Cemplang Cemplung

Tempura Cooking Class with Ten Ten Restaurant and my homemade Shrimp Tempura

2013-05-20T23:41:00.000+07:00

It was a beautiful sunny Saturday morning in Jakarta. My camera bag was fully loaded with camera, lenses and other stuffs. Felt so much ready to meet my friends from idfb (Indonesian Food Blogger) at Ten Ten Restaurant, Plaza Indonesia. Boga Group once again sponsored food bloggers gathering with an event called Tempura Cooking Class by Ten Ten Restaurant.

It wasn't hard to find the Japanese tempura restaurant on Basement Level over there. A stylish, casual and warm place with Japanese style and ornaments. Before you move your step further into the restaurant, feast your eyes on some fake foods/drinks on the display near the entrance.

Ten Ten Restaurant comes with a concept, Tempura House, offer you more than 164 choices of menu. Salad, small bites, ala carte, main course, drink and dessert. Customers can choose one from 5 variant flavors of tempura (original, spicy, black pepper, curry and seaweed). The tempura is cooked with special technique in a special fryer machine. As a Tempura House, Ten Ten also has signature menu, Tendon - a bowl of dish with ebi tempura, kisu fish tempura, green bean tempura, sweet potato tempura, pumpkin tempura and oba leaf tempura on top and served with miso soup -

Find 2 outlets of Ten Ten Restaurant - Tempura House at Plaza Indonesia and Pondok Indah Mall 1.

When a group of people who loves to cook and eat meet in a good place with good foods, then nothing matter anymore. Together me and my foodie friends (Vania, Sefa and Elsye) cooked Tempura Omurice. Chef Dian let us impovised our Omurice in Omurice cooking competition. We didn't win, but we sure had so much fun together. Imagine this, four of us love to cook, we have food blog, but that time was our first time ever cook together in one place. :) As a bonus, we can eat our Omurice together. Yum...I love the Demiglace Sauce.

My natural lunch time alarm was ringing when Ebi Yose Katsu served on our tables. Continued with lunch and drinks orders. As the dessert, I was fortunate enough to try Cookies and Cheese Cup. Not too sweet, cheesy and creamy. Love, love, love it !

Tendon Sauce (left) - Rika Fardani from BOGA Group (right)

Chef Dian Kusyanto shared tips and trick how to make good tempura and Tempura Omurice

Our team cooked Tempura Omurice on a Cooking Class

The appetizer, Ebi Yose Katsu (right)

I ordered Spicy Beef Kinoko Don (left) - Cold Green Tea (right)

The other two main course, Tendon (left) - Tenbara (right)

Desserts, Foret Noire cup (left) - Cookies & Cheese cup (right)

That gathering is memorable, therefor I thank Ten Ten Restaurant for the good food, nice place and warm people. The knowledge I learned from there is a lifetime souvenir. That's why I challenged myself to make Shrimp Tempura at home. It's pretty easy ! The only bad thing is cooking shrimp tempura (preparation time included) take longer time than eating it !! :P

Please check the recipe below.

Setup Rambutan / Ice Rambutan with cinnamon syrup

2013-04-23T00:16:00.003+07:00

Hi...how are you all doing ? I'm so excited to be here again with new recipe. I promise to keep update with minimum a post each month. I feel soulless lately, not really in the mood to post anything. But as you can see, I made few changes here and there in this blog. Do you see my new logo on my blog header ? Hahaha...I accidentally made it for my 3rd belated blogiversary, where it supposed to held in January.

I'm not fully back again into blogging and cooking things at the moment. I lost my passion every time I want to cook something. I know my dad's death really affects my mood. I just go with the flow and try not to fight it. Family is still my top priority above all. I have filed my resignation from "Rasa Indonesia" Online Magazine where I was one of the author for Food Photography articles. It was such great opportunity and experience to work with Arfi Binsted of HomemadeS. Although we worked together for only a short time, I learned not only about photography but also how to improve my writing skill. Nevertheless, I thank all contributors in "Rasa Indonesia" Online Magazine (Yulyan, Yulim, Hesti, Turida and Pepy). Hope "Rasa Indonesia" Online magazine will grow even bigger than before in the future.

In my lovely tropical country, we can easily find various kind of tropical fruits. One of so many is rambutan. We call it rambutan or hairy fruits, because its rind is covered with hair. While the white flesh has sweet and mildly acidic flavor. The fact is, canned rambutan in syrup is available in most of grocery stores. But since I can make it my own, then it would be a healthy one and of course with no preservatives added.

Enjoy.....

I'll be back...

2013-04-19T00:05:00.001+07:00

Yes.. I'm still here, been trying to keep this blog alive from comma :p I have a new post and hope everything will be ready by tomorrow. See you soon....

A great loss and Avocado pudding

2013-03-21T00:44:00.002+07:00

Innalillahi wa innailaihi rojiun - Truly we belong to Allah and truly to Him shall we return.

March 12, 2013, at 2.40 AM, my dad passed away in peace. It's a great loss for us as a family and it hit me really bad. No sign, no last message and the worst is "I wasn't there to be with him in the last time of his life". Last time I called him was in the afternoon the day before he died, he said "I'm fine". He tried to make me calm and it worked. Nine days after he died and I still shed my tears whenever I think of him.

Three days before my dad died, my sister-in-law died from breast cancer. She had been struggling with cancer for more than three years. She was one of the nicest person I have ever met. I lost two important person in my life in 3 days. My prayers for Papa and Kak Ati (sister-in-law), may Allah bless your souls and give you all the best place in Jannah (heaven). Aamiin.

Nothing much to say this time. Yet, from old photos archive, here are the photos of Avocado pudding. It's quite simple and delicious. I got the original recipe from Roger Mooking from Everyday Exotic. Enjoy......

When scone gets swirled : Chocolate swirl scone loaf

2013-02-07T21:01:00.002+07:00

Three weeks after my dad's Cardiac catheterization surgery, our lives are starting back to normal. My dad was hospitalized for eleven days and it took out our attention, mind, energy and time. The surgery went smooth, the doctor was competent and acted fast in critical moment. My dad had become unconscious the time he arrived at the hospital. The pulse from his heart was only 20 beats per minute which is mean below average normal pulse 80 - 100 beats per minute. We almost lost him, but Alhamdulillah, we still have him alive.

I made this scone loaf right before new year. I think keeping food photos and use them later whenever I get busy or when I have no time to bake anything is very favorable. Just like these days, where I concentrate on my dad's recovery and not fully back to my baking and cooking time. I only open my archive and choose some photos of a recipe I had tried.

Adapted from Donna Hay's Chocolate swirl scone loaf, the scone was absolutely perfect. I fall in love on how easy and simple it is to make and my curiosity for its swirl :D The original scones were made with oats and had a large round shape and grilled-bake over an open fire. Nowadays, the scones can be found in various shapes from diamond, triangle to wedge or people cut the dough with cookie cutter into heart-shaped or crescent moon shaped.

Enjoy.....

The winners of DMBLGiT January 2013 Edition

2013-02-01T19:00:00.000+07:00

From the moment I announced DMBLGiT January 2013, food and drink photographs were sent to my mail. I discovered many new blogs and new friends as well. I received 46 photos from foodie bloggers around the globe as you can check them on gallery. Thank you all for your participation !

Thanks to a team of judges (Yelena, Aisha, Kristin and Pamela) for your time and efforts. Another big thank you to Andrew Barrow for letting me host again and Shari for the badges. Keep participating on next edition which will be hosted by Liz and Jewels from Liz & Jewels. Or you could also take part in this event as the host by sending an e-mail to Andrew with "DMBLGiT Host" as subject.

Now, it's about time to reveal the winners of DMBLGiT January 2013 Edition. Here they are :

OVERALL WINNERS

First Place Winner

Kankana Saxena of Sunshine and Smile with
"Murgh Korma (Chicken in Nutty Sauce)"

Second Place Winner

Asri of Food and Story with "Chai Tea"

Third Place Winner

Karen Low of Citrus and Candy with "Mussels with blue cheese and white wine sauce"

CATEGORIES WINNERS

Edibility Winners

We have a tie in this category

Raquel Carmona of Los Tragaldabas with "Bread"

Yulyan Parwati of Cooking with Love with "Tiramisu"

Originality Winner

Vanessa Hernandez of Chokolat and Pimienta with "Sugar Cookies"

Aesthetics Winner

Monika Topolko of Bake Noir with "Chocolate Beet Cake"

Congratulation to all winners !

DMBLGiT January 2013 : Meet the judges

2013-01-21T22:08:00.001+07:00

46 gorgeous photos have been submitted in the DMBLGiT January 2013 gallery. Now it's time to introduce a team of judges on the panel who kindly help me judging and scoring all photos. Here they are :

Yelena Strokin is a freelance food stylist and photographer. She has won DMBLGiT for several times. Check her blog Cooking Melangery where she keeps her beautifully styled photos and tested recipes from her kitchen.

Kristin Rosenau was an astroparticle physics student who discovered her new love in pastries and she decided to switch her career to pursue a life of butter and sugar since then. Find more of her works, stories and recipes on Pastry Affair.

Aisha Yusaf, doesn't have food blog but she has passion and love in food photography. An Indian woman lives in Switzerland with her husband and two kids. For her, "photography is an art, and in art, as in life, passion is everything. The rest is just detail". You can find her on Flickr and Aisha Yusaf Photography.

The owner of Unodedos, Pamela Rodriguez, has won lot of DMBLGiT badges. She likes crossword puzzles, but hates rainy day. Every day she tries to find some time to write, read and find inspiration everywhere.

While you patiently wait, we are judging and scoring photos. This job is a lot easier with the help of four incredible judges above, so I promise to announce the winners on February 1, 2013.

Kalimbu / Steamed cassava cake stuffed with banana

2013-01-12T00:43:00.000+07:00

For the third time, I'm hosting the famous and the grandest food photography event, "Does My Blog Look Good in This ?". It's widely open to all foodie blogger to submit their best food/drink photos. If you haven't send your photo yet, you still have plenty of time before the closing date on January 20, 2013. Somehow, it's a good way to find new food bloggers out there with beautiful images.

Rain and windy days have made the temperature much cooler than usual. The wind was blowing through the trees in front yard and passed the breeze into the house. It was so hard not to pull back my blanket over my head and go back to sleep. I feel so grateful that I'm still able to enjoy this amazingly beautiful day shared with my loved ones.

Cassava root is rich in carbohydrates and it's also a good source of energy. In the country where I grew up, Indonesia, cassava is considered as the primary ingredient of snacks and desserts. Tapai or tape or peuyeum or fermented cassava is the result of cassava fermentation and it can be cooked in many variations of cooking process. Bake, grill or deep fry. In fact, fermented cassava can be mixed into beverages or desserts.

The first recipe I post early this year is a simple Indonesian traditional cake. Kalimbu is steamed cassava cake with banana wrapped inside the grated cassava then coated with shredded coconut from an ethnic group in South Sulawesi, Bugis. The using of cassava in Indonesian traditional cake is very common. If we dig a little deeper, we'll discover some similar cassava cakes in every regions in Indonesia. We have Mata Roda from Malang , Putri Noong from West Java, Songkolo Bandang from South Sulawesi or Putu Tegal.

In West Sumatra, we could find the authentic souvenir made from cassava, it called Keripik Balado or Keripik Sanjai or Cassava chips. Believe me, it's not just chips but more than that. It coated with sticky spicy red sauce that will make you ask for more and more.

Enjoy....

"Does My Blog Look Good in This ?" January 2013 Announcement

2013-01-07T20:43:00.000+07:00

Happy New Year ! Wishing you all a happy new year filled with new beginning, new joy, new hope to your life. With the spirit of new year, I invite you, the loyal participants of "Does My Blog Look Good in This ?" (it's open to the newbie as well), to take part in January 2013 Edition. DMBLGiT is a monthly food photography event administered by Andrew Barrow of Spittoon Extra.

In case you curious who won on previous month, please check the announcement on The Cooking Doctor. I'm so happy to have my photo there as Aesthetics Winner. Interested in being a future host ? It's as easy as one, two, three. First, send a mail to Andrew with "DMBLGiT host" as the subject. Second, find a panel of judges. Third, set everything ready before hand.

Back to the main subject, below are details if you want to participate in this event. See you around !

Rules
- Only one entry per person ( a single photograph and no diptychs !)
- All pictures must be text free
- The photograph must have been taken by you
- The photograph must have been appeared on your blog in December 2012
- Entry must be received before January 20, 2013

Judging :

Photograph are reviewed by a panel of judges, who score them in three categories : Edibility, Aesthetics and Originality. The host then compiles the score to determine the winners. The specific things the judges will be looking for are as follow :

- Edibility : "does the photo make us want to dive in and eat the food ?"
- Aesthetics : composition, food styling, lighting, focus, etc
- Originality : the photograph that catches our attention and makes us want to say "wow!", displaying something we might not have seen before

There are three overall winners of photographs with highest point totals in three categories combined, and one winner in each of the three individual categories.
I will announce the winners on February 1, 2012.

How to enter to contest ?

Send your entry (must be food or drink related) to t_hapsari_rn {at} yahoo {dot} com with DMBLGiT as the subject. Please include the following :
- Your name (required)
- Your location
- Your blog's name and URL
- Your photograph's title
- The URL of the post containing the photograph
- Type of the camera used, lens if you wish

Please send photos in an attachment to your email in a jpeg format, of no more than 500 pixels in width.

By submitting a photo, entrants agree to their photo being redisplayed and altered in size on my blog and on the Spittoon Extra DMBLGiT ? page.

Gallery

All submissions will be posted to the January 2013 DMBLGiT gallery, which will be updated as I receive entries. Please give me a few days to update the gallery with your submission. And make sure yours is included once I start publishing them. I look forward to your entries.

Good luck!

Bread pudding

2012-12-24T22:51:00.002+07:00

Oh...la...la... how time flies so fast and I've neglected this blog for almost a month. I do miss blogging ! December is almost over and everyone is exclaiming "long holiday", planning their trip with the entire family member. I always love December, the month of festive and of course, holiday. :) I don't have plan to go anywhere during the holiday, because all I need is only a time on my own, being a normal housewife, stay in the house, clean up the mess and cooking. But while my brain says yes, my body screams no. Believe me, age does matter, lol.

When my friend said that she had leftover bread and didn't know what to do with it, I remember my grandma. She used to make bread pudding from leftover bread with coconut milk instead of fresh milk. As a mother, I would feel terribly sorry to see the food get wasted. So, let's call it "food rescue". I save some leftover bread and turn it into bread pudding. Don't tell me I sound like grandma. :p This simple and easy recipe of bread pudding is a savior in case you get bored with toast bread or sandwich.

To all my friend out there, Happy Holidays !!

Giveaway for 3 : Winner announcement

2012-12-01T20:00:00.000+07:00

Okay... it's a wrap ! The time is up and I have to hand over those cute props to you. I wish I had enough giveaway prizes for everyone, but sadly I only had three items for three winners. However, I would like thank everyone who participated in this event.

Three lucky winners have been chosen via random.org and each of them won one food prop. As for the winners, please send me mail to t_hapsari_rn@yahoo.com to claim the prize. You have until December 5, 2012 to send me your details, otherwise I will have to pick another winner !

And here they are.....

1. Wire basket goes to #9 : Nur Ismaya Septianingsih

2. Multi use jute bag goes to #19 : Yulyan Parwati

3. Watering bucket goes to #8 : Vivi

Congrats to all winners !

Churros

2012-11-26T23:37:00.002+07:00

Over the past few days, rain has poured down heavily in Jakarta and left puddles up and down our road. It made the traffic jam even worst ! Stressful and very time consuming to be on the road like that. So take care of yourself, be healthy and watch what you eat and drink.

That afternoon, I was thinking of making snack for the whole family. For me, it's always nice to cook something for our family afternoon snack. Something light, sweet and warm to munch in cold windy afternoon. We can enjoy the rest of the day by reading book, watch TV or discuss something.

Curiosity was the only reason why I made churros. This fried choux pastry, also known as Spanish doughnuts is a popular and loveable snack in Spain. Churros can be eaten plain, rolled in cinnamon sugar or dipped in chocolate sauce. Since I have made choux pastry once, so I feel confident to give it a try. I adapted the recipe from Joy the baker. She has step-by-step photos on how to make churros and it's easy :)

Only a few days left to join my giveaway event for 3. I have 3 cute food props for three lucky person. Hurry and good luck !!!

Enjoy....

Food Photos : Random

2012-11-19T14:53:00.001+07:00

I'm addicted to Pinterest ! Finding food photos that wowed me and left me breathless for a second, sometimes even more, pinned them to my board and let everyone see how good those photos are. Today, I picked 5 amazing food photos I found from Pinterest. They all caught my eyes with beautiful food styling and its gorgeous lighting. Check them yourself and fall in love !

Hot chocolate and a muffin - Aisha Yusaf

Chocolate - Mónica Pinto

Molasses cookies with ginger cream cheese filling - Kristin Rosenau

Lemony Quark Tarts - Laksmi W

Walnuts - Stuart Ovenden

Giveaways for 3 ! CLOSED

2012-11-15T00:01:00.000+07:00

Yup....this is the moment, I'm having a giveaway event for my readers. As I said before, this event is to show my immense gratitude on my winning as the first place winner on Sekar Magazine blog contest. I didn't get the vote (I didn't vote for myself or anyone else either) as the most favorite blog (or whatever you name it), but I won the judges' vote. What a big milestone for me. So, thank you very much.

Are you wondering what the prizes are? There are three cute food props. You may use them for your food photography props or whatever. Check the photos of the prizes below and read how to get the chance to be the owner of those items. They all are brand new !!

Here they are..

Wire basket - Dimension (150mm x 90mm x 45mm)

Multi use jute bag - Dimension (diameter 20cm , height 9cm)

Watering bucket - Dimension (diameter top 7cm, bottom 8cm, height 8cm)

How to enter :

1. Follow me on twitter and tweet the following "I've entered to win food props from @miauw17 #giveaway #CemplangCemplung http://bit.ly/X9ABp1 " then leave a comment below and tell me that you did.
2. Follow me on Pinterest then leave a comment below and tell me that you did.
3. Or simply leave a comment that you want to participate in this giveaway event.

NOTE : Leave a separate comment for each of your entries as each comment will be counted as one entry. So you will have bigger chance to win one of the prizes. One person will only receive one prize. So we will have three winners.

Rules :

1. This giveaway event is open to Indonesia residents only.
2. This event opens on November 15, 2012 and will be closed on November 30, 2012 11.59 pm (Indonesia time)
3. Winners will randomly be chosen on the next day and will be announced the day after.

Good luck !

Good news and Thai tea

2012-11-10T12:23:00.001+07:00

Hi all, at this moment I want to share my happiness with all my readers. My blog has won as the first place winner on Sekar Magazine blog contest. I was thrilled and surprised to hear my blog being announced as the first place winner. Alhamdulillah. Glad to know people appreciate my work and who knows they'll find an inspiration from this blog. Later on my next post to show my gratitude, I will be giving away "something" for three lucky person. Keep your eyes open !

Enough with the good news and here comes the bad news (haha...kidding !). As a person who loves eat well and drink well, I truly enjoy myself tasting new foods or drinks. I taste them, I smell them and I feel them, if it meet my personal taste then I put it to my "worth to try recipe" list. My list is getting longer and longer especially after I add more and more yummy recipes from foodgawker everyday.

This Thai tea (my version of Thai tea, only because I made it without following any specific recipe) is a favorite for my hubby and my son. I make it every weekend and nothing left in the bottle, they absolutely looove it. When the first time I tried Thai tea, I thought it was made from my usual tea leaves and pour some milk to produce the orange color. But then I was wrong, Thai tea is a mixture of black tea leaves, star anise and other spices.

I use milk instead of sweetened condensed milk to make it more creamy and thick. Add some ice cubes and feel the freshness and the exotic tea. Believe it's not just tea !
Here's the Thai tea mixture I used in this recipe.

Enjoy....

Guest post : Ayam Penyet / Crushed fried chicken with sambal for Lisa of "From my Lemony Kitchen"

2012-11-02T11:35:00.000+07:00

One more guest post from me on From my Lemony Kitchen. How lucky I am to have finally found the recipe of this sambal since I had it for the very first time maybe five years ago and I had been trying to make the sambal all this time.

This special request came from Lisa, she wanted Ayam Penyet for the guest post. Since I love Ayam Penyet for lunch and I had never been to make it by myself, I took the chance. I won't let myself ramble away for now. Please kindly visit and check the complete story also the recipe of Ayam Penyet (Crushed fried chicken with sambal) on From my Lemony Kitchen.

Bye now... :)

Oreo cheesecake

2012-10-18T23:14:00.002+07:00

Who can resist Oreo ? Though I'm not in the position to represent the product, but it's true. Kids will love Oreo smoothies, chocolate covered Oreo cookies or simply dip them in a glass of milk. Be creative and let your imagination free to create new recipe using Oreos.

I made this Oreo cream cheese cake from half package of leftover cream cheese and leftover whipped cream. The rest of the ingredients are always available in my fridge. I don't have the skill to make beautiful cake, especially when it takes long time to prepare and bake the cake layer by layer. Even making beautiful shape of swirls for cupcakes has always been my biggest challenge.

This cake is about fun and simple, of course kids will love it because it tastes like ice cream. I have made this cake several times with some modification. Mixed the cream cheese with Oreo crumbs, made pie crust from Oreo and when my hand mixer stopped working, I added egg then put the cake into the oven. But all off them turned out good and never failed me.

Hence, I've waited so long to post about it, I tried to make it look beautiful and special. Hope you like it and feel free to try the recipe.

I've been nominated as one of Sekar magazine blog contest finalist. If you like my blog and you think I'm suitable enough to get your vote, please click here and vote for me. Thank you very much more than I can say to you :)

Enjoy...

Guest Post : Pindang bandeng Betawi on Love and other spices

2012-09-11T09:35:00.001+07:00

After a delay of several months (yes, months !!), I am finally able to fulfill Farwin's request to be a guest writer on her blog. Something came up between the line due to our busy schedules. She had written a post few months back with Coconut Jaggery Crepes with Kithul Treacle. The post is beautifully written together with lovely photos.

My interest in Indonesian culinary is getting bigger as I learn how to cook, then I started to like and enjoy cooking. I've mentioned once that I love doing a guest post for my friends especially when they want me to cook traditional foods from Indonesia. I love to try new recipes and explore Indonesian cuisine. This is the reason I cooked a traditional dish from Betawi/Jakarta, Pindang bandeng Betawi (Betawinese style milk fish stew in soy sauce). It was my first to cook pindang bandeng Betawi from scratch.

For the story and the recipe, please head over to Farwin Simaak from Love and Other Spices. See you there !

Simple takoyaki balls

2012-09-10T17:00:00.000+07:00

When first time I tried takoyaki was in a mall near my office building. It was a small Japanese snack booth that stolen my attention because of the snack they offer. First time and hit my taste buds. Then I kept coming back to order takoyaki if I want to eat something light that digest easily.

I modified the recipe according to what I have on hand. To tell you the truth, it's not easy to find takoyaki ingredients in Jakarta. I couldn't find the tempura scraps (tenkasu), octopus and pickled ginger. I even discovered the takoyaki sauce last week ! So this is my version of takoyaki so far. Simple and easy.

Enjoy....

Fried flaky pastries stuffed with tuna

2012-08-06T22:52:00.000+07:00

Although it was more than 2 weeks late, I want to greet all Muslims "Ramadhan Mubarak". May Allah accept our deeds and forgive our sins. Aamiin. Ramadhan is like home and it's good to be home again. I'm sure all Muslims feel the same way as I do.

I've been busy recently and has left me with limited time for updating my blog, Facebook and twitter but I checked my mail couple of times everyday. But due to the hectic schedule, guess my tiring days, weeks or probably months are not over yet at least until the end of this year ! Yes, my life is like a roller coaster at the moment.

Do you remember my posts of Chinese flaky pastry ? The first is Green tea flaky pastry and second is Chocolate flaky pastry. This time I made fried flaky pastry, no bake ! This kind of snack is something we usually call pastel in Indonesia. The filling can be varied from vegetables, fish, chicken, egg or beef.

The original pastel (fried pastry) skin is made from thin pastry with half-moon shape and crimped edges. I remember when I was a kid I learned to make pastel crimp with play-dough and look, it helped me a lot when I make the real ones.:D

Enjoy....

The winners of DMBLGiT July 2012 are....

2012-08-02T05:05:00.000+07:00

Big thank to all who participated in DMBLGiT July 2012. I had so much time going through each and every photo in the gallery. We had 33 entries come in from all around the world. Yes, I was mesmerized by all of them and made me want to jump in and lick my computer screen. Another huge thank to the judges (Ira, Thorsten, Kulsum, Xiaolu) who helped me scoring photos. You all have done an incredible job ! My sincerest thank to Andrew for the opportunity to host again and to Shari for making the badges and sent them to me early last month ! :)

Now, let's get to the winners !

OVERALL WINNER

(the highest scoring photos)

First Place Winner
Pamela Rodriguez from Uno de dos with Pancakes

Second Place Winner

Kankana Saxena from Sunshine and Smile with Mango sweetened yogurt

Third Place Winner
So happy we have a tie here

Yelena Strokin from Cooking Melangery with Minty sweet pea and zucchini soup

Lisa H from From my Lemony kitchen with Mushroom and barley soup

INDIVIDUAL CATEGORIES WINNER

(the highest scoring photos for each category, after excluding the overall winners.)

Edibility Winner
Karolina from Dine & Dash with Lemon strawberry cake

Originality Winner
Bean Panda from Beanpanda cooking diary with Steamed coconut with egg white

Aesthetics Winner

Soma Rathore from eCurry with Red Lentils with Pearl Onion

Congratulation to all winners !

Please check out DMBLGiT August announcement on A Wandering Ladle. If you're interested to be the host, there are still plenty of vacant place ! All you have to do is send your mail to Andrew with "DMBLGiT Host" as subject.

See you....

Meet the judges of DMBLGiT July 2012

2012-07-23T08:55:00.000+07:00

33 photos have been submitted to DMBLGiT July 2012 Edition and all of them are available to be viewed in the gallery. First of all, as the host, I want to thank everyone who has sent their food/drink photos to this event. Second, as one of the judges, I need 4 more judges to help me score all entries. Therefore, I gathered them together to get the final result. I'm sure it's not an easy job to do. Here, we have a panel of incredible judges from different countries, with their own style and sense in food photography. Let's meet the judges !

Ira Rodrigues

This beautiful lady lives in the island of God, Bali, Indonesia. She has strong earthy style in her food photos. Cooking Tackle is the place where she keeps her recipes, story and her beautifully styled photographs. Reach her on Flickr, Twitter or Facebook.

Food photography tips :

Photographing food need your honesty. If you are honest, the styling and creativity that you are trying to frame would truly show your heart and art. Try to run a bit loose in styling to make the picture look natural or not overly organized.

Thorsten Kraska

I love his professional looking food photography since the first time I learned food photography. He is a food photographer based in Bonn, Germany, the man behind My2Penn'orth and he also started Food Photography Club on Flickr.

Food photography tips :

The light is the tool we use to realize our ideas in food photography. And depending on your ideas and what you want to achive you will choose the light source. Experiment, practice, learn by try and error. Take a look at more photos and learn from them. To read more of food photography tips, please read Photography

Kulsum Kunwa

I'm falling hard for her food photography lately. A Kuwait based freelance food photographer, a wife of one, the owner and contributor of Journey Kitchen and a Master's Degree Student. She determined to cook Indian home cooking and producing beautiful and breathtaking pictures. Keep in touch with her on Flickr, twitter and Facebook.

Food photography tips :

Your camera is your friend. Start loving it and exploring it. Carry it wherever you go, even if the photos are not going to make it to your blog or else where. Let it be your creative outlet and fuel your sense of imagination. Apart from getting light, focus and other technical aspects right, its even more important to be having fun. Learn the rules and don't be afraid to break them.

Xiaolu Hu

A Chinese-American girl living in USA, talented baker, food photographer, food stylist and has won several DMBLGiT awards. Her passion for food and photography can be seen in her blog 6bittersweets. She is pursuing her dream to have a career in nutrition. Don't hesitate to ask about her recipes or her food photography, because she will help you instantly. Get her updates on twitter and Flickr.

Food photography tips :
First, you want to be careful in preparing/presenting the food to make sure it looks appealing. Many factors big and small can enhance the look of the food. For example, if using veggies, make sure they're fresh. Spritz a little water on things if they should look moist but are drying up. If photographing something cooked, pick the best pieces and make sure they're positioned at an angle that's attractive. At the same time, it's often best not to make the food look too "pretty" or "perfect". A little messiness or anything that adds a human touch (a bite taken, crumpled napkin, etc.) often makes the shot more relate able and mouthwatering. Lastly, I encourage budding photographers to have a mood and look (a "story" so to speak) in mind when preparing to photograph. And to include something of themselves in their photography. Whether it's propping, composition, light etc. Don't be afraid to play around and develop your own unique style.

Hope the best ones win !

Coffee cream cupcakes

2012-07-11T22:11:00.000+07:00

Are you a food blogger and love food photography ? It's about time to learn and grow together with food bloggers and food photographers around the world in a monthly food photography event called "Does My Blog Look good in This ?" or DMBLGiT. Since I'm the host of DMBLGiT July 2012, I'm officially invite you to join with us. It's not only about winning, but far beyond that. Making new friends that will guide you to new beautiful blogs. Just click here to read the details. I'll be here waiting to your lovely entry !

These cuppies were made a year ago. How could I forget to make a post for this recipe ?! It's quite simple and easy to try and you will get beautiful shape of dark cuppies.

I'm not really fond of coffee, but *silly me* I drank too much coffee in the last two days. It has caused me insomniac last night ! The effect is still affecting me now. So, no more rambling. Enjoy the pictures !

Nadif, my nephew, I can feel his enthusiasm for cooking

makes 18 cupcakes

Enjoy....

Announcing "Does My Blog Look Good in This ?" (DMBLGiT) July 2012

2012-07-06T08:47:00.000+07:00

One year ago, I was hosting DMBLGiT July 2011 Edition. Today for the second time, I feel honored to announce that I'm hosting DMBLGiT July 2012 Edition. My biggest thanks goes to Andrew for allowing me to host this event again. "Does My Blog Look Good in This ?" (DMBLGiT) is a monthly food photography event administered by Andrew Barrow of Spittoon Extra. This event is open to all food bloggers around the globe by submitting your best food/drink photos.

For this month edition, I'm supported by 4 gifted and talented food bloggers and food photographers (soon to be announced later this month) on the panel of judges. You can find the rules and submission below. I also invite you to be the future host of DMBLGiT by sending mail to Andrew with "DMBLGiT Host" as subject. Read the detail here.

Don't forget to check lovely photos from the winners of DMBLGiT June 2012 Edition on Sunshine and Smile. Now, let's get to the details.

Rules :

- Only one entry per person (a single photograph and no diptychs !)
- All pictures must be text free
- The photograph must have been taken by you
- The photograph must have been appeared on your blog in June 2012
- Entry must be received by July 20, 2012

Judging :

Photograph are reviewed by a panel of judges, who score them in three categories : Edibility, Aesthetics and Originality. The host then compiles the score to determine the winners. The specific things the judges will be looking for are as follow :

- Edibility : "does the photo make us want to dive in and eat the food ?"
- Aesthetics : composition, food styling, lighting, focus, etc
- Originality : the photograph that catches our attention and makes us want to say "wow!", displaying something we might not have seen before

There are three overall winners of photographs with highest point totals in three categories combined, and one winner in each of the three individual categories.
I will announce the winners on August 1, 2012.

How to enter to contest ?

Send your entry (must be food or drink related) to t_hapsari_rn {at} yahoo {dot} com with DMBLGiT as the subject. Please include the following :
- Your name (required)
- Your location
- Your blog's name and URL
- Your photograph's title
- The URL of the post containing the photograph
- Type of the camera used, lens if you wish

Please send photos in an attachment to your email in a jpeg format, of no more than 500 pixels in width.

By submitting a photo, entrants agree to their photo being redisplayed and altered in size on my blog and on the Spittoon Extra DMBLGiT ? page.

Gallery

All submissions will be posted to the July 2012 DMBLGIT gallery, which will be updated as I receive entries. Please give me a few days to update the gallery with your submission. And make sure yours is included once I start publishing them. I look forward to your entries.

Good luck!

Remake : Indonesian Rice Pudding

2012-07-04T20:10:00.002+07:00

I posted this recipe a year ago, but I think it's good to bring it up again. Same recipe, but this time with new photos.

The holy month, Ramadhan, is just about to come. The month where all Muslims spend one entire month in daytime fasting. We need to ensure that we are in a good health, in a way physically and mentally well-prepared to face Ramadhan.

Like any other Muslim women, I also have plan what to cook during the special month. I like something simple for Sahur (early meal we consumed before dawn). Otherwise, I cook something sweet and special for iftar (fast-breaking at dusk). Even though we could find seasonal food vendors in every corner of the street during Ramadhan, a homemade snack is taste much better.

My favorite iftar drink is coconut ice. I will always enjoy every sip as it washed down my throat. A tradition of fast-breaking in Ramadhan is when good foods are served for the whole family member. People go home early from the office so they could break their fast at home with family.

Indonesian rice pudding or bubur sumsum is one of iftar snack that we commonly find on Ramadhan. It's sweet, light and easy to make. I usually stick to only few recipes which we (me, my hubby and son) love. Dish that I would definitely make it again and again on Ramadhan. Martabak goreng (crepe-like dish with egg filling) with cuko sauce, kolak (fruit in coconut milk) or biji salak (sticky rice balls in sweet coconut sauce) and of course coconut ice. :) I'm sure you have your favorite food to be served to your family as well. Iftar will never be the same without homemade.

Enjoy...

Cemplang Cemplung

Tempura Cooking Class with Ten Ten Restaurant and my homemade Shrimp Tempura

Setup Rambutan / Ice Rambutan with cinnamon syrup

I'll be back...

A great loss and Avocado pudding

When scone gets swirled : Chocolate swirl scone loaf

The winners of DMBLGiT January 2013 Edition

DMBLGiT January 2013 : Meet the judges

Kalimbu / Steamed cassava cake stuffed with banana

"Does My Blog Look Good in This ?" January 2013 Announcement

Bread pudding

Giveaway for 3 : Winner announcement

Churros

Food Photos : Random

Giveaways for 3 ! **CLOSED**

Good news and Thai tea

Guest post : Ayam Penyet / Crushed fried chicken with sambal for Lisa of "From my Lemony Kitchen"

Oreo cheesecake

Guest Post : Pindang bandeng Betawi on Love and other spices

Simple takoyaki balls

Fried flaky pastries stuffed with tuna

The winners of DMBLGiT July 2012 are....

Meet the judges of DMBLGiT July 2012

Coffee cream cupcakes

Announcing "Does My Blog Look Good in This ?" (DMBLGiT) July 2012

Remake : Indonesian Rice Pudding

Giveaways for 3 ! CLOSED