Halo Niko! - When Greek Blends Perfectly with Javanese

Last Saturday, I was invited by Zomato (Kak Shabrina & friends) to have Zomato Meet Up that includes lunch + cooking workshop together with another zomato foodies. The venue itself is at Halo Niko! It’s my first Zomato Meet Up ever, and I’m so excited to join in! 

THE INTRODUCTION 

The name of Halo Niko! is implying to the Chef / the owner of Halo Niko!, which is Niko. It is a Greek combined with Javanese restaurants that is owned by a couple. The chef, Niko, is originally come from Greece and his wife, Mbak Kika is from Java, Indonesia. The one who design the super cute, cozy, plus homey interior of Halo Niko! is Mbak Kika. There are a lot of favorite spots that I super love here.

This one is totally my fave!

Besides Halo Niko! they actually have another place just right next to it, which is Kembang Kencur plus a clothing store. The place in Kembang Kencur is bigger than Halo Niko! So if there’s customer who wants to held some events, they can use Kembang Kencur rather than Halo Niko! Just for example, The Zomato Meet Up is held in Kembang Kencur.

Kembang Kencur Wall Ornament

If you take a look carefully, Halo Niko! use the “Teko” ornament, hanging on the wall as a lamp. Besides the function which is a water storage, “Teko” in Javanese languange means “Come” so they believe that more people will come to the restaurant.

Niko, he's preparing the food for us!! 

THE STARTERS

Banana Chocochips Cake

When the foodies ask Niko, “what is the name of this dish?” Chef Niko said “Roti Pisang” and we all just laugh! Well, it’s more than just “Roti Pisang”, believe me! It’s really flavorful, I can feel the banana and the chocochips just make it perfect. It doesn’t use any egg and butter, so it’s kinda healthy and no guilty feeling! *wink

THE MAIN COURSE

There are 3 kind of menus that is provided by Halo Niko! for us

1. Souvlaki Chicken

Caution: BIG PORTION!! 

Believe me, it’s totally huge! It’s like a Kebab, but very much larger and it uses prata bread to wrap the fillings and the prata is not fried. 

The fillings itself consist of Chicken (slices, just like Kebab Meat), vegetables (Tomatoes,etc), mayonnaise. The taste is super delicious! Even though I’m not a veggie, but I eat all the vegetables inside it! Just imagine, the taste must be so incredible, LOL.

2. Greek Salad

The real Greek Salad!

Unfortunately, I don’t try this one because I’m not a fan of salad and vegetables. Yeah, I’m rarely eat vegetables *the blame is on me, I know* 

3. Mama Moussaka

This is so damn good!

The Sweet Cassava

I think this dish is THE WINNER! It’s similar to a lasagna, but it’s much more delicious than lasagna, believe me. With the cheese covering the super tender beef and other stuffs inside, it’s really mouth watering. You can eat it with the sweet casava. Again, even though I’m not a veggie, I eat the eggplant inside the moussaka! Yes, it is my first time ever to eat an eggplant, can you believe that? I’m also so proud of myself right now, hahaha!

THE DRINK

Vanilla Lime

This drink taste like a melted pudding. Even there’s lime in it, you can barely taste it, which is really nice for me! Totally a refreshing one.

THE COOKING WORKSHOP

Bugatsa

Niko show us how to make the Bugatsa and I even had a chance to make it (not from 0 of course, they already provide the dough and the fillings, I just need to combine it together)

FYI, Bugatsa is a greek milk cream pie that is fried and then served with cinnamon and sugar. The skin is so crispy! On the contrary, the fillings is so smooth and soft even after the frying process. Yum Yum! Serve it with hot tea and your day is perfect!

The preparation

The Demo

Tara!! This is it! The Bugatsa!

What I really love here is that the food doesn’t use MSG at all. It’s all home made, so be patient while waiting for the food, okay? Just relax and enjoy your time here like you’re home! The owner is super friendly too, feel free to chit chat with them!

P.S : I really love the slogan, Halo Niko! Banyak Makan, Banyak Teman ! :)) 

I just can’t wait for another zomato foodies meet up event(s) ;p

Halo Niko!

The Promenade, Lantai Basement 2

Jl. Buncit Raya No. 98, Pasar Minggu

Jakarta Selatan

Phone: 021 - 29704981 ext. 151

More information? VISIT HERE

Thanks, reader(s)!
[Megan Faustine]

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Ambarawa: Candi Gedong Songo, Temples on The Mountain!

After circling around Semarang, I don’t feel it’s enough and therefore, I’m continuing my journey to Ambarawa. Anyway, I haven’t talk to you about the culinary in Semarang right? Let me finish my journey first in Ambarawa, and then I’ll give you spoiler about what to eat in Semarang ! ;)

Setelah berkeliling di Semarang, aku rasa nggak cukup hanya sampai disini saja. Oleh karena itulah, aku meneruskan perjalanan ke Ambarawa. Ngomong-ngomong, aku belum bercerita seputar kuliner di Semarang, ya? Biarkan aku menceritakan seluruh perjalanan dulu, lalu aku akan memberikan bocoran tentang kuliner Semarang yang wajib kamu coba!

Ambarawa can be reached for about 2 hours from Semarang by car. The road to Ambarawa is kinda small and it’s really curvy (like mountain - curvy) because the location of Ambarawa itself is near the mountain. 

Ambarawa dapat ditempuh dalam perjalanan lebih kurang 2 jam dari Semarang. Jalan menuju Ambarawa agak sempit serta berkelok-kelok seperti jalan menuju kawasan pegunungan. Kawasan Ambarawa sendiri memang berada di gunung, sehingga tidak heran kalau perjalanannya seperti itu. 

If you go to Ambarawa, then you shouldn’t and mustn’t miss GEDONG SONGO TEMPLE, one of the tourist attractions that is really gorgeous in here. It is located almost at the very top, so just continue driving your car until you see the big sign “Candi Gedong Songo”. There are plenty local people in front of the gate, so you wouldn’t miss the sign. If you worried / confused, then ask the local about the location, they all know where it is.

Kalau pergi ke Ambarawa, kamu nggak boleh melupakan CANDI GEDONG SONGO, salah satu atraksi atau tempat wisata yang sangat mengagumkan disini. Lokasinya hampir berada di puncak, jadi terus saja berkendara dengan mobil sampai kamu melihat sebuah tulisan “Candi Gedong Songo”. Terdapat banyak orang lokal menunggu didepan gerbang, jadi nggak mungkin kamu melewatinya. Kalau bingung / khawatir tersesat, cobalah bertanya pada orang sekitar, mereka semua tau kok dimana lokasinya.

Pintu Masuk

Hungry? There are several choices of food too!

As usual, before going in, you need to pay for the entrance fee. Then, you can go inside the place. Inside, you will found a “Horse-Tour Package” to go around Ambarawa. My suggestion is you take the tour.

Seperti biasanya, kamu perlu membeli tiket masuk. Kemudian, barulah bisa masuk ke dalam tempat wisata ini. Didalam, kamu akan menemukan sebuah paket keliling candi dengan kuda. Saranku, lebih baik ambillah paket tur tersebut. 

WHY TAKE THE HORSE-TOUR?

One reason, The place is just too damn big

Gedong Songo Temple is really huge! If you want to take a walk, it will be a total of 4 kilos, not to mention the climbing part, the forest, the unknown part, and others. If you ride a horse + there’s someone to guide you around, it’ll be nicer, right? 

Besides, In my opinion, the price of the horse-tour is really affordable & it’s a new experience. You’ll also be taught on how to ride a horse.

Satu alasannya, tempat ini terlalu besar.

Candi Gedong Songo sangat luas! Kalau kamu ingin berjalan, total yang harus ditempuh adalah 4 kilo, belum lagi kamu harus mendaki lembah-lembah, menyusuri hutan, tempat lain yang tak ada petunjuknya, dan lain sebagainya. Kalau kamu menaiki kuda dan terdapat seorang “Guide” yang akan menemanimu berkeliling, akan lebih baik bukan?

Lagipula, menurutku ongkos untuk naik berkuda sangat terjangkau & ini adalah pengalaman yang baru. Kamu juga akan diajari bagaimana cara menaiki kuda.

THE TOUR AROUND AMBARAWA

The tour takes about 1 hour in total. This is assuming that you won’t take pictures around - which is absolutely impossible - If you take photos, then it depends on how fast you take it. 

Perjalanan ini memakan waktu 1 jam, dengan asumsi kamu tidak akan mengambil foto sepanjang perjalanan, yang mana hal ini pasti mustahil, hahaha! Kalau kamu mengambil foto disekeliling, maka tergantung seberapa cepat kamu mengambil foto tersebut.

Horse riding!

Semarang: Sam Poo Kong, Feeling Like in China!

The Entrance

Semarang also famous for its temple, which is Sam Poo Kong. My recommendation is for you to visit Lawang Sewu (read about it here) first in the morning, then move on to Sam Poo Kong temple. Why is that? Because the location is not that far, only about 10 minutes from Lawang Sewu.

Semarang juga dikenal dengan kuilnya yang bernama Sam Poo Kong. Rekomendasi dariku, kamu bisa berkunjung terlebih dahulu ke Lawang Sewu (baca lebih lengkap disini) pada pagi hari, kemudian baru berkunjung ke kuil Sam Poo Kong. Mengapa? karena jarak kedua tempat ini tidak jauh, sekitar 10 menit saja dari Lawang Sewu. 

GETTING AROUND

I can guarantee that Sam Poo Kong will be super crowded. I park my car outside the parking area - it’s okay, there are some people who look after your car - and trust me, wear sunglasses or a hat in the afternoon, it’s super hot! 

Aku berani menjamin tempat ini pasti akan sangat ramai. Aku bahkan harus memarkirkan mobil diluar area parkir - tenang saja, terdapat tukang parkir yang akan menjaga mobil kalian. Kemudian, jangan lupa menggunakan kacamata pelindung sinar matahari atau topi pada siang hari. Cuacanya sangat panas dan matahari begitu terik.

It's super hot here!

You need to pay the admission fee before entering the place. You can even hire a guide if you want to. Unfortunately, at that time the guide isn’t there at all, so I can’t hire one… But still, I’m so excited to look around Sam Poo Kong!

Kamu wajib membeli tiket masuk di depan pintu, dan mereka juga menyediakan seorang guide disini. Sayangnya, ketika itu tidak ada guide sama sekali, sehingga aku tidak memakai guide. Tetap saja, aku sangat bersemangat untuk berkeliling Sam Poo Kong!

The Entrance

ABOUT SAM POO KONG

Hey there! Yes it's me posing on the wall ;)

I can’t tell you much of the history since I don’t really know what is the story behind Sam Poo Kong. I guess it will be better if I had a guide, showing me around :’( 

Aku tidak bisa bercerita banyak seputar sejarah Sam Poo Kong karena aku tidak mengetahui cerita lengkap mengenai Sam Poo Kong. Akan lebih baik kalau seandainya ada seorang guard yang bisa menemaniku selama disana :’(

But I still can tell you how beautiful and large Sam Poo Kong is! You’ll feel like you’re in China or Hongkong or even Taiwan when you step into the temple. The paint is all bright red, and it’s really shiny under the sun. 

Tetapi, aku masih bisa bercerita bagaimana indah serta besarnya area Sam Poo Kong! Kamu akan merasa berada di China, Hongkong, bahkan di Taiwan saat melangkah masuk ke sekitar area. Keseluruhan catnya bewarna merah membara, dan begitu berkilauan dibawah sinar matahari.

Feeling like in China, right?

Posing with mom and dad

Sam Poo Kong is really crowded with people, and it’s so hard to have a great landscape photos there. I hope through my photos, I can tell you how awesome it is! 

Sam Poo Kong sangat penuh dengan orang didalamnya, sehingga sangat sulit untuk mendapatkan foto pemandangan yang baik. Semoga saja lewat foto-foto ini, aku dapat menceritakan kepada kalian semua tentang betapa mengagumkannya Sam Poo Kong!

It's super crowded!

No need to go to China or Hongkong or Taiwan to look for beautiful temples, you just need to go to Semarang and visit Sam Poo Kong! 

Nggak perlu jauh-jauh ke China atau Hongkong atau Taiwan untuk melihat-lihat kuil yang indah. Cukup pergi ke Semarang dan kunjungilah Sam Poo Kong!

So beautiful, isn't it?

More stories about Semarang - Ambarawa Trip?

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Mau baca-baca cerita lagi seputar Semarang - Ambarawa?

Ayok, klik disini!

Thanks, reader(s)!

[Megan Faustine]

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Semarang: Lawang Sewu, The Well-Known "Haunted" Mansion

This post will be using English and Bahasa Indonesia, to help all the local and foreign travellers understand more about the beautiful Indonesia :)

On December, I got a chance to visit Semarang and Ambarawa together with my family. Yes, I’ll be posting about the whole Semarang tips, what to see and also what to eat while you’re travelling here. Stay tune!

Pada liburan kali ini aku mendapatkan kesempatan untuk berkunjung ke Semarang bersama-sama dengan keluarga. Betul sekali, kali ini aku akan menceritakan seluruh perjalanan serta pengalaman selama di Semarang, apa yang wajib dikunjungi dan makanan apa yang wajib dicoba selama travelling di Semarang. Ikuti terus posnya ya!

Tugu Semarang

I’ll begin the journey with visiting Lawang Sewu, the well-known “Haunted Mansion” here in Java island.

Lawang Sewu is located on the center of Semarang Town, just right in front of the Tugu in Semarang. If you don't know the exact location, just ask people around. They definitely will know where Lawang Sewu is.

Aku akan mulai perjalanan ini dengan mengunjungi Lawang Sewu, sebuah tempat yang dikenal sebagai“Rumah Hantu” di Pulau Jawa. 

Lawang Sewu ini terletak tepat di tengah-tengah kota Semarang, yaitu di depan Tugu Semarang. Kalau kamu tidak mengerti jalan, bertanyalah pada orang disekitar. Mereka pasti tahu dimana letak Lawang Sewu tersebut.

Lawang Sewu: The Building

You can park your car / motorcycle just beside Lawang Sewu entrance, and you need to purchase the entrance ticket near the gate. You can ask for a guide to help you look around Lawang Sewu. In my case, the employee there directly offer me for a guide. Of course, I definitely say yes I want a guide. 

Kamu bisa memarkirkan motor / sepeda motor tepat disebelah pintu masuk Lawang Sewu, dan kamu perlu membeli sebuah tiket masuk di dekat gerbang. Kamu juga bisa meminta seorang tour guide untuk menemani perjalanan berkeliling ke Lawang Sewu. Ketika aku ada disana, si penjaga tiket langsung menawarkan seorang guide, dan aku langsung berkata ya. 

A picture in front of Lawang Sewu. Thank you my guide for helping me take this picture!

A tourguide will explain all you need to know about Lawang Sewu. There’s a hidden story behind everything that has made in here. 

Tourguide ini akan menjelaskan segala sesuatu yang kamu perlu tahu seputar Lawang Sewu. Terdapat banyak sekali cerita-cerita terselubung mengenai Lawang Sewu dan sejarah dibalik gedungnya. 

1. The toilet is actually a "Face" (Bentuk dari toilet disini adalah sebuah "Wajah")

When you go inside Lawang Sewu, the first thing you will see is a Toilet. You won't find any toilet inside, so it's better to go to this toilet if you have some "unfinished business"

If you take a look carefully, the toilet itself actually is in the form of a face. Do you see the two windows there? Yes, that is the eyes, the sink is the nose, and so on. Incredible, isn't it?

Ketika kamu pergi ke Lawang Sewu, didekat pintu masuk kamu akan menjumpai sebuah toilet. Tidak akan ada toilet satupun didalam gedung, jadi kalau kamu ingin menyelesaikan segala keperluan "bisnis", lebih baik pergilah ke toilet ini. 

Jika diperhatikan baik-baik, toilet ini sebenarnya berbentuk sebuah wajah. Apakah kamu melihat 2 jendela yang terbuka itu? Ya, itu adalah matanya, sedangkan wastafel itu adalah hidung, dan seterusnya. Menakjubkan, ya?

Toilet near the front door

2. Lawang Sewu is actually a train office (Lawang Sewu sebenarnya adalah sebuah kantor kereta api)

Lawang Sewu is actually a train office. That's why you'll find a lot of train model over there.

Lawang Sewu sebenarnya adalah sebuah perkantoran kereta. Sebab itulah kamu akan menjumpai berbagai model atau tipe kereta disini.

After the entrance of Lawang Sewu

The train model. There are a lot of them in here.

3. The doors inside are made so it'll look like a train carriage (Pintu didalam dibentuk supaya mirip dengan gerbong kereta)

Because Lawang Sewu is a train office and it want to represent the train sensation inside office, they design the door so it'll look like the train carriage. Can you imagine the picture inside your head? :) 

Besides, with a door design like this, the information will flow faster because when you say something, your voice will automatically being reverberate to the rest of the room. Pretty smart, right?

Karena Lawang Sewu adalah sebuah kantor kereta api dan ingin merepresentasikan rasa atau sensasi Kereta Api itu sendiri didalam kantornya, mereka membuat desain pintu supaya menyerupai gerbong kereta. Apakah kamu bisa membayangkannya? 

Lagipula, melalui desain seperti ini, segala informasi akan berjalan dengan lebih cepat karena ketika kamu berbicara sesuatu, maka suarau itu akan bergema ke seluruh ruangan lainnya. Sangat pintar, bukan?

See? Can you imagine that it looks like a train carriage?

4. The window.. realized something strange about it? (Jendelanya... apakah kamu sadar bahwa ada yang aneh ?)

Yes, something strange?

Look how strong it is eventhough it's already like decades ago.

Yes! The window is upside down, and not like any other common window you see inside Indonesian people house. I don't know what kind of window you use in your own country, perhaps it's not something like this. No matter what window you use, actually this kind of window model is the correct one. 

Benar sekali! Jendela ini terbalik dan tidak seperti bentuk jendela di perumahan orang Indonesia pada umumnya. Aku tidak tahu jenis-jenis jendela disetiap negara, mungkin saja tidak seperti ini. Tidak perduli bentuk jendela apa yang kamu gunakan, sebenarnya model jendela seperti inilah yang benar.

This kind of window will let all the fresh - cool air circulation go inside the room. That is why eventhough there are a lot of people inside and without using air-conditioner, you might realize that the atmosphere inside Lawang Sewu building is really cool and not hot at all. 

Bentuk jendela ini akan membantu udara-udara segar masuk kedalam ruangan. Itulah sebabnya, meskipun terdapat banyak orang didalam ruangan dan tanpa AC sekalipun, kamu akan menyadari bahwa kondisi didalam gedung Lawang Sewu benar-benar sejuk dan tidak panas sama sekali. 

In the contrary, they used regular window inside the attic. The purpose is to block the heat from going inside the building.

Sebaliknya, pada atap mereka memasang jendela biasa untuk menghalangi panas yang masuk ke dalam gedung.

The window inside the attic

5. Lawang Sewu is design and build by the Dutch (Lawang Sewu di desain dan dibangun oleh orang Belanda)

However, it's already like decades ago and there were some rennovations that had been done by Indonesian people. That's why you must notice some of the properties like the roof said "Made in Tangerang". It means that the roof has been rennovated by Indonesian.

Bagaimanapun juga, pembangunan tersebut sudah beratus tahun silam, dan sudah terdapat beberapa renovasi yang dilakukan oleh orang Indonesia. Itulah sebabnya kamu akan menemukan beberapa properti seperti atap yang bertuliskan dibuat di Tangerang. Jika sudah ada tulisan itu, berarti bagian tersebut sudah pernah direnovasi oleh orang Indonesia.

See the word "Tangerang" there, right?

After knowing the story, it’s known that Lawang Sewu is actually a train office. Then, is it really a haunted mansion? What makes it haunted? Also, Lawang Sewu itself has a meaning of A thousand Door. Are there really thousand doors in Lawang Sewu?

Setelah mengetahui ceritanya, kamu sudah tahu bahwa sebenarnya Lawang Sewu itu adalah sebuah kantor kereta api. Lalu, apakah Lawang Sewu itu benar-benar sebuah tempat berhantu? Apa ya yang membuatnya berhantu? Lalu, arti dari Lawang Sewu sendiri adalah seribu pintu. Apa benar ada seribu pintu di Lawang Sewu?

Hm, hm. Curious enough? I’ll stop right here because I will not spoil everything to you guys! Sorry, hehehe. ;) 

Let’s visit Lawang Sewu and find all of your answers there with the guide!! There are still lots and lots of thing about the secret of Lawang Sewu that you need to reveal. 

Hm, hm. Penasaran nih? Aku akan berhenti sampai disini ya, karena aku nggak akan membocorkan keseluruhan ceritanya. Maaf, hehehe ;)

Yuk, kunjungi Lawang Sewu dan temukan seluruh jawabanmu disini dengan sang tourguide! Masih ada begitu banyak rahasia yang perlu kamu ungkapkan di Lawang Sewu.

Bonus: Pictures!

It's under rennovation, that is why I can't go inside it, but I can look at the picture inside Lawang Sewu museum.

The old train railway used to be

The design inside the old train back then. Really nostalgic isn't it?

P.S: Don’t be shy if you have something to ask about Semarang trip! I’ll be very happy to help and share with you guys!

Catatan: Jangan malu-malu ya untuk bertanya apapun soal perjalanan ke Semarang. Aku sangat senang sekali untuk membantu dan berbagi dengan kalian semua!

Thanks, reader(s)!

[Megan Faustine]

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Aranzi Aronzo Jakarta: Cuteness Overload!!

As you all know, I'm back in Jakarta, the capital city of Indonesia for another internship.

The differences is that this internship taking 5 months to be done. So I'll be around Jakarta until May.

Of course, this is the time to hunt some great dessert to try and visit some travel spot in Jakarta!

My first choice ever after arrived in Jakarta is the one and only Aranzi Aronzo Cafe

I've been drooling since ever to try this uber cute cafe! 

Let's not curhating too long, and begin with the food review! 

Aranzi Aronzo, located just beside Miniapolis

The cake boxes, incredibly cute, right?

More boxes!

Food

The Cake display. OH MY GOD I'm just confused what to eat!

Banana Cake - IDR 65,000

I super love the cuteness of this cake.

Honestly, I feel a bit nggak tega banget deh while slicing it. 

The taste is delicious, especially the monkey face part, it's actually a white chocolate! I also love the smoothness of the sponge plus the yummy caramel on top of it. 

The chocolate cake on the bottom taste good, too!

There are some fruits (the color is pink, but I don't know what is it) and it taste sour. I actually love it, but my sister doesn't really a fan of sour fruit, so she didn't like it.

Unfortunately, my banana taste a bit bitter. It'll be awesome if the banana taste sweet. 

Finish it all without any left overs, hahaha!

AND WHAT IS THAT, A TISSUE?

I feel like I want to bring it home because it's just too cute!

I love all the characters made by Aranzi Aronzo. What can be cuter than that? 

Ambiance

I love it! Even though the cafe is a bit small, but it has some musics on.

They also offers two kinds of place to hang out, the indoor and also the outdoor one.

Well, if you're there on the afternoon, just go in the indoor because it's cooler rather than the outside. 

Second Floor

Uber cute window on second floor!

Painting on the second floor. How Cute!!

The service was nicelly done by one of the female waiter there. 

Will back to try another desserts! 

P.S: As I'm back in Jakarta, I'll keep posting on Zomato! 

Aranzi Aronzo

Mall Kelapa Gading 1&2, Lantai Ground.

Jl. Kelapa Gading Boulevard, Jakarta Utara

[Megan Faustine]

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