and Chocolate Creme Brulee with Glazy Dark Chocolate Coating. Starting from the coating to the very last bite, you'll find a joy of eating this soft mousse cake with rich chocolate taste, the cake literally melts and dances in your mouth, damn I want it again right now.

Maybe you're wondering about some gold sparks on top of the cake and if some of you think of it as gold, then YES IT IS! and plus, it's 24 karat gold!!! Only 24 karat gold is edible. Remember that.

Fruit Shortcake
IDR 15.5k
This one is light, if you love a basic vanilla fruit tart, this one is for you. Applause for the crunchy almonds.

Strawberry Cheesecake
IDR 22k
If you have been a loyal reader, you probably know that I am not a big fan of cheese, I just can't eat certain type of cheese, except Mozarella because it barely tastes like common cheese and Mozarella is like one of the best inventions of earth after smartphones (I know, not relevant), so I didn't manage to try this but according to the bloggers, it's nice, so I guess worth your try, it looks pretty already <3.

Caramel Chocolate
IDR 22k
One input given to Chef Adith for this cake, because it tastes more like a Chocolate Caramel rather than the vice-versa, you can sense the caramel but it's just very little, maybe some would expect more, right? The chocolate used here is the Dark Chocolate and the cake is somehow thicker than most cakes here, but is this bad? Not at all, I honestly pretty much like it.

Fruit Tartlet
IDR 12.5k
Tastes almost the same as the Fruit Shortcake only different base and texture, but still, another worth to try.

Dapur Cokelat Opera Cake
IDR 20k
I bet this cake needs no introduction, it's their famous Opera Cake and I have been such a fan of this cake ever since I was in high school because this cake occasionally become the surprise cake! I love how the layers of the buttercream and dark chocolate ganache (and definitely coffee) blends together in your mouth. The buttercream somehow not overpowering. One of the best Opera Cake in town you need to rush here and purchase!

Red Velvet Cake
IDR
I can't keep my eyes off the red velvet cake! I don't know like when I am in a certain cake store, my eyes always fall for the red velvets, they're just magnetizing it's like their red color has this energy to keep my eyes on the cake. Therefore, I fall depper into tasting the cake and this one is good!

Choco Monkey
IDR 15K
This dark chocolate cake has a huge hint of banana and that's probably why they named it "Choco Monkey" cake. The monkey was so cute I have no guts eating it.

Tiramisu Cake
IDR 19.5k
DECENT! That word was exactly what's on my mind when I had the first bite of this cake, Dapur Cokelat is so good in keeping the cake and the mascarpone cream not to be milky-overpowering, which is good for my liking, and for my personal preference, it's totally a major plus point.

Mango Cassata
IDR 18k
Mango and chocolate are meant to be with one another. Genius idea and so photogenic, just look at the cake.

Hazelnut Pralines
IDR 25k
One of my most favorite of the Tea Time session. The chocolate truffle cake is so creamy and the hazelnut is rich but not sharp. You know what I ultimately loved about this cake? It's the biscuit/macaroon on top of the cake, it just adds the contrast and the texture, I don't like boring cakes and this is certainly not boring. MUST TRY.

Two Seasons
IDR 19.5k

Triple Decker
IDR 17.5
This is also another favorite of mine among the series, I love the usage of the dark cherries as the filling, somehow adds a little touch of sourness, certainly what I need after huge hits of sweet treats.

Java Chocolate
IDR 15k

After this session, I left with a happy face and happy tummy, again still managed to release a few holes of my belt for my stomach to breathe and to hide the scale in my house after I arrived.

The surprise doesn't stop there! I was given a fabulous goodie bag of their "Choco De La Creme" and "Opera" cake, but it doesn't look so appetizing after I arrived home, somehow maybe the cakes were fighting on my way home.

Here's how Dapur Cokelat look from outside, to help you from getting lost.
Photos taken with Samsung Galaxy Camera.

THANK YOU DAPUR COKELAT FOR THE SWEET TREATS!
The thing with Dapur Cokelat is that they serve us great cakes with affordable prices, sometimes when you enter a restaurant and you realize that one slice of cake is a little too pricy and you make it a lesson not to coming back, but not with this one, I am pretty sure that Dapur Cokelat will be the destination of a great tea time place, just look at them! How many years have they served us with their gracious chocolate treats? They already have 12 outlets spread around Indonesia, they just maybe need a bigger venue for dine in.

And here's a case, if you have IDR 50k to shop in Dapur Cokelat, I would recommend you their "Choco De La Creme" and "Hazelnut Pralines" or "Mango Cassata" or "Raspberry Jefa" (I don't manage to take a individual picture of the cake, but it's actually in my 7th photo-starting from above-beside the Opera Cake with a chocolate swirl on top).

Dapur Cokelat Menteng || FACEBOOK | TWITTER 
Jalan H.O.S Cokroaminoto No. 62A
Jakarta Pusat
021 - 3192 3988
email: info@dapurcokelat.com

FACEBOOK || TWITTER || INSTAGRAM

email: eatandtreatsindo@gmail.com

Indonesian Foodblogger Gathering at Ten Ten Plaza Indonesia

Last Saturday I attended one of the most memorable, important and yet exciting event held by Indonesian Foodblogger. Since I'm new in this industry, I'm one of their newest members and I'm glad to be a part of Indonesian Foodblogger group and obviously glad for the existence of Indonesian Foodblogger because I realize that certain people are paying attention to food bloggers and actually respect the existence of us and personally, me. Thanks for inviting me to the event. *wipe tears*

Isn't it nice to meet new friends and meet potential future co-workers? I am!

Initially, the event included a cooking class held in cooperation with the awesome Ten Ten Tempura House in Plaza Indonesia (also the venue of the food blogger gathering). I kinda slipped on reading the DM sent to me, I thought it started on 12 PM, but the it actually started on 10AM-12PM and I realized it the night before. I kinda upset for not making it to the cooking class since I had meeting with an advertiser of this blog at 10 AM at another place, and I can only make it to the lunch part, but that's okay, at least I still showed up and still on a mission to make you guys hungry, still managed to capture mouthwatering pictures guaranteed to make you to experience your foodgasm in a great way :D.

I got to meet a lot of new friends, some of them I knew from social networking (read; Twitter) before we actually met face to face, some I already met at previous food tasting gathering and I'm honestly hoping to meet them again and get to know each other more in the future.

Ten Ten Restaurant has just released its newest ventures and creations starting from salad, small bites, ala cartes, main courses, beverages and desserts and those additionals add up to 164 menus to choose from to fulfil your cravings for superb japanese culinary!!! They have large selections of Tendon (rice bowl with various tempura topping served with miso soup) and Donburi and they're all delicious! I'm going to take you there in a while, so hold on to your seatbelts.

We're given this form of what we'd like to order and I came with my selections of food for the lunch, I hope you love it and tempted enough.

Special thanks for Ten Ten Tempura House for these delicious food I'm going to post:

MAIN COURSE:

TORI TENBARA

Tempura Crispy Fried Chicken with sesame and garnished with seaweed.

How do you spell delicious?

T-E-N-D-A-R-A  F-R-O-M  T-E-N-T-E-N!

Hands down to this gorgeous meal I had for lunch that day. It's on a proper portion, great for lunch and what makes it better is the fact that I'm also being served with delicious desserts (going to tell you more about that later).

As you can see, the tempura is cooked so well that it's very crunchy! Wondering why is that? It's because Ten Ten Restaurant serves you tempuras that are cooked in a special way with a special fryer machine so you're going to have delicious and consistent tasting tempuras! Applause for the consistency!

SPICY BEEF KINOKO DON

Sliced beef with mushrooms and Ten Ten special spicy sauce.

Sorry for spamming the usage of the word "DELICIOUS" but again, this food is so delicious it's sinful! I love how they managed to cook the beef.. so tender, yummy and I also love love love Enoki Mushroom (my favorite) and I need to tell you this: they use very delicious rice, you won't find common rice you find in most restaurants, I'm not sure if they're using japanese rice or they cook it japanese way, but the rice is very moist, semi-sticky textured and the rice works so well with the filling (meat) and the sauce. I recommend this one for you if you prefer beef over chicken.

Ten Ten Restaurant also adds up new variants for their dessert menu and I am fortunate enough for being able to taste two of their tempting desserts! Here they are...

DESSERTS:

My lunch got even more wonderful because it was companied with uber delicious desserts presented by Ten Ten Plaza Indonesia:

FORET NOIRE
Foret Noire is the french of "Black Forest", I have eaten a lot of different Foret Noire and they all look like common black forest, but this one is certainly not your average, I was kinda shocked when they told me this was foret noir because it doesn't look like one and it's certainly different: it's a very light creme dessert with very rich chocolate texture and most of all, I LOVE THIS! There is simply a happiness you can find in a cup.

Zoom in to capture the delightful chocolate cream texture, I'm having a weird situation right now, looking at the pictures I took myself and going hungry now.

COOKIES AND CHEESE CUP
Trust me, I am not a big fan of cheese ever since I was a little kid, it's just sometimes the very heavy cheese smell and taste makes me feel noxious, but this time, I tried to fight my weakness and actually gain a gut to try this dessert.

If you are not fond of the cheese flavor, I highly recommend this one, the cheese flavor was not very strong, but yet it's creamy but it's more like vanilla cream, and I love the idea of using the cookies and its crumble, I highly respect the different contrast of textures on a dish. Textures are essential.

Thank God for desserts as they are the reasons to keep being happy in this life.

If you're looking for a place to have a gorgeous japanese cuisine whether it's for lunch or dinner, look no further than Ten Ten Plaza Indonesia!

WAIT!

This entry is not over yet, I haven't done giving you great news!!!

Happy news for CITIBANK card holders:

Ten Ten is giving you complimentaries of

BUY 2 GET 3 for main courses

(for both Debit and Credit Card holders, until May 19th 2013)

FOR EVERYONE:

High Tea at Ten Ten Restaurant

1 DESSERT + 1 BEVERAGE for only IDR 42.000

(Valid on Monday-Friday, 2 - 5 PM!)

FOR PARENTS WHO LOVE THEIR KIDS (I know all parents must do)

and for that, take them to Ten Ten restaurant and enjoy...

Ten Ten Kids Meal for IDR 38.000

Meal should be fun for your kids and you!

Follow their Twitter or like their Facebook page for more updates

Ten Ten Tempura House

Plaza Indonesia

Basement Level, unit 16-17

021-7512369

FACEBOOK || TWITTER || INSTAGRAM