‘Cendol’: meets its Italian match

The sweet treat is a curious creation by one of the 11 chefs at La Moda restaurant in Jakarta.

The restaurant’s executive has joined forces with 10 Indonesian celebrity chefs to create an eclectic brunch experience every weekend in November and December.

Chef Sandra Djohan, Yuda Bustara and other guest chefs took turns to collaborate with Lopez, who has experience working with Michelin star chefs, such as Alain Ducasse in France and Oscar Calleja in Spain.

Together, they come up with a new menu every weekend, offering Asian, European and African cuisines and fusion dishes, blending elements of the different regions’ flavors.

The proceedings from the weekend brunches go to the Indonesian Heart Foundation, which runs preventive, rehabilitative and educational programs on heart disease.

“We made the menu in collaboration, talking about what most satisfies the people here because we have customers coming from different countries,” Lopez said.

“We want to please everybody by doing something casual and local though also bringing in different flavors.”

Lopez collaborated with Reenee Tandjung, better known as Chef in Red, for the Nov. 21 brunch.

Clad in her signature red chef uniform, Chef in Red prepared a handful of interesting meals for diners, including African Grilled Chicken and the flavorful Balinese Mixed Rice.

“The rice is served with sambal matah (mixed vegetables covered in grated coconut and anchovies), fish cakes, spicy smoked chicken and skin crackers,” said Chef in Red, who runs cooking classes and of course the restaurant that bears her name in Sudirman Central Business District (SCBD) in Jakarta.

Lopez took walking along the California beachfront with his . The fried Dori is topped with finely shredded carrot, blue and white cabbage, slices of avocado and cilantro. A combination of fish sauce, soy sauce, spicy mayo and cipotle pepper give a savory kick and spicy flavor to the taco.

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