Avigayil Damm

Remember my sister’s birthday? At that time she wanted to eat out at Cafe Wien, an Austrian restaurant, because she wanted to get apfel strudel. Unfortunately the place had closed, and we ended up at another restaurant which didn’t have that particular dessert. So my hubby and I promised to take her out to a German restaurant in Kemang, Die Stube which we knew for a fact had that dessert on their menu.

We finally found time to fulfil our promise today. Jane (that’s how we nickname her because she spent 2 years in the jungle of Kalimantan) came over to our house and then we went together to Die Stube. There, we each ordered different things: I had spinach cream soup for starters, which was really delicious. My hubby and Jane had tomato soup, which they thought was a bit too sour and thin. Jane, however, tried out my soup and loved it, so she asked me to leave her some. Below is a picture of her with both soup set up in front of her.

Next came our main course. I ordered bratwurst with red cabbage and roast potatoes, Jane ordered goulash with the same side dishes as me, while my hubby ordered the least German menu he could find: chicken cordon bleu. I can only speak for myself when I say that the food I ordered was so satisfyingly tasty that I allowed myself to finish more than I could actually manage, while still keeping in mind to leave some wiggling space for the apfel strudel. Jane and my hubby also seemed satisfied with their order, but I did not taste any of their dishes to confirm because I was struggling with my own dish.

When we managed to finish our main course, we continued to order the dessert, apfel strudel, although we barely had anymore space left in our tummies, but the show must go on (and the mission has to be completed!). We each ordered our own desserts, and they were really good, although I thought it was slightly too sour for my taste. The apfel strudel was served with vanilla sauce, ice cream and whipped cream.

As for the restaurant itself, I like it very much. I have been here already many times, ever since the waitresses were still wearing milk maid (or some sort) outfit. Now they dress more normally which I think is much better. There aren’t many tables available but that is what makes this place cosy. Additionally, the setting and interior reminds me of restaurants in Germany that we used to frequent (of course that was the whole point), with many German related posters and decorations. The waiter and waitresses are also very nice and responsive to your needs. So I am definitely going back there again one day. If you’re interested, here is the address:

There is only limited seating and the number of visitors are always unpredictable (sometimes it’s very crowded although it’s a weekday) so maybe it’s a good idea to call ahead and reserve a table. See you there!

Tonight, the menu is pasta (my choice is spaghetti) with tuna and capers sauce. It’s very easy, it took me only 20 minutes to cook it altogether. Chopped onions and garlic is fried for a few minutes until tender and fragrant, then tuna chunks is mixed in (I used tuna chunks in oil – make sure you drain it properly otherwise you will end up with a very greasy dish), together with cream (I used light cream), lemon juice, capers and parsley. The time it took for me to prepare the sauce was the exact time it took for me to cook the pasta. It fits into my weekday menu criteria: quick, easy and delicious. And I have three satisfied customer: my hubby, my visiting friend (yes people are now flying all the way from Yogyakarta to have a taste of my cooking!) and my little birthday pup, Sam.

Other than the picture of a cute little chick in between burger buns held by my hands-twin, I didn’t really find any interesting hints on what to put on a chicken burger. So we used the really basic ingredients: mayo, tomato sauce, mustard, tomato slices, cucumber slices, lettuce and cheddar cheese. We used ready made burger buns that was available in the supermarket. The buns were sooo thick that we decided to slice out the middle part and not use it.

When we started to eat, we realized we forgot rings of onions. But never mind, it tasted delicious anyway! And this must be the best looking picture of food I have ever taken so far for my blog.

Today my hubby was struck by the ‘cooking’ lightning, and decided to bake bread. I, on the other hand, was due to cook chicken meatballs in tomato sauce, according to the one week menu.

First, the bread. My hubby found a basic white bread recipe which he followed. It’s the basic all purpose flour, yeast, milk and butter. This recipe also called for three teaspoons of honey. The dough is kneaded for a while, left to stand and raise for 45 minutes, kneaded again, divided into two baking forms, and left to raise again for another hour. My hubby read somewhere that instead of egg yolks, you can also use cold coffee (as in the drink, not the ground beans) to brush the surface of the bread to give it a nice colour. That’s exactly what he did, before he sprinkled some poppy seeds on the top. Right after it has cooled a bit, we dug right in, and were very happy with the result. Of course, nothing really beats the taste of freshly made bread.

As for me, I started my cooking process a few minutes after the bread was finished – or shall I say, after I have finished tasting a piece of the newly baked bread. The chicken meatballs (yes meatballs again, and yes I can see the ‘chicken’ tag grow bigger and bigger in the cloud) also contains fresh chopped thyme as well as breadcrumbs. The meatballs are fried first until golden brown, and then set aside. The sauce is made of chopped onions, stir fried in butter until soft, combined with crushed tomatoes, chicken stock, some balsamic vinegar and Italian seasoning mix. I added some tomato sauce which gives a little sweet taste to balance out the sour taste from the tomato and balsamic vinegar. After the sauce has thickened slightly, the meatballs are returned to the pot and left to simmer for some minutes. I served it with spaghetti (second favourite carbohydrate source) and sprinkles of parmesan cheese. The result left my sole customer happy – and customer satisfaction is the most important thing in my line of business!

Today, I am all fired up to cook. As per the one week menu I previously planned (yes, very ‘Monica’), tonight’s dinner is chicken rissoles with mushroom sauce.

Again, it’s taken from my favourite easy to make recipe book from Periplus. The patty is made of minced chicken, breadcrumbs, dried tarragon, chopped onions and of course salt and pepper. The original recipe called for mayonnaise but I opted out because the mix was a little too soft already.

The sauce is made of chopped spring onions,  stir fried with sliced mushroom and cream. Additionally, the sauce requires a quarter cup of white wine. I prepared the patties ahead of time and put it aside, so I only had to reheat it and make the sauce when dinner time came. The taste? Aside to needing more salt in the patties, the taste overall was great and I will definitely make this again.