Indonesian Beef Rendang Daging

The lovely Julia invited me and a friend over to try some of her expert Indonesian cooking. She had learned the cuisine from a street food seller, having committed to getting up at 4am everyday of her stay in Indonesia, to spend time cooking with the bemused lady.

Last night we had this scrumptious, rich rendang daging; beef cooked slowly in coconut milk, with herbs, spices and chillies, and served with caramelized shallots sprinkled over the top.

Authentic beef rendang daging


We also drank Clarette de Die infused with apricots as an aperitif, then had a superb starter of Mexican prawn ceviche. After the rendang daging came a cheese selection and salad, and everything was washed down with litres of rosé.

Pirran in Peru

Pirran is my brother and fellow food adventurer. He sent me these shots of scrumptious-looking fried guinea pig and crayfish ceviche (lemon and chilli), taken in Peru yesterday. Also of him grinning after drinking coca sour, which is a cocktail made from pisco (like grappa), lime and coca leaves. He’s the one in grey.







The guinea pig tasted as expected, like a cross between chicken and rabbit, but the skin was reported to be particularly delicious – it looks it!

Don Cucho, Peru’s most famous chef, prepared the lunch for Pirran. My bro was then chuffed to see him on TV last night. ☺

Now I have food and drink envy. A condition often inflicted by Pirran’s bulletins.