indonesia

A cooking class with locals at Uni Emi’s home! A must do when in West Sumatra!

10 octobre 2017

 

Padang’s regional food is the most globally famous of Indonesian culinary offerings. My favorite experience during my amazing culinary trip with the Indonesian tourism board was a cooking class with locals at Uni Emi’s home in Padang, West Sumatra. What an overwhelming experience!

We first stopped at the traditional market in Padang ( Pasar Ibuh Barat Payakumbuh ) to buy all the ingredients needed for cooking the famous Rendang. The market was a great experience itself! When in a foreign country I always try my best to explore local markets. I love love love local markets! It’s always full of colors, textures and most of the time friendly locals to interact with. We were definitely friendly welcomed at this one in Padang!

Uni Emi welcomed us into her home and taught us how to make Rendang. We were all super excited to learn from the Rendang Queen ahah! As soon as I got there, I was just like a kid and couldn’t stop smiling ( you’ll see it down there while I was in the kitchen learning how to make coconut milk with Emi’s friends, the lovely Madame Chong and Madame Ida  ). I was extreeeemely happy to be there! Everyone was so friendly and it was an incredibly overwhelming moment for me.  I feel really lucky and grateful to have been able to experience it ♥

 

 

We ended up having a FEAST! Emi cooked a full Nasi Padand! We had anchovies with patai rendang, mixed vegetables with herbs rendang, egg rendang, and meatball rendang. I was so excited as she also cooked grilled fish ( I don’t eat meat so I wouldn’t try the famous beef rendang ), green jackfruit curry, casava leaf curry, acar (pickled vegetables), and much more! Food was incredible!!! Like INCREDIBLE! ( Oh and I also learned how to properly eat with hands ahah! And I nailed it! )

When you’ll be in Padang, West Sumatra, make sure to book a cooking class with Uni Emi! Trust me you won’t regret it!

Also did I mention that Emi is the coolest person ever! I caught her gramming during lunch ahaha! You can find her on Instragram  ( she also has a Facebook page )! I mean it doesn’t get cooler than that right?!

Thank you from the bottom of my heart dear Emi for your warm welcome and for such a memorable experience. Thank you for sharing your knowledge, kindness and happiness with us ♥ You rock!

Also thank you to the my whole Wonderful Indonesia team for those crazy 10 days I will never ever ever forget! Love you guys!

 

 

Have a rainbow day ya’ll ♥

Sincerely yours,

Lily

 

( photo n°1: Jeliton De Leon/ photo n°4: Katevan Giordaze / photo n°14: Shasya Pashatama /photo n°24: Arie Parikesit )

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Categories: Travel
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Wonderful Indonesia and it’s exquisite cuisine

17 septembre 2017

It was about time to share with you my incredible experience in Indonesia this summer right?!

This summer was pretty intense for me. I first got to spend time in one of my fav place in this world, Ubud in Bali. I was then extremely lucky to be invited by the Wonderful Indonesia team to discover what this incredible country has to offer in terms of Gastronomy. This trip was also designed to give us the opportunity to experience the fascinating beauty and diversity of the country. Well… let me tell you that this country has a lot to offer !

I’ve never imagined that the Indonesian Gastronomy was so rich and so diverse. Indonesia has around 5,350 traditional recipes! We did not try it all but those of you who have been watching my stories know that we’ve been eating A LOT during those 10 days … like … A LOT! From rendang, to nasi goreng/campur/padang/gudeg, to our beloved martabak and much more , we had an incredible culinary experience while there and I’m excited to share with you my fav food spots!

We got to explore 4 parts of the country: Jakarta, West Sumatra ( Bukittingi ) , Yogyakarta and Bali.  I was already in love with Indonesia after exploring Bali and Lombok but that trip made me love that country even more! One of my favorite thing on top of the incredible landscapes and the exquisite cuisine ? The people! I’ve been traveling a lot and I can say that Indonesian people are some of my fav people on Earth! They are so kind and friendly! Crazy how writing about this country right now makes me want to go back asap!

One of the best part of the trip was also the team itself.  We were such a wonderful team! From the tourism board people to my fellow instagramers …What a team!!!! I miss them so so much! It was so much fun and I will never ever forget this incredible experience. A huge thanx to the Wonderful Indonesia team for making this experience happen!

You’ll find my recommendations at the end of the article ♥

 

Jakarta

As the capital city of Indonesia, Jakarta has a lot to offer, from the various mouth watering street food to the luxurious fine dining. Located on the northwest coast of Java, Jakarta is the center of economics, culture and politics of Indonesia.

Places I recomend:

 

 

Padang

Padang was my fav part of the trip. It is the capital of West Sumatra. Padang’s regional food is the most globally famous of indonesian culinary offerings, which makes a perfect reason to visit the home of padang cuisine.

Places I recommend:

  • Sate Mak Syukur
  • RM Gumarang : This place was very interesting ! Make sure to stop there if you have a sweat tooth as they offer some authentic local dessert! My favorites ? Pocket Ketan ( avocado sticky rice ) and katan sarkayo (sticky rice with egg and coconut milk custard). My least favorite the one I hated ?!  Ampiang dadiah (buffalo fermented milk with sticky rice and palm sugar syrup)!
  • Martabak Bandung:  favorite Martabak place ever/ right across the street from RM Gumarang . This was my first time trying martabak and it was love at first sight!!! Martabak is basically a super fluffy pancake filled with A TON OF BUTTER and condensed milk. You can order it with a bunch of different fillings including chocolate, cheese, fruit, nutella, and more, and more, and more! The one I first tried was filled with corn, cheese and banana! This stuff is so delicious!! But watch out!! It’s incredibly addictive!
  • RM Family Benteng : local restaurant serving Nasi Padang 
  • Uni Emi: this one will have a blog post for itself as this was my fav experience ever!

 

 

Yogyakarta

Yogyakarta ( or Jogja ) is the second most visited destination in Indonesia after Bali. It is a cultural hub known for it’s traditional craft and perfoming arts. I was actually very frustrated not to be able to spend more time there as it seems that this city has so much to offer. I got very surprised by all the cool places we discovered there!

Places I recommend:

  •  Martabak Kota Baru: second best Martabak we had on the trip 
  • Gudeg Yu Djum: When in Jogja you have to try Gudeg as it’s a traditional Javanese jackfruit curry dish mainly found in there and Central Java.
  • Sasanti Restaurant: Food was absolutely delicious there! A place you don’t want to miss while in Jogja!
  • Royal Ambarrukmo: Royal Tea ceremony or Patehan is a Kraton Tradition in which the Sultan of Yogyakarta takes a special kind of tea. We had the chance to experience this ceremony! We also had an archery lesson which I really enjoyed! I nailed it ( must have been an archer in an other life ahah )
  • Lulu Lutfi Labibi: That stunning striped outfit I’m wearing on the photo ? That’s where I got it from! Lulu is a talented local designer based in Jogja. You can see more of it’s work on Instagram.
  • Yats Colony:  coolest and super instagramable  boutique hotel in town.
  • Greenhost Hotel : eco friendly hotel with a very lush, green and impressive entrance!

 

 

Bali:

No need to introduce this one I guess ahah! Bali is definitely the most visited Island in Indonesia! It’s also, as mentioned at the beginning of this post,  one of my fav place on Earth! I’ve been going to Bali since 2011 et I’m never get tired of this incredible Island.

Places I recommend:

  • Seniman Coffee : great coffee , yummy and healthy acai bowls, avocado toasts!
  • Pison Coffee: great brunch/breakfast.
  • Monsieur Spoon: French breakfast Alert! You got to try those croissants and pastries to believe it! And I’m French, so when it comes to croissants you can trust me! Make sure to also try the Avocado toast as it’s the best I ever had!
  • Hujan Local: probably one of my fav restaurant in Ubud. You gotta love spicy food though as it’s suuuuper spicy!
  • Warung Sopa : one of my fav vegetarian food places in Ubud!
  • Blanco by Mandif : fine dining in Ubud known for its modern interpretation of Indonesian cuisine.
  • Locavore  & Nusantara by Locavore : We first had a cooking class at Nusantara, which just opened up recently in Ubud. We learned how to do sambal ( one of my fav thing ever, especially the sambal matah you find in Bali ) and coconut milk! We then had lunch at Locavore which has been recognized as one of Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants ( no. 22. ). Locavore uses sustainable locally sourced ingredients. We had an amazing 7 courses lunch ( not to mention the incredible amuse-bouches + petits fours ) and I can surely say thats this place is now on top of my fav restaurant list in Bali. Make sure to try the tomato consommé with a freshly sliced tomato and tomato sorbet as it’s to die for! This place is definitely a must do if you’re in Ubud!

 

Stay tuned for part two where I’ll be sharing one of my fav experience, a cooking class with locals and Uni Emi in Padang!

Sending you lots of Love from France

Sincerely yours ♥

Lily

 

First photo by the talented Kurt Dacheng / Other photos of me by the talented Jelito De Leon.
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Categories: City Guide, Travel
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Jungle experience @ Four Seasons Sayan, Bali

14 juin 2015

Let me get straight to the point! Four Seasons brought things to a whole new level with the FS Sayan!

To be honest, I’m not a hotel girl. I mean hanging aroung in hotels is not my thing at all. Usually, as soon as I check in, I drop off my bags, change clothes, fix my hair, and I’m off to explore! And in the morning, as soon as I’m done with my big breakfast, I’m off all day long!
But this… this is different.

I’m not going to talk about the staff, the villa, the quality of services or the Spa. That would be quite boring cause as you can guess, all of those are amazing and irreproachable.

No, I just want to say how Four Seasons Sayan is beyond words! First things I’ve said to J, with my big eyes wide open, when we arrived was ” Damn! Put some dinausors here and you’d think you’re in Jurassic park!”

The hotel is literally in the middle of the Jungle AND the Rice Fields. The beautiful Ubud river goes through the hotel! And, the architecture is amazing!!!!!!!!

We’ve spent 2 nights there and this was an incredible experience! I never thought I could have say that one day but I totally could have spent my whole day at the hotel. Well I didn’t cause I love Ubud way to much and I had to explore around but…I could have!

So we woke up very early, two days in a raw, to enjoy some beautiful light and take some time to discover this amazing place…

No need to say that it was very, very hard to leave…

 

Je ne vais pas y aller par 4 chemins… Le Four Seasons Sayan a placé la barre, haute, très haute!

Pour être honnête, je ne suis pas du tout du genre à rester à l’hôtel, je pense que vous vous en doutez! J’ai d’ailleurs beaucoup de mal à concevoir le fait que l’on puisse se rendre dans un pays étranger pour rester à l’hôtel…

Mais là… là c’est diffèrent!

Alors je ne vais pas m’attarder sur le fait qu’au niveau du staff, du service, de la Villa avec piscine et du Spa, tout est plus que parfait! Nan nan, je veux juste partager avec vous à quel point, de part sa localisation et son architecture, cet hôtel nous a vraiment laissé bouche bée Jib et moi! 

Il est littéralement situé au milieu de la jungle et des rizières! Et la rivière et les rapides qui le traversent, on en parle?!

La première chose que j’ai dis à ma moitié en arrivant, tout en ayant les yeux super écarquillés?! ” Manque plus que les dinosaures et c’est Jurassic Park !!”

Nous avons eu la chance d’y passer 2 nuits et se fut une fantastique expérience! Je ne pensais pas pouvoir dire ça un jour mais j’aurais pu y passer la journée! Je ne l’ai pas fait, certes, car mon besoin d’exploration et mon amour pour Ubud sont bien trop fort, mais j’aurais vraiment pu!

Nous nous sommes donc levés très tôt, à 2 reprises, pour pouvoir prendre le temps de découvrir ce petit coins de paradis et profiter de la jolie lumière du matin.

Pas besoin de dire qu’il a été dur, très dur de quitter les lieux!!

Je vous embrasse et vous dis à très vite! 

Lots of Love,

Lily

 

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Categories: Travel
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