Mie Kremez

In my childhood, this type of snack is very popular. It is just crushed dry ramen with lots of MSG... 😅

When I was a kid, there were many brands of it, and the most popular is "fuji". It was so popular because of its super mini size, so the price was soooo cheap. Just 50 IDR each! (about 0,3 cent USD). Then there was this, mie kremez. It was much bigger, about the same size of regular instant ramen (unlike these, you still need to crush it and add the seasoning, just like instant noodle!). The modern version of it is much much smaller. Maybe because they want to keep the price minimum so the kids can easily afford it? Haha. Even so, adults of my age still love it.

So Hot!

I live in a country where the sun shines so bright. It's very hot and humid throughout the year, no matter in dry or rainy season. And the UV level is crazy, you can see above  that UV index is at a level of extreme!  Some foreigners who come here usually just wear t-shirt and shorts, but we (local people) must having jacket whenever we go out. You can feel your skin burn, even you have darker skin. My friends once had blister skin for riding motorcycle in day without protection.

Always bring your sunscreen!

Going cashless

In developed countries maybe cashless is a common, but in developing country like Indonesia, very few people going cashless. The government has made some policies to manage this, and some banks and cell providers give many promotions such as discounts to make customers using e-money instead of physical money. I myself find it convenient to use e-money card (we have weak currency, more than 13000 IDR for 1 USD so the need of small money as change is a lot), but some stores just haven't ready yet. It takes too long to pay with card in convenience store like Indomaret. Swipe this, Swipe that, click this, click that... Not  to mention some errors and lost signal in the EDC machine, which is very common here (why they keep using GPRS when we have LTE?). And the queue become even longer.

I support the move, to have some e-money cards and mobile payment in my cellphone. I pay with debit card when I shop in shopping mall. But I don't use credit card, I don't want to have any debt to anyone. I hope the system going better in line with people using less physical money. It's good to the macro economy, so the inflation won't get crazy and our money will keep their value for a long time.

ASUS Zenbook UX303lb Review

I have this notebook for several months, so I want to give review for it based on my experience.

When I bought it (for 14M IDR or about 1000 USD), previously I wanted to buy a macbook air. But it turned out that with the money I could get a laptop with the same convenience but much more advanced specs (The same level with the new macbook pro but with half of its lowest price). Yes! this zenbook UX303lb. Very thin, very light, and very sturdy. What I love the most is its flexibility. You can upgrade the RAM and hard drive easily, unlike other ultrabook. It has many ports, three USB 3.0 (one with fast charging), HDMI port, Display port, and SD card reader (look at the new macbook, just one port for ALL needs). The design is very beautiful and feels bold. And nowadays, windows still dominate the market, so I won't worry with all the software I want to use.

I had confusion when i chose this, whether to buy the new UX305 or this UX303lb. UX305 has lower specs for the same price, but UX305 is fanless, has longer battery life, thinner, and much lighter. Eventually i chose UX303lb because it has the newest Intel Core i7 (vs Intel Core M in the UX305), dedicated graphic card (NVIDIA GeForce 940m), 8GB RAM, and 1TB hard drive. For long usage, I think the specs can support me for both educational and profesional use.

So far, I'm quite pleased with this laptop. I had Sony VAIO before this (still a great laptop for 5 years) so the bar was set high. ASUS UX303lb has a great specs for all modern application. It is very fast; great for gaming, software simulation, or just daily office. The compact body make it so mobile and doesn't hurt your shoulder. The battery life is so-so, great for office (can survive 5+ hours) but not so great for heavy use (2-3 hours. Just look at the specs!). But I dislike the keyboard and touchpad. It's not as comfortable as Sony has, I mistyped and misclicked very often.

Overall, the ASUS Zenbook is such a laptop that I would recommend. It has qualities of a macbook (great design and materials), but has the flexibility of a Windows PC (with a reasonable price, obviously).

Pocky

Pocky with three flavors that are available in Indonesia (wait, there is banana flavor!). I got these from christmas package that was sold at an online store here (blibli.com, great service with free shipping without minimum purchase). Still love the original flavor though....

Sushi Time! (again) at Sushi Tei Jogja

Usually we had sushi roll, and this time we want to try the authentic version of sushi. and these were greeaaatt!!!!! We then ordered another sushi roll, lobster salad, curry rice, and beef bento. It all costs 500k IDR (around 40 USD). So expensive, but no regret! Haha.

Neko Atsume Mobile Wallpaper Download (Update Ver. 1.6.0)

I have been playing this game for months, and got all of their cats and mementos. This afternoon, the official account tweeted that they have updated the app, and add some functions. I'm very excited because they have just added 4 new cats! 2 regular cats and 2 rare cats. But sadly until now, I don't see them yet.

Now we can buy wallpapers for 20 golden fish each. That's very expensive! Since I have plenty of golden fish before, I bought all of available wallpapers, and here I want to share them with you (just click on the pic to get the full resolution), so you can save your fish to buy their awesome new toys and new model house, Sugary Style!

Sushi Time! (DE'SUSHI Semarang)

Sushi is a food that you can't eat alone. We should order many portions with different types and share it with friends or family, then eat together.

Good sushi is always pricey, most of my friends here can't afford it. So the only chance that I can enjoy sushi is when I and my family gathered.

Last weekend my sister asked us to have sushi (we had the last one in a long time ago). So we went to our usual sushi restaurant, DE'SUSHI (the one with reasonable price in semarang. It's located near Elizabeth hospital). They recently had moved to a new place, not far from the previous place. It has much wider parking space, but sadly the private area was gone.... so we had the regular table for dinner.

All of the sushi were delicious!! Even I couldn't resist to taste immediately and couldn't capture all of the menus we had.

No matter how much we order, we couldn't satisfied. But we had to stop before our bill exceeds the budget. Yeah, you can't have your belly full with food like this. Just get usual normal dish to get your stomach happy, and buy sushi just to make your tongue happy. LOL.

Soto

Soto, or sauto, or coto is traditional Indonesian soup. Every region has its own version with different taste.

In my hometown, the most popular soto is "Soto Sokaraja". Originally it came from Sokaraja region, Banyumas district,  in Central Java province. It has clear soup (other types of soto are given coconut milk) with shredded beef, bean sprouts, cabbage, and lots, lots of crackers. The thing that make it special from other Soto is the condiment, spicy peanut sauce. When it added, the flavor suddenly change. I and my family usually have it every our visit in Purwokerto, at Jalan Bank (the most famous Soto Sokaraja point where you can meet many Soto stall there).

In Yogyakarta (the city where I live now), soto is a popular breakfast dish (beside bubur ayam/chicken porridge). The taste and presentation is very different with Soto Sokaraja. It has clearer soup with refreshing sensation (due to more acidic broth). The Soto usually served with rice (differ from Soto Sokaraja that served with chunks of rice cakes) and accompanied with chicken innards' skewers (intestine, liver, and heart) and crispy tempeh. Preferably, I like it better. My mom usually make this type of Soto in my home since my childhood (she came from Solo, near Yogyakarta), and my palate grew with this taste.

There are many other tasty Sotos that you must try! Especially Soto Kudus and Coto Makassar!

Banana Split (Lind's Cafe Semarang)

Feasting time!

This saturday night, I and my family went to Lind's cafe Semarang to chill after dinner. The Cafe is located remotely from the crowd, in Jalan Papandayan. It has great ambience with its sparkling indoor lights,  and when going to upper level, you can get semarang panorama from above. Best to visit in the night.

This place is nostalgic for us, despite the high price and full seat during weekend, we surely will come back.