Indulging in gourmet while exploring the South East      

I already explored South East Asia including Hong Kong, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Ho Chi Minh, Jakarta and Bali; and indulged in gourmet from March 8 to April 4, 2023.

The purpose of travel mainly is eating and drinking , sightseeing, shopping and experiencing the customs and cultures of different countries in order to enrich knowledge. Eating and drinking is a culture and also is an art.

4.  Jakarta Indonesia Episode Part 1：Jakarta Arrival 

Dining, Sightseeing and Shopping   

                             Tuesday, 2023/3/21  

Jakarta

Jakarta officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta is the nation's capital city and the centre of the largest metropolis of Indonesia. Lying on the northwest coast of Java, the world's most populous island, Jakarta is the largest metropole in Southeast Asia, and serves as the diplomatic capital of ASEAN. Jakarta is bordered by two provinces: West Java to the south and east; and (since 2000, when it was separated from West Java) Banten to the west. Its coastline faces the Java Sea to the north, and it shares a maritime border with Lampung to the west. Jakarta's metropolitan area is ASEAN's second largest economy after Singapore.

Jakarta is the economic, cultural, and political centre of Indonesia. It possesses a province-level status and has a population of 10,679,951 as of mid-2022. Although Jakarta extends over only 661.23 km2 (255.30 sq mi) and thus has the smallest area of any Indonesian province, its metropolitan area covers 9,957.08 km2 (3,844.45 sq mi), which includes the satellite cities of Bogor, Depok, Tangerang, South Tangerang, and Bekasi, and has an estimated population of 35 million as of 2022, making it the largest urban area in Indonesia and the second-largest in the world after Tokyo.

This city is divided into 5 districts, namely Jakarta Pusat (Central Jakarta), Jakarta Utara (North Jakarta), Jakarta Barat (West Jakarta), Jakarta Timur (East Jakarta), and Jakarta Selatan (South Jakarta). The term ‘Jabodetabek’ refers to Jakarta-Bogor-Depok-Tangerang-Bekasi - the Greater Jakarta area consists of megacities surrounding the capital.


All parts of Jakarta are studded with their own culinary icons and trending coffee shops to spend the day at. Here, you can easily find the five national foods, namely Nasi Goreng, Gado-gado, Soto, Sate, and Rendang.

Jakarta Arrival 

I flew on Malaysia Airline from Kuala Lumpur to Jakarta on March 21, 2023. I arrived at Soekarno–Hatta Airport (CGK) Jakarta at about 5 pm. The lineups for customs clearing were long. I passed the customs at around 7 pm. The CGK airport is in Tangerand whereas the Millennium Hotel Sirih Jakarta is in Central Jakarta. I took the Gambir Damri CGK airport bus to Balai Kota Jakarta for 41 minutes. Fare was about CAD 4. When I arrived at the Balai Kota stop, I just walked about 5 minutes to the hotel.

▲ Airport Bus Gambir Damri

Millennium Hotel Check in

I had to pay the hotel total rents for 4,071,795 IDR = CAD 360 or USD 270. But the Canadian TD and CIBC VISA could not accept this huge number 4 million plus IDR. However, the hotel could not accept USD or Canadian dollar cash, and  suggested me to give them USD 270 as deposit. Next morning, I should give them IDR to exchange my USD deposit. 

Fortunately, my Indonesian friend Arno came to see me next morning. He exchanged my USD 300 for IDR. Therefore, I could pay the hotel for the rents in IDR. Afterward, Arno gave me a lift to Grand Hyatt Jakarta for sight-seeing, shopping and foods. Thank you Arno for great help. Also thank Johnny for the WhatsApp calls that morning.

"A friend in need is a friend indeed."

1 CAD =  11,299.53 IDR

1 USD =  15,254.37 IDR

Welcome Back from Millennium Hotel  ❤❤❤❤❤

When I returned from Bali and checked in the hotel again, I found this fruit platter on a table in my room. I was very impressed and moved by the hotel's "welcome back" complementary gift. This was my first time to eat Salak, snake fruit.

❤❤❤❤❤ Welcome back from the Millennium Hotel

Itinerary

1 CAD =  11,299.53 IDR

Air Tickets 

5. Malaysia Airline    MYR 1,164 USD 289.44 CAD385

     Depart KUL Kuala Lumpur Tue 21 Mar 16:25  =》 CGK Jakarta Tue 21 Mar 17:30 MH723

     Return CGK Jakarta Sun 26 Mar 11:10 =》 KUL Kuala Lumpur Sun 26 Mar 14:20 MH710

Malaysia Airline Official Web Site 

https://www.malaysiaairlines.com/hq/en.html

Hotel

Millennium Hotel Sirih Jakarta  

Jalan Fachruddin 3, Jakarta, Indonesia 10250 Tel: 62 21 230 3636

Tue Mar 21 – Thu Mar 23, 2023     2,794,035 IDR = CAD 247.27
Fri Mar 24 ­– Sun Mar 26, 2023       1,277,760 IDR = CAD 113.08

Millennium Hotel Sirih Jakarta Official Web Site  

https://www.millenniumhotels.com/en/jakarta/millennium-hotel-sirih-jakarta/

Next:
4. Jakarta Indonesia Episode Part 2：

    North Jakarta
    Dining, Sightseeing and Shopping

Publisher：Kar Discover

Indulging in gourmet while exploring the South East      

3.  Bali Indonesia Episode Final Part 6：Besakih; RM Padang ACC, Baru 

Dining, Sightseeing and Shopping   

                             Friday, 2023/3/24  

Pura Besakih

Besakih, Rendang, Karangasem,
Bali 80863, Indonesia

Besakih Temple is a pura complex in the village of Besakih on the slopes of Mount Agung in eastern Bali, Indonesia. It is the most important, largest, and holiest temple of Balinese Hinduism, and one of a series of Balinese temples. Perched nearly 1000 meters up the side of Gunung Agung, it is an extensive complex of 23 separate but related temples with the largest and most important being Pura Penataran Agung. The temple is built on six levels, terraced up the slope. The entrance is marked by a candi bentar (split gateway), and beyond it, the Kori Agung is the gateway to the second courtyard.

All the allegiances of the Balinese people come together at Besakih. Each regency has its own temple within the over-all compound, as do each of the caste groups. There is a total of 18 separate sanctuaries. The three main temples are : Pura Penataran Agung, Dedicated to Sang Hyang Widi Wasa : Pura Kiduling Kreteg, dedicated to Brahma; and Pura Batu Madeg, dedicated to Wisnu.

To the Balinese a visit to the temple sanctuaries at Besakih temple is a special pilgrimage. Each temple has its own odalan, or anniversary celebration, and on the full moon of the Balinese month “Kedasa” the entire compound of Besakih celebrates the visit of the gods, with an enormous throng of visiting pilgrims.

The Besakih’s name  came from the word of Basuki, the old language from Sanskrit Wasuki, and then it became the Ancient Java Language. In this Sanskrit, the Basuki means congratulation.

    

 

Last Day in Kuta
                                              

RM Padang ACC Baru
Jln Legian No.71/79, Kuta, Badung Regency,
Bali 80361, Indonesia

    

♥ Masakan Padang

Padang dish or Minangkabau dish is the cuisine of the Minangkabau people of West Sumatra, Indonesia. It is among the most popular cuisines in Maritime Southeast Asia. It is known across Indonesia as Masakan Padang after Padang, the capital city of Western Sumatra province.

Padang food is famous for its use of coconut milk and spicy chili. Minang cuisine consists of three main elements: gulai (curry), lado (chili pepper) and bareh (rice). Among the cooking traditions in Indonesian cuisine, Minangkabau cuisine and most of Sumatran cuisine are under the influences of Indian and Middle Eastern cuisine, with dishes cooked in curry sauce with coconut milk and a lot of spice mixes.

Because most Minangkabau people are Muslims, Minangkabau cuisine follows halal dietary law rigorously. Most of its protein is taken from beef, chicken, water buffalo, goat, lamb, mutton, and poultry and fish. Minangkabau people are known for their fondness of cattle meat products including offal. Almost all the parts of cattle are used in Minangkabau dishes. Seafood is popular in coastal West Sumatran cities, and most are grilled or fried with spicy chili sauce or in curry gravy. Fish, shrimp, and cuttlefish are cooked in similar fashion. Most Minangkabau food is eaten with hot steamed rice or compressed rice such as katupek (ketupat). Vegetables are mostly boiled, such as boiled cassava leaf, or simmered in thin curry as side dishes, such as gulai of young jackfruit or cabbages.

♥ Side Dishes

♥ Nasi Padang: Beef rendang, Curry Beef Rice

Nasi padang, sometimes referred to as Padang rice, is a Minangkabau dish of steamed rice served with various choices of pre-cooked dishes originating from West Sumatra, Indonesia. It is named after the city of Padang, capital of the West Sumatra province. A miniature banquet of meats, fish, vegetables, and spicy sambals eaten with plain white rice, it is Sumatra's most famous export and the Minangkabau people's primary contribution to Indonesian cuisine.

Rendang is a spicy meat stew.

  

   

   

   

   

I took a Blue Bird taxi to Denpasar International Airport.

   

   

I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport (IATA: DPS, ICAO: WADD), also known as Denpasar International Airport, is the main international airport of Bali, Indonesia

   

   

♥  Salak, Snake fruit in Duty Free Shop at Denpasar International Airport

Salak is a species of palm tree native to Java and Sumatra in Indonesia. It is cultivated in other regions of Indonesia as a food crop, and reportedly naturalized in Bali, Lombok, Timor, Maluku, and Sulawesi.

There are more than 15 varieties of Salak Bali, with tastes ranging from sweet as sugar (Salak Gula Pasir), sweet-sour like a grapefruit (Salak Getih) and sour like a pineapple (Salak Nanas). The fruit is roughly the size of a large fig, and has a crunchy and moist consistency.

    

    

I flew back to Jakarta on Lion Air .

Itinerary

6. Lion Air        IDR 1,532,880 CAD 136.64  

     Depart CGK Jakarta Thu 23 Mar  9:00 =》 DPS Bali Thu 23 Mar 11:50 JT42

     Return DPS Bali   Fri 24 Mar 20:30 =》 CGK Jakarta Fri 24 Mar 21:20 JT27

  1 CAD =  11,299.53 IDR     

Lion Air Official Web Sites 獅子航空官方網站:

https://www.lionair.co.id/en

Next:
4. Jakarta Indonesia Episode Part 1：

    Jakarta Arrival
    Dining, Sightseeing and Shopping

Publisher：Kar Discover