My body tells me...

I'm knocked out by my menstrual cycle this time. Fortunately, it's weekend, so it doesn't really matter if my body aches and I get cranky. I've been sleeping, waking up, sleeping again, waking up and not feeling hungry. My morning routine includes coffee and Internet surfing; but since I found out that I ran out of gas for my stove, I skipped the coffee this morning. I needed to go out to buy gas, and I had been craving for something sweet. But 90% of what I read on the Internet told me to avoid sweet stuff for reasons such as gaining weight and upset stomach. Only two articles suggested to follow my craving because it was the way my body told me of what it needed to keep my system back in balance. I did not follow the majority.

I walked to the nearest convenience store to get what I needed: oatmeal cookies, white chocolate sandwich biscuits, 1 slice of brownies, and 1 chocolate chip muffin. They didn't have stove gas (boooo, Circle K!), so I also got myself two cold Nescafe's. On my way back, I saw a couple of warungs displaying selections of dishes on their windows, but they didn't appeal to me at all.

A Blackberry message came from my neighbor Sherly: drop by at my place, I got some wedding cake from last night (Sherly works as a WO). I think my body just made successful communication with the universe!

Happiness is simple. And cheap!

Happiness happens at lunch time, outdoors, while majority of the clouds are taking a break from the blue, blue sky...

... when the water is calm and turquoise blue, as idle as sleepy tourists on beachfront long chairs...

For happiness less than a dollar: a bowl of Bakso (how would you like it? No egg? Chicken feet?) and an amazing setting absolutely FREE (beach, sky, breezes included)!

... and Mas Untung at your service! Very efficient guy - not very keen on smiling, but he makes his customers smile happily...

Nice weather... Nice views... Playful breezes... A bowl of Bakso customized by Mas Untung just for you... Great companies...

Happiness is very simple. All you need to do is just be there and happy!

 “And Joy is Everywhere;

It is in the Earth's green covering of grass;
In the blue serenity of the Sky;
In the reckless exuberance of Spring;
In the severe abstinence of gray Winter;
In the Living flesh that animates our bodily frame;
In the perfect poise of the Human figure, noble and upright;
In Living;
In the exercise of all our powers;
In the acquisition of Knowledge;
In fighting evils ...

Joy is there Everywhere. ”

(Rabindranath Tagore)

Coto, soup with attitude

Service is everything in a business. Have you been in a restaurant where the food is good, but the waitress looks like she has just swallowed acid every time she comes to your table? How many times have you fallen 'victim' of poor service attitude? When business fails to take place because of a shop attendant's stupid behavior, the business itself IS the real victim. Not all people in hospitality business are aware of the importance of positive service attitude, even in Bali where people smile easily and almost automatically when meeting other people. Needless to repeat it over and over that service is everything. Or... Is it?

I will get back to the theme of service attitude next time. Now, I'm going to say that in some culinary cases, 'service' does not lie in a waiter's or restaurant owner's attitude. The 'service' is in the food itself. This warung (small, simple-looking restaurant, with relatively cheap items) on By Pass Ngurah Rai, Jimbaran, Bali, does exactly that. When you enter the family-run Warung 'Parakatte', don't expect warm greetings and big smiles from the waitresses/owners. But don't let that discourage you. Just seat yourself and tell them what you'd like to order. These people are from Makassar, South Sulawesi, and they don't have the 'big smile culture' as the Balinese. It doesn't mean that they don't appreciate your business. They do. It's in the dishes they present to you. In my case, it is their signature soup Coto that keeps me coming back every now and then.

Coto is not for you with cholesterol problems. It is not for you either, Picky Eaters! Coto is soup that uses beef and cow's innards - intestine, liver, lungs, tripe - as fillings (if you're a health freak or these stuffs scare you, forget it!) The beef and innards are slowly cooked with some other ingredients and spices to make mouth-watering thick soup to die for. This soup is the main course, so you eat it with white rice or rice cakes wrapped in banana leaves they call Buras or Burasa. Oh, and don't forget to add a few drops of lime juice, sweet soy sauce, and hot chili paste into the Coto. Believe me, it's heaven on earth!

A bowl of Coto with a plate of rice is priced IDR19,000 (roughly USD 2.00), quite pricey for a regular lunch for most Indonesians like myself. It's a once-in-a-week kind of treat, but considering the cholesterol contained in it, that should be fair. A note on the location: far away from centers of business such as the strips of Kuta or Legian, Parakatte is quite easily overlooked. The sullen looking attendants/owners could be easily misunderstood amidst the growing service awareness. But I'm not a fool in the Coto's case. If a food is capable in making me burp shamelessly and happily at the end of a course, it does all the justice. 

Staff canteen, a love/hate story

Big hotels or resorts normally have staff canteens within their properties. I have worked in as many as five different resorts in Bali and I can say that the common relationship between an employee and a staff canteen is always that of love/hate. A staff`canteen can make your life more practical. It can bore you to death, too. Below are my notes on each of the hotel canteens, in a random order.

• Resort A Canteen: The metal trays didn't give me a good vibe, really. Walking with a metal tray (rice and all on it) in my hands to the dining table felt like I was in a scene of The Shawshank Redemption. Food tasted good, cooked by (grim-looking) in-house cooks, and you could take as much as you wanted, but I suspected that the ingredients came from what was left in the fridge after all the best ones were taken for the guests. Too bad, the closest restaurant outside the hotel was about 15 minutes away.
• Resort B Canteen: Food were not bad with good varieties. This came as a result of the hotel using a catering company service based on a six month contract, after which a new catering company would replace. The drawback of this system is not all caterers were consistent in complying with the hotel standard. There were days when food was poor, both in quality and presentation. 
• Resort C Canteen: If the previous two resorts apply a certain allowance per employee, for example IDR17,500/staff/day, this resort had a different system. At the beginning of every month, every employee was given monthly meal allowance in form of hotel money (similar to monopoly notes), with values range from IDR1,000 to IDR10,000. There was a good selection of main course items to desserts in the International-standard canteen, each was given a certain price. They even had an a la carte menu (burgers, salads, steaks, etc.), given that order was placed one day in advance. But still, some of the staff got tired of the food options and preferred eating in a food stall just outside the hotel.
• Resort D Canteen: Similar to Resort C in terms of food options, minus the hotel money and ice cream selections. The only drawback was inconsistency in taste and cooking methods. Different cooks, different methods, and there were these hotel kitchen trainees who might still need to learn how to make a dish correctly.
• Resort E Canteen: It was by far the lowest in standard in terms of space. It was quite a tiny canteen for hundreds of staff with quite poor ventilation. There was a fan on the ceiling for air circulation, but some staff smoke in the room, too. Food-wise, it was fair. The servers were kind and strict at the same time facing staff who asked for additional this or that. Good thing was there were quite a lot of options outside the hotel within walking distance.

Some hotels also have separate eating spaces for management level staff and common staff. I don't favor this, to say the least. I may write about it some other time.

A midweek holiday = clean-up-your-fridge day

The Ascension Day of Christ, celebrated as one of national public holidays, falls on Thursday, which means a very long weekend for many Indonesians. Hoteliers not included. A day off only for today and thinking how tourists pouring down on the streets of Bali make me decide to stay at home. (It's the middle of the month, so... time for saving, everyone???) A headline of an online lifestyle magazine reads: How to overcome stress of having to stay at home on a holiday. What stress? I'm stressful when I'm on my motorbike trapped in the middle of heavy traffic of By Pass Ngurah Rai in a hot afternoon.

Let's open your fridge, A! Almost empty. It doesn't take much of an inspection to see which items there should go, and which can stay. I really don't have much left. Mid-of-the-month poverty! There is no need to be ashamed of. Really? I have to swallow my dignity to report that some of the things I keep in my fridge should have gone months ago! That mayo, the funny-taste low-fat Kraft Thousand Island dressing, Kacang Garuda peanuts, and that instant Bolognese sauce. No, the sauce can stay. I opened it two days ago, I guess I can still make spaghetti Bolognese with it this afternoon. I'm not going anywhere for my lunch today!

This green thing below can stay in my fridge, too. For as long as it takes. Can you guess what this is? :) Happy long weekend to some of you! (Happy Defrost Day to me!)

Bitten by chocolate!

My neighbor Sherly said she wanted to eat chili tonight, so we went to this food stall in Taman Griya, Jimbaran, Bali. This place (couldn't remember the name although I am quite a regular here) sells a selection of fried or roast chicken, fish, and catfish served in a terracotta plate with red hot chili paste and some vegetable. We eat it with rice; so yes, tonight I broke my no-rice diet (Sherly, you!) With red hot chili paste in front of your nose, how could you eat only a little rice? Indonesians loooove red hot chili paste, and we eat generously with it, often using our (right) hand as spoon. A spoonful of red hot chili pepper always goes with a plateful of rice. Guilty pleasure!

But waaaait!!! Red hot chili pepper goes with chocolate too! I was stung by instant curiosity when I saw this Monggo chocolate bar displayed in Pepito supermarket. This one stood up with the picture of red chili against its creme wrapper. Chocolate and chili? Interesting! I knew that Monggo is manufactured in Jogja, my hometown. I knew that the owner is a Belgian chocolatier, and therefore Monggo uses premium Belgian chocolate as the main ingredient. I knew that even though Monggo (Javanese word, meaning "Yes, please") is a local brand, the quality is comparable to International brands. It certainly tastes more chocolaty (read: better) than Hershey's, trust me.

Red Chili is among Monggo's new variants. It contains 58% dark chocolate cocoa, vegetable oil, and spicy crispy rice (real red chili is used). The taste is quite a sensation! The spiciness bites your tongue as your teeth  crush the crispy rice. Then it blends with the quality dark chocolate with sweetness that is not overpowering. The spiciness lingers in your mouth for a while, just like the sensation you have after eating regular red chili paste (minus the shallot and garlic, of course!). It is truly a product customized for Indonesians or other Asians who are fond of red chili. It is also for anyone who craves a little adventure.

No doubt, Monggo IS a good chocolate. Very innovative, too. Monggo chocolates are available in major supermarkets and some luxury hotels. For more information, you can check their interesting homepage: http://chocolatemonggo.com/en/home.

My Identi-Tea

Black tea is truly Indonesia. The darker, the better. Dark and sweet. Javanese tea fanatics only take loose tea, brew it in freshly boiled water in a teapot for about five minutes, then pour the tea in a cup filled with lump white sugar. Tea bags are a big NO. I'm a Javanese, never attached to anything in this world to the point of fanaticism, but I do love tea.

As much as I love the bitterness in traditional loose black tea, I grew up digging other tea variants, too, tea bags included. When I'm in a supermarket, I always go to the tea section. To me, these historical Indonesian black teas as well as modern fruity flavored teas are more attractive than potato chips, chocolates, or instant noodles. And this morning I was happy to find that Lipton produced a selection of flavored black tea and infusions at a reasonably low price (compared to pricey Twinings or Dilmah). Some local tea factories have produced similar products before, but I don't really like how the tea left a funny feel in my throat that I suspect coming from too much use of artificial flavors.

I bought two boxes of Lipton tea: apple flavored black tea and peppermint plain infusion. Each box contains 15 individually packed teabags. Other flavors available are strawberry, vanilla, and caramel. For infusion (no tea leaves used), there are two kinds: peppermint and chamomile. I read the information on the carton box about the ingredients, and I am glad that they use real (dehydrated) fruit. A little artificial flavor is still used, though.

It is raining again outside, and it's a little bit chilly. A cup of hot tea would be heaven! And I got this new tea to taste. Born and raised as a Javanese, I always like my tea sweet. Instead of adding sugar, I add one block of Lo Han Kuo in my tea this time. Healthy and... hmmmm.... You should try it!

What's on your plate, and what's not? I wanna know!

If what you eat defines who you are, what you don't eat completes the picture. My neighbor Sherly eats a lot of vegetables and avoids McD, KFC, and the likes at all costs, even though they are the closest to your door after your empty fridge. Sherly doesn't use tap water for brushing her teeth and washing her hair, let alone drinking. She buys water in gallons from a supplier. Thanks to her, I also subscribe to water gallons for drinking. Tap water is fine with me for washing hair and brushing teeth, and once in a while, I still eat junk.

So, those are the rough pictures of Sherly and me seen from some of what we decide to do and not do. Can you read our personalities? Roughly and partially, yes. It is easier to read someone from what they consume, because they are usually tangible. If you're interested in trying to get into someone's personality, I would suggest that you also try to find out about what they do NOT consume. What can you see in someone who only drinks sweetened drinks (and tends to avoid plain water), smokes two packs of cigarettes (sometimes more but never less), and indulges himself in fatty and fried food (and skips vegetables) beyond physical consequences, such as possible bloated stomach and high cholesterol? Could we at least say something about his low level of self discipline? Can't jump into a decision too quickly, but details like those are also hard to ignore, are they not?

Some people change their diets along the way, so this is also interesting to study. The 'why's' behind the decisions to consume things and not consume other things can say something about someone's character, or a change in character, in the case of a changed diet. Given that people have the choices, of course. Let me tell you of what I have quit consuming: cigarettes (since 3 years ago). I used to have two or three glasses of coffee a day; now the number is reduced to one (since one month ago). I used to be matter of fact about drinking water; now I spend IDR3,500 (45 cents) every day for a bottle of 1.5 liter water to be consumed at work. What can you tell about me, apart from the slight financial change in my wallet? Skip that. Now, what can you tell about you from what's NOT on your plate?

My buddy Lo

When I was in college, over 15 years ago (darn it, I'm old!), I caught a very bad cold with nasty coughs. One of my best friends, Lani, gave me a super-tiny jar of super-super tiny Chinese pills, a box of chrysanthemum tea, and this oriental looking green box with "Lo Han Kuo Infusion" inscription on it. Lani, a Chinese descendant, said that these trio would help end my suffering. They did.

The Chinese pills, we can forget. I think my friend Lani got them from her great, great grandmother in China or something. Chrysanthemum tea is not the topic of the day either. It is my buddy Lo Han Kuo that I want to introduce you to, in case you have not met this low-key healer. Lo Han Kuo Infusion (the word 'infusion' evokes my memories of these Chinese martial art series of the 80's) is sold in major supermarkets and drugstores. Lo Han Kuo fruits are cultivated in Southern China; they are processed to make small blocks that are packed individually. Well, at least, that is the most common Lo Han Kuo that I know. Take one or two blocks, and dissolve it into a glass of hot water to make tea. The sucrose in Lo gives it its mild fruity sweetness. When I have a sore throat or any other cold symptoms, I don't drink anything else but Lo Han Kuo. I sometimes  replace my regular tea with Lo not (only) because it makes me feel like Beatrix Kiddo, but because Lo simply tastes good.

I don't remember how many friends of mine I have recommended Lo to. The last person is the new girl in the office who, since her first day of work, had coughed incessantly for days. Being the person sharing an office with her, I couldn't rely on my iPod to keep concentrating on my monitor when someone sitting next to me suffered that much. So, I introduced Lo to her. If it didn't cure, at least it proved to give a relieving effect on the itched throat. The next day, the coughs were gone.

Obama, bakso, and the lucky guy...

"Let's go to the beach!" is quite often heard in my office around lunchtime. That's a sign of someone tired of the staff cafeteria's food. And the idea is almost always welcome by the rest of us. I work in a resort in Tanjung Benoa. This area in Bali does not have the most beautiful beaches, as compared to Nusa Dua, for example, but Benoa is always famous for its wide selection of water sport activities. And for us, hotel staff, we love Benoa beach for its wide selection of delicious, cheap treats offered by various simple-looking food stalls.

One of our favorites is 'tipat kuah', rice cake in milky chicken soup, with boiled egg, vegetables, fried shrimps, and Balinese chili paste on the side. Yummy! 'Tipat kuah' only costs IDR10,000, roughly USD 1.00. If you're lucky, you can get a seat by the window with an ocean view and the best breezes. While eating, you can see tourists in swimming wears on speedboats, banana boats, and colorful parasailings.

Our second favorite is meatballs soup we call bakso. You know, I personally think that 'bakso' as a word should be internationalized because US President Obama who spent  several years living in Indonesia still favors it. If you don't believe me, try search on YouTube with key words: obama bakso, and see yourself.


A lot of bakso sellers in Bali, unlike in many other parts in Indonesia, sell bakso on motorbikes. One of these bakso sellers is a Javanese guy named Untung, literally meaning 'lucky'. He always serves us kindly and efficiently. He acknowledges me instantly because, like him, I am a Javanese and therefore speak Javanese to another Javanese.

Bakso is a perfect treat in a hot afternoon. A bowl of bakso consists of five small chicken meatballs, fried and steamed tofu, rice noodles, and fried dumpling. If you're like many other Indonesians who call a non-rice meal a snack, you can add rice cake into your soup, and your lunch is valid! All of these costs only IDR5,000 (50 cent!) If tomorrow I go to the beach to eat bakso again and Untung doubles the price, I wouldn't mind at all.

Saved by the beer!

From November 2011 to Mid April 2012, I worked at home, and this totally changed my sleeping hours. Because I was the one who set my own deadlines, I let myself go to bed early morning, and wake up late. I was the bat girl, really. Then this should change when I got a 9 to 5 job. There was no other way: I had to end my 'alive at night and dead in the morning' habit. I only had less than a week to reset my sleeping hours. Shoot! I started to panic.

An idea came to me: cough syrup before normal bed time. This would make me drowsy and fall asleep. But then I feared that it could become addictive, so I thought this should be the last resort. Days passed me by without any success. I stayed up till morning, still. I only got three nights left before my first day of work.

Help came when I started to tweet my concern. A friend replied: 'Try beer. Always works." So the next day, I went to Circle K and bought myself Bintang Beer, the big one. At 8:00 pm I drank and finished it in 15 minutes. I fell asleep an hour afterwards. Sleeping hours reset! To seal my success, I repeated the process in the next evening.

I think one of my recent achievements is I managed to be a morning person. With help of my Blackberry alarm, of course. Gone are days when I woke up feeling beaten up. And no more beer needed for a loud and clear,  "Rise and shine!"

PS. I tweeted and mentioned my friend, saying thanks for her brilliant suggestion. "Bintang works!" I said. Then she replied, "Well, Heineken works even better!" Doesn't matter. To me, if I can go local, I'll go local.

Optional Rice-not Dinner

Maia Estianty, the Indonesian singer, song writer and producer, said that she doesn't eat rice to keep in shape. I took pride in people saying I look like her, but I wasn't proud of my tummy at all, so quite foolishly, I followed what she said.

I've been hearing about this carbo diet thing, but I never really made time to research on it. I just jumped into some key points I read on an online woman's magazine: 1. eating all but rice will make your tummy flat; 2. It's not torturing at all, because it allows you to eat whenever you want. Then, I bumped into this lady, a middle-aged human resources director of a hotel I worked for. We shared a table in a lunch time when I saw that her plate was filled in quite abundance: chicken satays, beef curry, steamed vegetables, tofu, and not a single rice. And this lady looked elegantly slim. She went like that day by day: eat generously and stay slim.

This note is not meant to encourage women to do a certain type of diet. I was a scholar before, but I keep the ethics of not perceiving anything as truth without proper research and literature. Let's not go into that for now. I'm just going to say that I have formulated my own diet. I need to feel good for myself, and I guess I love myself too much to torture my body and risk ruining my mood even in the name of 'ideal shape'. I eat rice for lunch and anything but rice for dinner. I nearly got the tummy I've desired, and most importantly, I eat all I put on my plate. No leftover. 

From Hero to Zero, to ME!

May 2008. I moved to Bali as an 'undercover agent'. From 'somebody' to 'nobody'. A 'hero' falling from grace. That was pretty much how my situation was. I had a promising career as a college professor, got my MA and all, then.... BAM! Some illusionist turned me into no one. That illusionist was me.

It was not very easy to lead a life as an 'undercover'. I wasn't who I had been, because in this place, no one knew nor care of what I had achieved. And me? I lost the case completely. I lost appetite to even trying to prove myself. I sat on a throne when I was still teaching; I knew exactly what I wanted to do. I was superior in the eyes of my students. They believed what I had to say. Well... talking in general, of course! But in Bali, I was a rookie in the hospitality business. I was a rookie in everything Bali. I was a rookie in humbleness.

May 2012. I think I'm in control again. I hold my pen, richer in perspectives, yet humbler.