Pampering the Belly at Riva Grill Bar and Terrace – the Park Lane Hotel

Riva Grill Bar and Terrace 

The Park Lane Hotel 

Jln. Casablanca Kav. 18,

Jakarta

Tel: +6221-828-2000 ext. 2067

Email: riva@theparklanejakarta.com

Website: www.rivagrillnbar.com

Usually, Saturday is a day for me to teach yoga or just to relax and enjoy the day. But there is one Saturday that really makes me full, happy and fat. That Saturday happens when I receive an invitation to witness and taste 25 food, desserts and beverages from the Riva Grill Bar and Terrace. So yes, that Saturday, 25 becomes my lucky number :-D

The Riva Grill Bar and Terrace is located at the Park Lane Hotel, a hotel around the busiest road in Jakarta. The busy road does not stop people from coming to the hotel as they have regular great customers from high level companies in Jakarta. Wow! 

Riva itself is a place where you can have a romantic dinner and a relax time with your friends to enjoy some drinks and music. So wonderful! 

As I arrive at the Riva Grill Bar and Terrace, a non-alcoholic welcome drink are served for all of the bloggers who are invited to the event. The drink is a bit sour, just perfect to open our hunger :-) 

When everything is set, we enter the dining area that is located right in front of the kitchen. Oh, I always love the open kitchen concept in any restaurant I visit. It is sexy for me to watch what happens in the kitchen. 

The commander behind the kitchen is the Executive Chef Deden Gumilar who was trained under previous experienced French chef. Listening to all his stories about his experiences in the past, I can expect that the food, dessert and drinks he and his kitchen brigade make will be extraordinary. 

In the event, they serve Small Plates Menu and Main Course that are divided into 8 groups of dishes, and each group contains one to four kinds of food, dessert and beverages. And all those things equal to 25 items! I stop breathing to know the number of the items we must try and eat. I guess God loves me too much that He blesses me with this kind of pleasures. Thank God :-))

Are you ready? Let's start to chew now!

   

SMALL PLATES MENU

FROM THE GARDEN 

Green Spinach Salad 

Australian spinach, strawberry and roasted almond flakes, with lemon and olive oil dressing

Thai Green Mango Salad

Coriander roots, lemon juice and chili dressing

Spanish Potato Fritata 

With mesclun salad and fresh tomato sauce

FROM THE SEA

Salmon Tortellini 

Truffle cream sauce

Sauteed Salty Prawns 

With two types of tofu, crispy garlic, spring onion, hot chillies and rack salt

Lobster Bisque 

With Japanese shimeji mushroom and crouton

FROM THE FARM 

Javanese Oxtail Consomme

With oxtail terrine and vegetable brunoise

Riva Spring Roll

Chicken, prawn, and foie gras with blue cheese dip

Chicken and Scallion Kuo Tie 

Pan fried chicken dumpling with soy chili sauce  

MAIN COURSES

FROM THE GARDEN 

Japanese Vegetable Fritters

Coated with Japanese tempura dough and served with tempura dressing

Chinese Tofu Salad

With shredded fresh vegetable, egg, crushed nuts and sweet soy chili dressing

Waldorf Salad  

With green apple, celery, roasted walnuts and mayonnaise

FROM THE SEA

Pan Fried Barramundi

Black and white shimeji mushroom, green asparagus, blended leek and purple shallot – yellow root sauce

Breaded Dory Fillet Roulade 

Stuffed with fennel, celery and red onion served antiboise sauce

Seared Norwegian Salmon Medallion 

Truffle infused potato mousseline, vegetable ragout with coriander and lemon cream sauce

FROM THE FARM

4 Hours – Slow Cooked Poached Chicken 

With porcini, green asparagus, morels and "vin jaune"

Braised Australian Lamb Foreshank   

Smoked garlic and potato mousseline with own jus

Low – Oven Baked Asian Soy Chicken 

Vegetable pickle,, mashed roasted purple sweet potato and garlic yoghurt dip

FROM THE GRILL

250gr Sher Wagyu Tenderloin 

DESSERT 

Chocolate Ginger Mouse

Crunchy chocolate ginger mouse, strawberry, sauce and vanilla ice cream

Blueberry Financier 

Oreo crumb, raspberry sorbet, almond paste quenelle and blueberry sauce

Riva Summer Pudding

with berries and passion fruit sorbet
  

Fruit Platter Cocktail 

Jelly on Tequila Sunrise, Lychee Martini and Strawberry Daiquiri

Spaghetti Margarita 

Spaghetti on Strawberry Margarita 

Choco Mint Smoky

Jack Daniel's, Peppermint Syrup, Bailey's and Fresh Milk

Everything they serve is great. Because I believe that all eatable food and dessert, and drinkable beverages taste either delicious or very delicious :-D 

They also introduce their infused jelly fruits. So the fruits are infused with some liquors. Woho! Can I just say that it is a different way to get a healthy high? LOL!

At the event, the restaurant provides us with some forms that we need to fill in with our comment about the taste of the whatever they serve. Well, I have some opinion about them. All of the food, dessert and beverages are very delicious, and my tongue is familiar with some of them because they are taken from our traditional food which they upgrade the taste and the design to a new level. 

What I like the most is anything that they cook from the fish side. Their fish-based dishes are marvelously yummy to the max!

Recently, I change my desire from eating more steak to eating more fishes. I find that fish can taste more delicious than the meat. The fish has its own savory taste already, and all you need is to add salt, garlic and oil. Yum! Yum!

This event makes me realize that pampering and taking care of my body does not always mean to go to a beauty clinic and do some scrubbing job and blowing hair, it also means to love my belly with some great food, dessert and beverages!

Enjoy your meal, everyone! 

Eating Out Like A Mafia at Signora Pasta

Signora Pasta
The Breeze 
Jalan Grand Boulevard
BSD Green Office Park
BSD City
South Tangerang

Everyone watches Godfather the Movie. I do too. And I always ask myself how it feels to be there and hang around the Italian gangsters. Well, maybe the nice Italian guys, ya. Honestly, I can not handle bad boys. LOL! 

That question is halfly answered when I receive a sudden invitation to try a new Italian restaurant named Signora Pasta.

The restaurant is located at the Breeze in Bumi Serpong Damai, Tangerang.

The Breeze is a big place where you can have an open air dining experience and a recreation area to have great pictures of you, your family and your friends. Yes, the area is also used by its visitors for taking pictures because of its beautiful location. It has man-made lake, chapel, fish pond, restaurants, and many more. You can even just take a walk there to burn the calories as it is quite a large area. So what do you think about the idea of eating a lot of food there and take a long walk at the Breeze to burn the food that you just eat there? Interesting! 

Let me move your attention to the Signora Pasta. I come to the restaurant with my friends and we are introduced to Pino, the Italian man who owns of the restaurant, and his wife, a nice lady from Palembang. One of my friends can speak Italian, so when she and Pino have their conversation in Italian, I feel like I am lost in Italy ;-D 

Sitting in Signora Pasta with my friends, I feel like a Bella Signora, a beautiful lady in Italian language, among the Mafia gangsters. Yeah! 

Are you ready for the list of food and drinks that we consume? Here we go! 

Signora Pizza
Pizza with tomato sauce, minced beef, smoked beef, bell pepper and mozarella cheese

and

Pizza Quatro Formaggi
Pizza with tomato sauce and four different cheese

Insalata Di Tonno

Tuna Salad 

Bruschetta

Farmer bread with fresh tomato

Spaghetti Al Pesto

Spaghetti with italian basil sauce and parmigiano cheese 

Fettucine Alla Diavola

Fettucine with mushroom, bell pepper and signora's pasta

Raviola Spinachi E Parmigiano

Ravioli with spinach and parmigiano cheese 

Scallone All' Aceto Balsamico

Fillet of beef served with mushroom in balsamic vinegar

Menta Piperita 

A drink with mint syrup, orange and soda water

All kinds of ice cream! 

These food and drinks are heaven for my belly! I can not give any special comments on one or two food and drinks that I consume because all the food and drinks are amazingly delicious! Pino says that everything is made by him, so he can keep the quality and the originality of their tastes. Fantastic! 

Pino can also sings! Yes, he has a small stage in his restaurant where he puts some musical instruments. And if you are lucky, you can find him there singing some Indonesian songs. And he sometimes translates some Indonesian songs to Italian language. Yes, he is a funny Italian man!

Oh by the way, do you remember when I start to talk about the Godfather? Well, you will find them in the pictures that Pino hangs in one of the walls there. Go find it before Pino takes it out :-D

Hope to see you again, Mr. and Mrs. Pino! 

Enjoy your meal, everyone!  

A Simple Guide to Doing Yoga at the Office - My Article at the Jakarta Post

The link to the article that I write for the Jakarta Post Newspaper about doing yoga at the office: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/12/19/a-simple-guide-doing-yoga-office.html

You can also read the content of the article here as I copy paste below. Enjoy!

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News

SUPPLEMENT

A simple guide to doing yoga at the office

Astrid Amalia

| December 19 2014 | 11:56 AM

Discover simple ways to make the most of your office space for practicing yoga.

Nowadays, in hectic environments, many of us have no time for taking care of ourselves. Some of the sources of modern sickness are too much stress due to office work and traffic jams, the junk food we consume, and the lack of physical exercises. Hours of sitting at the office can also create poor posture and injuries.

Such a simple exercise as walking, for instance, becomes difficult to do in many communities in the Greater Jakarta area. The difficulty is often due to the impediments that arise in the form of food sellers and motorbikes that occupy the sidewalk, the pollution from the vehicles, and the dust in public places.   

What we can do now is maximize the office space we have. The office space is the new gym, a great place for doing exercises, especially since most of us have no time to go out to the fitness center.  

Looking at the modern office space full of cubicles, practicing simple yoga is the best exercise we can do. Yoga does not require a big space, as the space we need is only as big as the body. The office is also an ideal place for yoga as we can use the desk and the chair to support the practice. 

Yoga can help reduce stress and heal stiffness in your neck, shoulders, back and legs. Yoga can improve concentration and heal aches and pains. It can also boost productivity, motivation, creativity and wellbeing. 

Practicing can be a welcome break from deadlines and a time to focus on your own body, your breath and posture. 

This type of yoga is easy and simple and can be practiced by anyone. The things to remember when practicing this type of yoga are: make sure you loosen your clothes and remove the shoes so your body can move freely; don’t eat inside of an hour before the yoga practice. You also need to choose firm objects to support the exercises, such as a stable desk and a stable chair without wheels. 

Here are practice steps you can try at the office using your chair: 

Starter position: basic sitting posture to correct the spine  

Sit down halfway on your chair while lengthening your spine up without letting your back touch the seat backrest. Open your feet hip width apart. Press your feet firmly to the floor. Place your hands on your knees. 

Pose 1: neck stretch to release neck tension

From your starter position, raise your left arm, grab your right ear and pull your head to your left shoulder. Relax both shoulders. Feel the stretch at the right side of your neck. After breathing for five to 10 rounds (one round is a full inhale and exhale), release your left hand and switch sides. 

Pose 2: seated twist to stretch the back and the side of the body  

Back to your starter position. Turn your body to the left side. Grab the lower side of the backrest of your chair with your left hand and hold your left knee with your right hand. Lengthen your body each time you inhale and turn your body to the left side each time you exhale until you reach your maximum turn. Keep your chin in line with your heart. After 5 to 10 rounds of breathing, release the twist and switch sides.

Pose 3: seated backbend to stretch the shoulder and open the front side of body

Go back to the starter position. Grab the lower side of your seat backrest with both hands. Bend the elbows back, pull the shoulder back and push your chest and belly forward. Lean your head slightly back while keeping it not to drop back. Stay there for 5 to 10 rounds of breathing and release from the pose by returning your body to the center and releasing your hands from the backrest.

Pose 4: seated forward bend to open the chest and massage the belly

Return to your starter position. Interlace your hands behind your back. Pull your shoulder back and push your chest and belly forward. As you exhale, bend your body forward until your belly presses against your thighs and lift your hands up to the sky. Tilt your head down. Stay there for 5 to 10 breaths and release from the pose by lifting your head and your body and separating your hands.  

Pose 5: seated revolving side angle pose to open the shoulder and stretch the lower back

Back to your starter position. Bend your body forward, grab the inner side of your right ankle with your left hand and raise your right hand up in line with your right shoulder. Turn your head by looking at your right hand. After 5 to 10 rounds of breathing, release from the pose by lowering your right hand down, lift your body and switch side.  

Pose 6: seated hip opener to release the stiffness in the legs

Go back to your starter position. Grab your left ankle and place it on the top of your right knee. Place both of your hands at the lower side of the backrest of the chair. Pull the shoulders back and push the chest and belly forward. Press down your left knee toward the floor and arch the toes of your both feet facing to your shinbone. After 5 to 10 rounds of breathing, release from the pose by returning your body to the center, placing the left foot to the ground and switch side.   

After the session, your body will be thankful for the massage. You can go back to work feeling happy and with better concentration. If you practice office yoga regularly, you can feel the change of feeling in your body. Your officemates might also detect extra happiness in you, and you should encourage them to try it too. This can create a fun and pleasant work atmosphere. After all, yoga is simple, fun and interesting. Namaste.

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The writer is a Certified Yoga Teacher and a Certified CranioSacral Therapist.