No Excuse at Scusa - Go to Scusa Restaurant, Jakarta

No Excuse at Scusa

I had always wondered what secrets lay behind those mouthwatering dishes tantalizingly served at swanky restaurants. And I was equally curious about what it’d be like being in a cooking demonstration show. Given the ubiquitousness of such program on the local telly, I might as well let myself give in.

The promise was a culinary experience: a step-by-step preparation of an authentic home-made Italian lunch menu and secrets of the Italian cuisine revealed by Luigi Gigio Girardin, chef of the Scusa restaurant at the Intercontinental Mid-Plaza Hotel.

The scarlet-walled Scusa was abuzz that Saturday morning. Excitement was ample as a good couple of years had passed since a similar event was last run at the five-star establishment. Next to the bar counter, raw ingredients and different cooking appliances sat on a chrome tabletop impatiently awaiting the chef’s debut in public cooking.

My fifteen participant compatriots seemed a little unsure of what laid in store as they took their seats and attempted to scribble the ingredients and chef Luigi’s indispensable tips (did you know air-tight containers would be best to keep your precious 24-month aged Parmesan fresh in the fridge?). Happily, as we were told, a recipe book would be handed out later along with an exclusive Scusa souvenir apron.

The Padua-trained gastronomic genius’s feat commenced as he tossed arborio rice into an olive-oiled pot. This was clearly for the Sicilian rice balls of arancini.

Then came the meaty hard-core for the Piedmontese classic bollito misto. Pieces of chicken drums, cotechino or Italian pork sausages (may be substituted with beef sausages), huge chunks of veal shanks and, yes, an entirely wholesome bovine tongue, went on a free fall into another pot full of boiling water.

The forty-year old chef kept beaming as he food-processed bunches of basil, parsley, mint, capers, anchovies fillets and Dijon mustard to concoct the gleaming salsa verde. With a pesto-like appearance, the flavorful salsa verde was to accompany our quasi all-meat bollito misto. And to wrap the three-course menu was the Italian dessert of zabaglione, served cool.

I felt the proposed menu was decidedly adventurous. Indonesia-loving Luigi wanted to take us on an ambitious tour of his country: rice-based appetizer from mild tempered Sicily, a main course from the franco-swiss border and a saccharine-packed dessert from the Veneto region (no wonder the Venetians need a carnival to burn their excess sugar).

Lunch time, or, more appropriately, crunch time. “Buon appetito!” said our chef. “Il mangiar troppo è un vizio,” I so often heard this when I was in Italy. Eating too much is a debauch. A positively Italian one, that is.

So, I had a go at the golden brown arancini. If I must be honest, I would have preferred to relish this Sicilian speciality without tomato sauce, just how they’d normally be nibbled at in their place of origin.

As predicted, I grappled with the main course. The calorie-feeder bollito misto would be an excellent companion for northern Italy’s severe winter, but it proved to be extremely rich or my tropical gut. The previously gory-looking tongue, to my surprise, was incredibly soft and palatable even after witnessing it boiled, peeled and cut to pieces.

With a jazzy tune playing in the background, we were asked if we felt like we’re in Italy. Well, I can honestly say that with a menu this elaborate, such you would witness only at an Italian family’s “pranzo di domenica” (the sacred Sunday banquet), the only one thing missing was a soprano-voiced Italian mamma telling you to finish everything off the plate.

As Barolo wine and the Sicilian Nero d’Avola poured into our chopes, we were offered to degust other delicacies: Scusa’s home-made bread stuffed with fetta cheese; grilled Italian onion to go with a spoonful of the bollito misto broth, I never thought onions could be so luscious; and syrupy apple slivers bathed in mercilessly sweet juice to scare a dietician.

Thanks to such a rigorous menu, I quickly acquired a full stomach. But only fools would miss out on Scusa’s offer of an authentic Marsala-infused zabaglione and a Milanese pastry gem, the panettone. I admit I was partly melancholic as I was swamped with fond memories of seeing hundreds of panettoni sold in Italian supermarkets, as tradition wants it during the month of December in Italy.

Let’s face it, this is as close as you can get for a feel of Italian christmast in the country. And not to mention a brilliant chance to intimately wine and dine with one of the capital’s few Italian chefs.

Rapturous chef Luigi announced the soft panettone was also available at the hotel’s patisserie, the Deli, and whispered to my ear in Italian that he was going to dish out a traditional meal every month, starting with the pasta alla carbonara in January 2008.

I concluded there’s no excuse to miss the next special occasion, even if we’re Scusa. Oh, did I mention that scusa means excuse in Italian?

Scusa restaurant is on the second floor of the Intercontinental Mid-Plaza Hotel, tel. 021-2510888.

Arancini

Ingredients:

• 150 gr risotto rice
• 600 ml chicken stock
• 100 gr minced beef
• 50 gr Parmesan cheese, grated
• 50 gr green peas
• 20 gr parsley, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, choped
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 200 gr bread crumbs

Cooking:

1. Bring the chicken stock to a boil and add the rice
2. Stir occasionally so that it doesn’t sit on the bottom of the pan
3. Let it boil for 20 minutes then add the minced beef, green peas and chopped garlic
4. Let it cook for another 10 minutes or until the rice is soft
5. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper
6. Remove from heat and place on a tray to cool down
7. When cool, add the Parmesan cheese, chopped parsley and the two beaten egg and mix well with the risotto
8. Take small batches and form balls, 3 cm in diameter and roll in the bread crumbs
9. Heat up oil to 170ºC for deep-frying. Add the Arancini and fry them until golden brown
10. Remove and drain from excess oil
11. Serve with a spicy tomato sauce or mayonnaise

Recipe: courtesy of Scusa and the Intercontinental Mid-Plaza Hotel.

Kopinya pahit, gelasnya kecil

Entah kapan terakhir gue ke Starbucks. Terlalu banyak lama purnama untuk gue mengingatnya.

Hingga kemarin. Gue putuskan untuk menjejakkan kaki di bintang hijau Grand Indonesia.

Di counter hanya ada dua cewe, satu kasir satu barista (at least she wears the apron!).

- Mbak, macchiatto satu yah.

"Mas... yakin pesen ini? Espresso itu kopi pekat dan pahit loh!"

Gue cuma ngangguk. Yakin, kok, Mbak.

Ngga lama kemudian, yang satu lagi angkat bicara dari balik apronnya.

"Mas gelasnya seperti ini, kecil loh! Ngga apa-apa nih? Yakin?" teriaknya, sambil menunjukkan cangkir espresso seakan ingin menjelaskan satu tambah satu sama dengan dua untuk pertama kalinya kepada gue.

- Iyah, Mbak.

Gue menggangguk.

Wow, ini mungkin yang dimaksud oleh Ve Handojo dengan kisahnya saat gerai kopi-cepat saji buka pertama kalinya di Indonesia: sekelompok bapak-bapak berkumis masuk dan cepat-cepat mengambil tempat duduk, sambil berteriak kepada sang kasir di balik counter, "Mas kupinya yah!"

Status dan Cooking Demo

Memiliki status "contributor" membuka pintu. Plus jendela sekaligus. Memang cukup menyenangkan, setelah The Jakarta Post memuat beberapa tulisan saya, kini mencari material berita, artikel untuk features The Sunday Post semakin mudah. Minggu lalu misalnya, saya diundang sebagai observer di acara cooking demo di sebuah hotel di Sudirman. Resto bintang lima dengan hidangan yang rich, baik contents maupun harga (siapkan kocek tebal) ... dan saya mengamati, dijamu. Mulai dari hidangan pembuka, main course hingga penutup dan ... anggur. Teks tulisan sudah dikirimkan ke Jkt Post, moga2 mereka akan mempublish segera. Tapi sayangnya, sistem di Jkt Post adalah: kalau dipublish ya dipublish, kontributor tak tau kapan dipublish dan tau-tau "ah ini kan gue kirim lebih dari sebulan yang lalu."

Memiliki status di Jakarta memang esensial, helps you go places.


ciaoo

Italian celebration in Indonesia: Unas hosts language week

http://www.thejakartapost.com/yesterdaydetail.asp?fileid=20071209.S01

Italian celebration in Indonesia: Unas hosts language week
Features - December 09, 2007
Gama Harjono, Contributor, Jakarta

Jakarta has recently taken part in a global event, the 7th International Week of Italian Language 2007, which took place from Nov. 5-9 in Indonesia.

Now in its seventh year since its launch in 2001 by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the annual event quickly became a significant flagship to promote the Italian language worldwide, and involves a series of conferences, film screenings and debates as well as specialized updating courses for teachers.

A theme is chosen every year to mark the occasion. This year's Italian language week celebrates "the Italian language and the sea", featuring the works of Emilio Salgari, a novelist from Verona whose many sagas set in Southeast Asia were published in the early 1900s.

The National University (Unas) in South Jakarta was host to the weeklong celebration, which opened on Nov. 5 was inaugurated by Ambassador of Italy to Indonesia Roberto Palmieri and Unas rector Prof. Umar Basalim.

In his address, Ambassador Palmieri highlighted the current state of Italo-Indonesian relations. In particular, he highlighted the importance of bilateral cooperation in the cultural and economic fields, with a goal to enhance the image of "the Italian style" and promoting Indonesia through intensifying Indonesian studies at l'Orientale University in Naples.

Attending the program were those who teach Italian in Java and Bali, two guest professors from the University for Foreigners Perugia, Prof. Maddoli and Bagianti, and Italian cinema critic Giacomo Gambetti. The latter conducted a lecture and open discussion on Italian cinema.

A presentation on the region of Umbria and Italy's many traditions received a great number of responses from participating students. Most of these students study at Indonesian universities and academies where Italian is offered as an elective or to the public, and who claim to enjoy learning the Romance tongue with their native Italian teachers.

Gavin, 24, an Unas student, said the Italian unit was quite well promoted at his campus.
"Learning about the culture is what's most interesting. I love their traditional feasts. Italians seem to well-natured," he said.

Another favorable opinion was expressed by Yessica, 21, an English major student at the University of Indonesia (UI), who said she was going to Italy in July 2008 on a three-month scholarship to study the local language and culture.

Education appears to be a key point of exchange between Italy and Indonesia. To date, 468 Indonesian students are undertaking or completing their studies at Italian schools and universities.

Similarly, their Italian counterparts have received grants from the Indonesian government to study the country and its culture.

Filomena Vaccaro, 25, majors in Asian languages and is now in Jakarta undertaking Indonesian studies. "We have Faizah Soenoto, who teaches Indonesian to Italians students at l'Orientale in Naples. When I first learned Indonesian, I instantly felt at ease with it," she said. "I applied for my scholarship in November 2006 and l'Orientale sent me here. I arrived in Jakarta in September 2007, and I love Indonesia and its people."

Furthermore, Vaccaro is teaching Italian at the Italian Institute of Culture in Menteng, as well as attending classes at Unas until June 2008. Immensely enjoying her new experience in her host country, she graduates in Italy next year, and hopes to find a job in which she can utilize her Indonesian knowledge.

Italian appears to be the "new" French globally, although its penetration remains very limited in Indonesia. Enrollment to Italian language courses worldwide has risen by about 30 percent in the last five years, says a source at the Italian Embassy.

In Indonesia, Italian is taught at universities and institutes in Jakarta, Bandung, Yogyakarta and Bali.

"The key to have Italian studied throughout the Indonesian archipelago lays in mutual exchanges," explained the director of the Italian Institute of Culture, Prof. Ostelio Remi.
"We need to strengthen our bilateral cooperation in all sectors, from sports to science to politics. There is an affinity between our two nations in terms of characters," he said. "Indonesia is absolutely important for Italy as to its economic potential and richness in culture. On the other hand, Indonesia could learn from Italy's savoir faire in many industries."

Meanwhile, the future of the Italian presence in Indonesia seems to be promising. Recently, Indonesian student Tri Astuti Oktavianti of Unas won second place in an international essay contest organized by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

And Shandya Rani Yunita, who studied in Italy on scholarship in 2006, is now an assistant of the Italian course offered at Yogyakarta's Gadjah Mada University.