Red cabbage

Recipe adapted from the Asian Food Channel.

After scouting the isles for red cabbage and finding that there are none available, I decided to try making it myself. The only obstacle? Marcel. Granted the recipe I found was not from an authentic German site (which Marcel insists on for German food) but it ended up quite well and it passed the German test. Marcel liked it!

part-A-y

phil's house

a fellow Berliner

Surya's back!

full house

spilled red wine oops

a vandalised bathroom...

Ahh that poor bathroom, I'm sure it has seen better days. But more on that later...
A friend of mine who vowed to leave Jakarta in another 12 months (unlikely) has just been offered to move into a new apartment so...houseparty! Marcel hasn't had the chance to collectively meet with some of the people I used to hang out with regularly before we got together so what better way than this night. Surya was one of the first people I met here in Jakarta and he was back in town for a week visiting his parents. He has been heavily promoting his new place of work..a tea plantation in a remote part of India and trying to convince us to visit him there.

Shortly after I had taken this picture in the bathroom, Surya went, and moments later I heard a loud crash...and Surya appearing a little fazed and uttering the words "..I just went to the bathroom". I looked in and found that he had completely taken the door off the hinges and the piece of wood that was covering the top part of the sliding device had also been ripped off the wall. I asked him..."Surya how did you do that?" to which he replied sheepishly "I thought it opened out...not a sliding one"

The host of the party was not impressed...and the party ended not long after. Great party though.

lunch break

I had the opportunity to grab some lunch with some old friends during their lunchtime break and, well, it seems I'm somewhat of a distraction or perhaps an excuse to procrastinate. Lunch ended somewhat a couple of hours (or more later) but it was great fun and long overdue.

Ladies day at Citos

I'm loving Ladies Day market in Citos (Cilandak Town Square). It happens every Wednesday arvo. The good thing about these markets are that some of the things they sell are not massed produced so there are only probably two or three of the same thing but on the other hand, most things are handmade, which means when you're not a "one size fits all" kind of gal then that pretty much eliminates clothes and shoes. Because Citos has quite alot of expats (and their wives) coming for the lunch rush, these stalls don't generally do discounts so the price on the tags are somewhat non negotiable (or can be discounted by 5%).

I came across this jewelry stall last time that had some fun little rings and bracelets that weren't too kitschy and although two out of the three rings I had been eyeing last time were no longer there I did managed to see one Swarovski ring that was somewhat cute. I mostly liked it because out of all the rings I saw in other stalls, it was the neatest in terms of the craftsmanship. I'm not too keen on the colour combination to be honest, I think it would be nicer if it was only two-toned, white and champagne but I tried bargaining to see if I could get it for less and after a while I got it for the price I wanted, so I took it.

I also saw a stall that sold a small three tiered cake holder made from gold and pale pink which could be cute for a jewelry holder but I forgot to take a picture of it. I was tempted to buy it but not so sure whether it was cute or tacky so I might need a second opinion on it.

Farewell...

I received a disturbing call from a friend today. He told me the bad news that a friend of ours had passed away yesterday after a game of futsal. I was shocked. In disbelief. He was 33 and died of a heart attack. We are all a little in disbelief about this, especially the boys who played on Sunday and who took him to the hospital. Our condolences to Ben and his family.

Another relaxing day at the spa

Jan, a former Jakarta resident, recommended to Marcel of this spa place some time ago. It is right next to Die Stube in Kemang. From the outside it kind of looks like an old abandoned office building so we were hesitating to come in but we decided to give it a go anyway. Inside was another story, it looked a little like a Bali spa resort.

I went for a sea salt deep scrub because as we are living in Jakarta, there is a tendency, especially when you walk around outside, to have dirt and dust getting stuck to your body. The local women regularly do this also but, of course, at local spas where you come in, get it done, go out again...so...not so relaxing. They call it a "lulur".

In the end we were a little too relaxed and sleepy to do anything else so maybe it wasn't such a good idea to do something like this in the middle of the day.

Meat in a jar

I'm not a fan of meat in bottled jars but the price of this German wurst are a little ridiculous don't you think?