Cake Fads in 2012

2012 saw 2 cakes popping up in the Jakarta scene: Red Velvet cake and Rainbow cake. When they first appeared, people were willing to que for hours in order to try these cakes.




Both of these cakes are originally from America, if I'm not mistaken. Red Velvet cake is named after its red velvety appearance while Rainbow cake has layers inside according to the colours of the rainbow.

 

I'm not a food lover so I wasn't that intrigued to try the cakes. After the ques were no longer in sight, I tried the famous rainbow cake made by the The Goods Dept cafe. I must say it was nice, but for a slice which costed me Rp. 60,000 (equal to 3 times lunch at KFC), I think trying it that one time is enough :) 

Nowadays, almost all cake shops or cafes in Jakarta have these cakes available. But of course, the level of "deliciousness" will be different :)

Source pic: Red Velvet cake http://anakjajan.com/2012/02/13/red-velvet-cake-jakarta/ 
Source pic: Rainbow cake http://culinarybonanza.blogspot.com/2012/05/lunch-promo-and-rainbow-cake-at-goods.html

@america

Adding to my list of cultural centres I follow is @america.

This american cultural centre is quite active in providing various events. Some are just for fun (such as free concerts, cooking lessons), some are more serious (discussions on entrepreneurship, politics etc.). 
Recently I joined an event commemorating Walt Disney where Sketsa band and Indonesian singer Andien performed Disney songs. It was great and it was FREE!

Another thing I like about this centre is its convenient location at Pacific Place mall, 3rd floor. So before or after an event, it is easy to grab a bite to eat as you're not allowed to bring food or drink inside.

Further information, please visit their website: http://www.atamerica.or.id/.

Bubble Tea

Source pic: Wikipedia

A happening drink lately in Jakarta is Bubble Tea. This drink is by no means a traditional Indonesian drink, it actually comes from Taiwan. This drink is also not entirely new, two famous bubble tea brands "Quickly" and "Hop Hop" have been in Indonesia for years now. But recently, various bubble tea brands have been popping up across malls in Jakarta.

I must say, I'm a fan of bubble tea ever since I tried this drink when I was still attending college abroad. But current bubble tea stalls have made the act of buying bubble tea an "art" as you can customize your drink starting from choosing the flavour, to the type of topping, the temperature of the drink and even its sweetness level.

So how many bubble tea brands are there now in Jakarta? Here are just a few useful links I loved reading (now these bloggers are true bubble tea fans):

http://thefoodgazette.blogspot.com/2012/04/bubble-tea-bars-compared.html

http://only1ivy.blogspot.com/2012/06/bubble-tea-fever-in-jakarta-which-one.html

http://ohmygoodfood.blogspot.com/2012/09/bubble-tea-in-jakarta.html