The Best Seafood Paella at El-Pote Restaurant, NYC

To those who love authentic Spanish food, come closer :)

Have you ever heard, tried, or even cooked Paella?
Yummy Spanish rice dish cooked with saffron and seafod, chicken, or whatever you like to put in there :).
Ahaaa...
It's surely one of the famous, if not most enjoyed, food from Spain. 
I love it!

I tried it for the first time in Brussels, while I have my internship there. Then during our 9-day-became-12-day trip to Spain, seafood paella was our favorite platter in Barcelona :). And here, living in NYC, where Spanish communities are surely easy to find, my love to this yummy plate is easily fulfilled. One of the nicest spots I've tried for that is El Pote restaurant

Conveniently located on the 2nd Avenue, in the proximity of my dear office and the UN as well, El-Pote has been lovingly known as the place for seafood paella. And I fully concur with it!

So, in one ocassion, we have a farewell lunch here with some friends.

And I for sure couldn't wait to try their famous paella. 
In addition to that, we also ordered some yummy appetizers while waiting for our paella. We ordered crispy fried clamary and stuffed mushroom or champinon rellenos. 

fried calamaries :)

My friends also tried the squid in their own ink or calamaro en su tinta :). 
It's all yummy ..
The appetizers taste really good indeed...
Then, while the appetizers were all gone amidst lively conversation and big laugh, there came our main course. And mine was of course the seafood paella...
I have to say even the smell of it, before you taste it, is sooooo good :).

the seafood paella

And it was great...
The dish was cooked in perfection that you could taste the rich seafood broth on the rice and saffron, the most expensive spice in the world, gave its signature hint and perfect color. And what a generous plate it was...I had lobster legs, giant shrimps, clamps, scallops and many more. So now that explains why it has good review and seafood paella is one of their most-wanted dishes here. Highly recommended!

happy me :)

seafood paella at El-Pote Restaurant NYC

For sure you can order many others as well, including the catch of the day with fresh fish and more, chicken, lamb chop, veals and many, many more.

Since it was a huge plate, I missed the dessert :)..but surely they have many options as well, like flan, cheese cake, tres leches. 

For the price range from USD 8 - 10 for appetizers, USD 17 - 58 for main course,  and USD 5 - 7 for desserts, this restaurant is surely a great place to dine.

So, what do you think....

Even the pictures looks soooo appealing, right :)

Wait until you taste it...

What's your favorite Spanish dish? :)

El-Pote Restaurant

718 2nd Avenue, between 38th and 39th street.

Open everyday from 12 - 3 PM and 5 - 11 PM

Managua, Nicaragua in 2 hours...

Holaaaa...
Cómo estas?

Well, excuse my extremely limited Spanish but I can't help to listen and try to pick up some of those melodious expressions. During my stay in Managua, I certainly picked up some and hopefully I can learn more later on. It's such a beautiful language :).

Soooo...back to my traveling note to Nicaragua now. As I have shared my oh-so-full-of-drama trip before here, now let me share some interesting spots I managed to visit in Managua. In 2 hours ...just before the meeting started.

Biasanya kalau melakukan perjalanan ke satu tempat karena pertemuan resmi memang begini nih. Well, we're here to work but if you can, you can definitely squeeze in some visits to nearby place. Kalau tidak pandai-pandai mengatasinya jadwal, memang agak sulit untuk bisa melihat kota yang kita datangi di sela-sela pertemuan.

Untungnya, karena pengaruh cuaca di Nikaragua yang memang panas, kegiatan banyak dilakukan sejak jam 6 pagi dan selesai jam 2 siang karena panas. jadi, di hari ketiga saya di Managua, saya memutuskan untuk mencoba melihat-liat kota. Setelah mengecek di Google dan tanya teman-teman lokal, saya disarankan untuk naik taksi dari hotel untuk melihat-lihat. Selain karena faktor keamanan dan bahasa spanyol saya yang minim, juga karena pertimbangan waktu yang terbatas.

So, jam 7 pagi saya turun ke lobby, tanya-tanya dan akhirnya memutuskan untuk me nyewa satu taksi. Tujuan saya memang tidak banyak, hanya ingin melihat Antigua Catedral alias the old church di Nicaragua yang sekarang tinggal puing akibat gempa dahsyat tahun 1972 dan sekitar Avenue de Simon Bolivar yang memang menjadi semacam pusat kota. Alhamdulilaaah. ..saya mendapat supir Denis yang bisa berbahaya inggris dan keliling kota selama hampir 2 jam hanya biaya USD 15 alias kurang dari Rp200.000 saja! Murah kan untuk tur keliling kota :).

So, I came to the receptionist and she got me a taxi with English-speaking driver named Denis. Lucky me indeed... and Denis was also very friendly. I explained to him that I only had around 2 hours before the meeting and at least I saw the old Chatedral and walked around Avenue de Simon Bolivar, as we have seen this area the night before.

To my surprise, Denis took me to several beautiful spots beyond that. 

Wanna know what I saw in 2 hours?

Stick around... I'll share some pictures first here :) and will get back with more information.

1. Parque Historico Nacional

It was not on my original list, but I surely enjoyed my visit here.
Up on the hill, we could see the shillouette statue of Sandino, one of the national heroes of the country, standing grandeurly by the tree of life, or amarillo. 

Here we can see the Old Managua and the New Managua as well.

2. Laguna de Tiscapa

From the National Park, we can see the Lake celarly. Too bad Laguna de Tiscapa, or Tiscapa Lake, is heavily poluted now. It looks okay from afar. Denis said there was 

3. Antigua Catedral de Managua

Frankly speaking, this is the reason why I got up early and went out browsing the city :).
It looks abandoned though now, since the tremendous earthquake in 1972 shattered the city, took its toll on the lives of the peoples, including this beautiful church. It was such a beauty...but I learnt that they have build the new church instead of restoring this one.

I have shared some of the pics before and I still have some more. Perhaps I will need to make a special post on it :).

4. Palacio de la Cultural

Standing next to the Old Chatedral of Managua, this lovely building serves as a national museum as well. I love to explore inside but when I was there it was still closed :(. Too bad... But as always, museum is one of the best resources to see and to learn more about one country and its cultures.

4. Casa de los pueblos

Literally it means the House of the peoples. It is located on the other side of the Antigua Catedral. I didn't get in either...I didn't think I was allowed :). But it's good to take picture in front of it with huge statues of Sandino and Rubio.

5. Avenue de Simon Bolivar

For sure you will see many interesting objects around this area, along this main street to be exact. 

Look at all those revolusionarists..

Those include Rotonda Hugo Chavez, statues, the trees of life or amarillos, and more. We have seen how festive this roundabout at night as we arrived in Managua. And seeing it in the middle of the day still give you the same grand feeling around this area that has been specially designed elaboratively. 

Not bad for a 2-hour ride, I guess. And even as we finished the mini tour before 9 AM, it was already scorching hot at that day. By the time I got to the hotel, I managed to get a cool shower, quick breakfast and get ready for the meeting.

Will definitely get back with more stories on my Managua and Granada, Nicaragua trip, including to Volcano de Masaya. So see you all around :)

visiting an active volcano? Why not...

Hope to see you soon...

Absence makes the heart grow fonder...

Ketapang, Lampung

I know I am enjoying the clear blue  NYC sky now (and I'm so grateful indeed for that :)), but my heart screams for the same georgous skies back home...

Sunda Strait...

Where great ocean is welcoming you with wide open arms....

Otw to Balak Island, Lampung ...

Ketapang, Lampung...

Join us and enjoy the captivating blue skies from different parts of the world in Skywatch Friday

WW: Antigua Catedral de Managua

Antigua Catedral de Managua
Also known as the Catedral de Santiago or the Old Chatedral of Managua..
Truly a gem in the old part of this lovely city...

Join us on (almost) Worldless Wednesday and have a fun bloghopping experience...

A visit to Managua, Nicaragua

I have been dreaming of visiting Latin American countries and I've never thought my dream will come true pretty soon :).

The lovely art from Nicaragua. .

Sejak menjalankan tugas di NYC, saya memang bercita-cita mengunjungi negara - negara Amerika Latin dan Karibia  yang memang notabene jaraknya  sudah lebih dekat dari tempat kami tinggal. Namun setelah dilihat-lihat lagi, ternyata negara - negara tersebut tidak dekat - dekat amat seperti negara - negara di Eropa, terutama Eropa Barat. Saya ingat selama di Geneve, hanya dengan terbang 1 sampai 1.5 jam atau mengendarai mobil selama 3 sampai 4 jam sudah tiba di kota lain, negara lain. Di AS, dengan perjalanan selama itu, kami masih berkutat di negara yang sama hahaha. Hal ini yang membuat perjalanan menjadi lama dan mahal. Makanya, meskipun bercita-cita melihat banyak negara Grulac alias Amerika Latin dan Karibia, kami sekeluarga harus menabung  dulu :). Namun alhamdulilaaah, beberapa waktu yang lalu, saya ditugaskan untuk berpartisipasi dalam seminar tahunan yang akan diselenggarakan di Managua, Nikaragua. Oh my...one step closer to my dream..

Obi yang ngambek karena saya pergi 😢😢😢

As part of my work in the UN Special Committee on the Decolonialization, I was assigned to participate in its annual seminar.  This year, the seminar focuses on the issues related to the Carribean region and Nicaragua has graciously offered to be the host for this year's seminar.

So there I was...running around preparing Indonesian table for the Culture Night in Bo's school a few days before my departure to Managua, the capital of Nicaragua, while at the same time working on the preparation of our own seminar about Islam in Nusantara which will be held at the UN at the end of the month.

And I have to say, what a drama it was the morning I departed :). 

Well..it all was because of the foggy Monday morning in NYC. As usual, I started my Monday with 8.30 AM briefing at my office. My flight was scheduled at 2 PM, so I was planning to go to the La  Guardia airport at 12 PM. Everything was prepared and I went straight home after the meeting 10.30. Then I received an email from my airlines saying that my flight to Altlanta would be delayed and I would miss my connecting flight to Managua because of that. Well, I couldn't change my schedule to the next day as the seminar would have started. So I insisted on flying to Managua on that day with whatever airlines available. After at least 5 phone calls to the airlines and the travel agent, they finally put in a flight 1 hour earlier at 1 PM so that I won't miss my connecting flight.

Gosh... I was literally running to pick up Obi first at 11.30 before the three of us, Obi, my hubby and me, went to La Guardia airport. We were lucky that the traffic was okay and in 15 minutes, we were approaching La Guardia airport. I was so frantic noting that I only have 1 hour before my departure. You can imagine the crazy line we have in the immigration even with my diplomatic passport!

Then my phone rang...it was the airline's staff telling me that the earlier plane that I was rebooked  to was full already and I have to take another airline in order to catch my connecting flight to Managua. And that airline would take me through Miami to Managua on that same day. The problem was the plane flew from JFK airport. And it was a different airport from La  Guardia and it took around 20 minutes to go there and I only have more or less 1 hour. Oh my....rushed we went to JFK to catch my new plane -_-"

Again, I was lucky it was my hubby taking me and practically no traffic so I could make it on time. By the time I had my ticket, lined up in immigration and arrived at the gate, I only have some time left before boarding. But I was so relieved that at the end of the day I made it :).

Finally leaving the big apple...

Then after 3 hours flight from NYC to Miami, and 4 hours flight from Miami to Managua, Nicaragua, I finally arrived in the land of Rubio and Sandino.

salon diplomatico at the Airporr..

By the time I arrived, we were waiting for other participants who were coming from different parts of the world. I flew through Miami and some came through Atlanta or Panama City. Although it was only 8 hours flying in total, for me it was so tiring already. Or perhaps it was due to so emotional rides I have to go through before leaving, hahaha...but I truly enjoyed the ride from the Airporr to the hotel. Very festive and merrily decorated Avenue de Simon Bolivar, with its line of amarillo or the tree of life and El Comandante Chavez :)

El Comanandante Chavez at one of the roundabouts..

But by the time I arrived in the hotel, it was almost 10 PM already so I decided to umpack and order some dinner. I got yummy broccoli cream sop and some local dish of fried green plantain and queso frito, fried cheese. Yuuuum yuuuum...

My dinner...yuuum yuuum..

As the morning came, I managed to hit the pool and got everything ready for the seminar.

the whole pool for myself :)

It was a series if productive meetings regarding the UN works on Decolonialization Committee. Well, I'm not gonna share that here but we will continue the work in NY for sure :). 

Then, as the courtesy of the host, the Government of Nicaragua, we had dinner cruise at Xolotlan Lake that night. Fun time getting to know one another closer and lobby them at the same time :). But for sure, I got a chance to arrange my little trip the next morning to see the beauty of the Managua city before continuing the meeting, including the historical Antigua Catedral de Nicaragua.

Wanna see more of the land of Rubio and Sandino? I'll be right back :)

Obi and her drawings..

"Okaaay...this is mama..then Bapak. And these are me and abang Bo..."

Pagi-pagi ada yang udah sibuk sendiri gambar family pictures, complete with party hats :).. alriteee..

Obi, Abang Bo, Mama et Bapak..

special hearts for mother's day from Obi :)

Obi memang demeeen banget gambar dan mewarnai judulnya. Rumah penuuuh dengan kertas coretan dan cerita lucunya, belum lagi spidol, krayon, pensil, pensil warna, pulpen, cat air, kuas dan segala perlengkapan perangnya  :). Hampir setiap hari ada yang digambar dan diwarnai. 

Biasanya Obi suka gambar sendiri. 
Kalau ada gambar yang dia tidak bisa buat, baru minta tolong Abang Bo, mama or Bapak untuk memberi contoh.  Then she will copy it and try to draw them again and again so she can make one by herself.

Yang paling sering dibuat Obi adalah gambar orang, mostly trying to imitate the princesses complete with their glamorous dresses, complete with the jewelries and  shoes:). Her attention to those details amaze me most of the time :)

purple pony...yaaay..

And lately, Obi also loves to draw and color My Little Pony, especially Rainbow Dash, Pinky Pie and Sunset Shimmer. Well, you know how most of kids love this cartoon series and Obi definitely falls in love with it as well. There are many characters in this series and 

Obi juga suka gambar stick figure, seperti foto di  atas. Biasanya selesai menggambar Obi akan perlihatkan karyanya kepada kita semua dan mulai bercerita sesuai dengan gambar yang dibuat. Dan imajinasi anak-anak memang luar biasa ya...bebas tanpa batas dan seringkali kita dibuat tertawa karenanya. Misalnya ada cerita Sponge Bob naik kuda pakai sepatu Barbie dan makan nasi goreng :). Pokoknya terhibur banget deeh :).

Obi et tante Nona..selesai gambar princess et Pinky Pie..

Awalnya, saya suka senewan kalau Obi mulai menggambar. Bukan karena menggambarnya, tapi lebih karena berantakannya :). Plus takut tembok terkena curahan karya neng Obi dan jadi warna-warni. Maklum, di sini yang punya rumah dan agen rumah lebih cerewet dan strict sekali dengan kondisi rumah sehingga tidak segan-segan mendenda kita atau memotong uang jaminan yang kita berikan di awal kalau rumah tidak dijaga. Lumayan juga lho ... kan mendingan uangnya untuk yang lain :). Tapi setelah diajari, diwanti-wanti dan diberi contoh kalau menggambar baiknya di kertas atau buku gambar, Obi tidak pernah lagi bereksperimen menggambar atau coret-coret krayonnya di lantai kayu maupun di tembok. 

Kalau soal rumah berantakan, saya juga perlu waktu untuk mengajari Bo et Obi untuk membantu membereskan perlengkapan mewarnai mereka. Biasanya kalau sudah selesai menggambar, awalnya mereka suka tinggalkan begitu saja dan langsung ganti main yang lain. Akibatnya rumah asli kayak kapal pecah :). Belum lagi kalau sudah bertebaran di sana sini, barang-barang ini bisa hilang, keinjak dan  jadi rusak kan. Pernah saat buru-buru mau berangkat ke kantor, saya hampir terpeleset karena tidak sengaja menginjak krayon yang terserak. Aduh..bener-bener bikin lemes. That's why, again and again, saya bilang  ke anak-anak untuk selalu membereskan mainan dan perlengkapan menggambarnya. Selain memang mereka bertanggung jawab, juga untuk menghindari hal-hal yang tidak diinginkan. Untungnya Obi dan Bo mau membereskan mainnya, meskipun sambil dibantuin mamanya seringkali . Well, at least that's the start. Ngga papa ya nak, yang penting now you can explore your passion. 

Teman-teman suka menghadapi hal yang sama? do you kids love drawings, too:

#weekend#boetobi #blessful #astoria #astoriaqueens #NYC

Sunset at Lago de Nicaragua, Granada, Nicaragua

Sunset ....

As it magically appears, wherever I am, it always succeeds in holding my breath. 

Surely those concerts of colors bursting out on the sky never fail to capture my full attention and admiration to the Creator ...

Maybe my futile reaction in trying to immortalize this vivid beauty will continue till the rest of my life..

So, bear with me.....

Sunset at Lago de Managua, Granada, Nicaragua

Link with us Skywatch Friday and see the many colorful skies from different corners of the world

WW: Rotonda de Hugo Chavez, Managua, Nicaragua

A glimpse of the city that I am currently visiting :)

Rotonda de Hugo Chavez, Managua, Nicaragua. ..

Will definitely be back with more stories...

Join us on Wordless Wednesday and have fun bloghopping :)

Culture Night at PS122, Astoria, Queens

And here comes the Culture Night at PS122, Astoria, Queens. .

welcome to the Indonesian table :)

It's the annual international gathering at Bo's  (and soon will be Obi's, too ;)) school here in PS122.  Well organized by the Parent-Teacher Association, or famously known as PTA, this event has been conducted for 10th times and what a fun night it was! Celebrating the  rich and diverse cultures of PS122, the culture night soiree surely attracts many.

It all started with the invitation sent to all parents in PS122 informing about this event as well as inviting to those who are interested to participate in the Culture Night by organizing a table, donating food and raffles prizes. The date planned was May 15 with May 29 as raincheck. By the time I saw that email, I immediately registered and planned to have Indonesian table there. Well, we don't have many Indonesians in that school but that doesn't stop me from joining it. Well even perhaps that's the reason why we have to join, so they know there are Indonesians as well in this international - setting public school. And it is indeed the first time that Indonesia joins the crowd. Yaaaaay...

the goody bag :)

So I decided to organize a table, bring some Indonesian food, and donate three goody bags filled with Indonesian handicrafts  and food products for the raffles.

The event started at 6.30. Parents and everyone were welcome. They only need to pay a $5 entry ticket where they would get a plate and cutlery. Raffles ticket is $2 each or $12 for 10. All the proceed will go to the school.

That Friday evening was a windy one, so we were getting ready slightly before the door was open. Obi and Bo were all wrapped in Lampungnese traditional attire while I decided to wear my fuschia kutu baru kebaya and purple-and-gold Songket Lampung. I know I'll be busy serving food but I just can't help wearing those colorful costumes we have :)

Lampungnese attire and Songket Palembang :)

Getting all our stuff ready, Bapak took us to the school and helped us with the preparation. We had all our colorful handicrafts to be displayed on the table as well as some mini souvenirs for those who come to our table, thanks to Tante Chichi :). Not to forget my wastra collection, to show how colorful Indonesia is :). We actually brought a special background with Komodo dragon picture on it, but the wind was so strong so we decided not to use it. So was my gawangan, as I was afraid the strong wind would break it.

Of course, food are the essential part of this display and I have my home-made nasi uduk or the typical Indonesian rice cooked the coconut milk. lemon grass and bay leaves, as well as Indonesian fried noodles. I have to admit I stayed up late cooking 3 batches of nasi uduk and mie goreng :). Luckily I got Udi staying with me watching stand up comedy :).

I have also ordered pastels and krokets from a friend. So, we were okay in food department as I have 7 trays of food :). Oyeaaaah...

As the door opened, the fun started... 

Visitors were coming, roaming around deciding which food they wanted to taste and asked around about the countries. 

Obi and I were so busy chatting and serving food for those coming to our table. Some knew Indonesia  already, some came there for vacation, some knew it from TVs. We have Bo's teachers coming and  the Principle as well as other teachers, too. We also met some Indonesian families as well...one just came less than a year ago, just like us, and one had been in the US since they were born :). Too bad I didn't take picture with all of the them.

After approximately an hour, most of our food were gone, only nasi uduk left :). Then we managed to sneak out and browse around ourselves before they cleaned the tables! 

Well...most if the food were gone, but a we still enjoyed exploring the various display of cultures. Everyone got creative...not only displaying food but also wearing beautiful, traditional dresses with all those amazing accessories. Some, like us, also displayed some traditional handicrafts, fabrics, books and many interesting objects related to our beloved hometowns. We saw dolls, tea set, jewelries, heirlooms, traditional costumes, toys and many more.

We saw those from Spain, Italy, Afghanistan, Peru, India, Bangladesh, Albania, Poland, Finland, Haity, Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, Mexico, Morocco, Turkey, Egypt, Romania, and so many more. It was very fun indeed...

Heirloom from Albania..isn't it gorgeous...

They also had some performances in the middle of the yard. Too bad we watched them from a far, from our table hehehe...But we are determined to come back again next year! With more yummy food, more goodies and more fun :). 

We went home feeling tired but with happy, full tummy :). 

Thank you, PS122....see you next year :)

Have you joined similar event? Did you enjoy it? What did you like most... the food, the costumes, the crafts or else?

Al-Karomah Mosque, Martapura, South Kalimantan

Oh you who believe...
Seek assistance through patience and prayer...
Surely Allah is with the patient...
(002.183)

 Under the blue sky, I know My Rabb is with  me..

Al Karomah Mosque, Martapura, South Kalimantan, Indonesia

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