Relationship with Food and Cooking— A Series of Personal Journey

There are some questions (or probably statements) that I often receive recently; “Lagi suka masak ya?” and “makan makan terus nih?”

Favorite Food of All Time

I could say that currently, I have a pretty good relationship with food and cooking, especially since I got a super supportive food-lover partner. LOL. Well, it wasn’t like this before, as I’m the only child in the family and the kitchen stuff isn’t on my daily basis. I wasn’t familiar with cooking, even I had a thought that cooking is such a waste of time and no fun. I didn’t know how to cook rice, how much time to fry things, or how to season a meal; I was clueless. Well, special thanks to Bimo, who handled the cooking for a business project in high school, cause I can’t cook back then hehehe.

When I began to live away from home for college, I started to fall in love with cooking. It all happened because the food in the city where I live right now is totally different with the food in my hometown. I learned to cook because I want to eat fine dishes, but in affordable price. If in the past years I spent my money for shopping, now I can resist the urge to buy unnecessary stuffs rather than eating well. Therefore, instead of going to a mall (even tho this city has 30++ malls), I prefer to do grocery shopping. Luckily, it only takes me 5 minutes walk to a nearby supermarket. I love the excitement I hold when I go for grocery shopping and imagining the meal I’m about to cook.

Homemade Tenderloin Steak by Me!

As for my philosophy of cooking; varies, aesthetic, and scrumptious. Thanks to the Internet, I learned about how to cook the food all around the world there, sometimes I also asked my mom’s advice for Indonesian delicacies. Ahh, somehow I feel grateful for having an opportunity to live away from home. By being a wanderer I able to explore the hidden part of myself, and from there I distinguished between what I want and what I need. I also learned about money management and budgeting, sorting out which sectors can be saved, which sectors are uncompromised, and how much should be spared each month. With my hobby to cook, I could save more budget for having a fine dining, exploring many more food, even for shopping. Here I give you a recap of my food journey:

Confit Restaurant, Surabaya

Maxi’s Restaurant, Bandung

Chang Hwa Dang (창화당), Seongsu-Dong, Seoul

Hongeun Yanggochi (홍은양꼬치), Sodaemun-Gu, Seoul

Wizards at Tribeca, Kuala Lumpur

And here’s a glimpse of my signature dishes:

Sate Lilit Bali

Pasta Carbonara

Sauted Squid with Saos Padang

Tofu Roll Dimsum

Roasted Chicken

Ribs Soup

Well, I guess I’m ready to open up a restaurant or being a food blogger. HAHAHA.

“People who love to eat are always the best people” — Julia Child

-d-