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Feb 28, 2015 - I was invited to attend bloggers gathering at Cutie Cats Cafe, the newly open cat-theme cafe. Believe me it isn't just a cafe! They claim it as the 1st cat cafe in Indonesia and the 1st integrated in the world. Cutie Cats Cafe is located at Kemang area. I was so excited to join in and meet the cats since I am kinda a cat person. I guess, it such a GOOD NEWS for all cat lovers in Jakarta!

A cat cafe is like a regular cafe, except that it is full of cats! Yes, real fluffy and cute cats. Currently they have more than 10 cats in the cafe, each with unique name and personality. Here, visitors can kick back and relax with a cup of drink or a bite of cupcake and spend time in the company of roaming cats. Some of you might think the idea was brought in from Japan, just like I did. Well, it's not. The pioneer country of the cat cafe turned out to be Taiwan. However, Japan successfully bring its popularity.

So here's Cutie Cats Cafe house rules. First, you have to pay attention to the house rules at the board before you enter the cat playground. And you need to pay some fee to enter the room, just think of it as cat maintenance fee (Weekdays IDR 50k & Weekend IDR 75k for the first hour. + IDR35k/hour for the extra hours). The cats here are well treated and vaccinated regularly. The room is cleaned every day in the morning and at night. So don't worry Cutie Cats Cafe house is safe for kids and women.

It is indeed a cozy place for both the visitors and the cats. For those of you who works at office hours might visit the place on weekdays since the place is open till 9 PM, or on weekend. It is best to reserve in advanced if you don't want to wait in line. Apparently, many Indonesians really love cats and want to spend some time with them. In fact, the scientist has proved that patting a pet can reduce our stress level.






HOW ABOUT THE FOOD?

They serve a selection of homemade cakes, cupcakes, and biscuits, and also a wide range of drinks for the visitors to enjoy. You can also buy pet food here to feed the cats. Remember not to feed them any human food. This is why Cutie Cats Cafe do not offer savory food in the menu.





Tips:
  1. Follow their instagram @cutiecatscafe for important notice.
  2. Book in advanced, since they have limited space and high demand from visitors. They only allow max of 20 people (including 5 kids) in the room.
  3. Follow the house rules, read it before you enter the room. E.g. don't use camera flash when taking pictures, don't give human food, don't disturb sleeping cats, etc.
  4. Don't bring your own cat along with you (if any) as it is not allowed.
  5. Supervise the kids to prevent any incidents toward the kids and cats.

CUTIE CATS CAFE
Jl. Kemang 1 No.2F
Jakarta Selatan
(across the street from Food Garden, above the Sparkling Society boutique)
Phone: +628111004560
www.cutiecatscafe.com

Kid friendliness: kids surely will love it!

Visit reviewed: 2/28/2015

Entrance fee:
Weekdays IDR 50k & Weekend IDR 75k for the first hour
+ IDR35k/hour for the extra hours



Feb 7, 2015 - I tried to bake a simple recipe for breakfast. It's easy, quick, and tasty. You should try it too:) The ingredients are very simple and could be adapted to your preference.

Ingredients:
4-slices of bread
3-5 Eggs *according to your taste
Smoked beef
Cheddar cheese
Butter
Salt & pepper

Equipment:
6-cups muffin pan, oven

Yield:
6 toast cups

Timing:
15-20 minutes

1. Butter the muffin pan surface thoroughly, press bread into the muffin pan, cut off crusts of the bread and save it for later. Do the same for 4-cups muffin pan. Fill the other 2-cups with the copped-bread crusts that you saved before.

2. Scramble the eggs in a bowl, stir with cheese, smoked beef, salt, and pepper. I used grated cheddar so it mixed well with the egg. Pour the mixture on top of bread cups. You could make your own creation with other toppings such as broccoli, mushrooms etc.

3. Bake at 180°C for 15-20 minutes, depending on how well done you like your eggs.

4. Best served with tea


Recipe adapted from a hungry girl's guide to taipei

Alhamdulillah. I finally had a chance to visit Mecca in December 2014. Thank you Allah for everything. The feeling of happiness and anxious at the same time which can't be described in words. I know it's a bit late to write this post, but I have to. This is a memory I won't forget.

I thank you all the Ustadz & Ustadzah from Maghfirah travel too, for the lessons, tausiyah, and the guidance. It helped me so much. I learned to appreciate lil things more. I was reminded again how Nabi Muhammad SAW fought for Islam in the past, so we must not waste the struggle. The schedule made by Maghfirah travel was good, even though sometimes there was a sudden change that slightly annoying. I registered for Umrah special parenting, well it was my aunty who registered to this program. So yeah, I had to join some parenting classes during the Umrah trip apart from the regular schedule. The other program was city tour, recitation, knowledge sharing (tausiyah), and some religious time together.

Let's begin the journey. We visited three big cities in Saudi Arabia; Madinah/Medina, Makkah/Mecca, and Jeddah. Here's our schedule in 9 days Umrah special parenting which was starting on Des 24,2014 until Jan 1,2015.

Day 1 (12/24): Jakarta - Medina
We had 9 hours flight from Jakarta to Medina on Dec 24,2014 at 6 in the morning. So we basically need to be at the airport by 3 AM. There was a huge turbulence along the flight. But Alhamdulillah, we arrived safe and sound in Medina around 11 AM Saudi Arabia time / 3 PM WIB. It's 4 hours differences between Jakarta and Saudi Arabia. 

The check-in hotel regulation in Saudi Arabia is at 6 PM. While waiting, we visited some places such as Quba mosque (it is sunnah to pray there), dates garden (to shop and lunch), and Mount Uhud. Mount Uhud is a historical place in Islamic religion. 

Prince Mohammad Bin Abdulaziz Airport

Quba Mosque


Dates/kurma garden

Road to Mount Uhud
Did you notice something? The housing in Medina is unique, unlike in Indonesia the houses are only covered with flat rooftop and the village is surrounded by the rock hills.

View from the top of Mount Uhud

Beautiful sunset in Mount Uhud

At 7 PM, we could finally check in to our room at Jewar Elsaqefa Hotel. Well, we supposed to get a room at Movenpick hotel, but Maghfirah couldn't get it for us. I wasn't sure why was the reason. Anyway. I was still grateful to have been given the opportunity to come at this far. After get everything settled, I went to Nabawi mosque for Isha. That was the first time I set my foot in Nabawi. Subhanallah, It's beautiful and I felt so peaceful when in there. It's a place that can't be forgotten.

Day 2 & 3 (12/25-12/26): Medina
The other two days in Medina, we spent our days n nights mostly at the mosque; to pray and have a tour around it sometime. The tomb of Nabi Muhammad SAW is located under the green dome in the mosque area. Assalamualaika ya Nabi. The tomb was originally located outside the mosque. This change occurs because of the expansion of the mosque area. We also went to Asmaul Husna "The Beautiful Names of Allah" exhibition which located next to the mosque.

Maghfirah travel also facilitate us to go to raudhah together at night (Raudah is taman surga which located between the house of Nabi Muhammad and his podium. It is an area in the mosque which is marked with green carpets. For female pilgrims could enter the area through gate 25.). We had to wait for 2-3 hours since a lot of people want it so badly to pray there. While queuing, the Ustadzah tells us a bit story about raudah and Nabawi mosque. Currently, the gate to raudhah (for women) is restricted only at certain times; after dawn/subuh until 10 am, after dzuhur until 3 pm, and after isha until 12 am. On Friday, the morning schedule is only until 8 am. CMIIW. In Raudah, we can perform the sunnah prayers (istikharah / hajat / sunnah mutlak 2 rakaat) and pray. It is suggested to gather few thoughts of what you gonna ask/ of whom you want your pray to address to before hands, so that you can pray it fervently when you are at the raudhah.

Note: you are not allowed to bring food, luggage, and camera into Nabawi Mosque (inside the mosque). Smartphone with a camera is allowed, so you can still take some memories of it.

The glorious Nabawi Mosque


Where thousand of people gathered in one fine Jumma Mubarak


Nabawi at night

Day 4 (12/27): Medina - Mecca
After three days in the city of Medina, our group proceed the journey to Mecca. This is actually the core of this nine-days-journey. Umrah! We took a bus from Medina to Mecca for about 5 hours long. But before that, we stopped at Bir Ally for miqat / a stated placeMiqat can only be done at specific places. Bir Ally happen to be the nearest one from Medina.  It only took few minutes from our hotel in Medina to Bir Ally. When the stated has been done, all restrictions of Ihram were applied and we were encouraged to read talbiyah and dzikir during our way to Mecca. Well to be honest, I was a bit nervous too at that time. I was worried that I couldn't done mabrur umrah.

The rites of Umrah is basically consist of 5 activities; stating an intention/niat, dressed in ihram, tawaf, sa'i, and ends with tahallul. So we have stated an intention just before at Bir Ally and dressed in ihram. Then we began tawaf at 10.30 PM. Tawaf was done by circumambulating the Kaaba for 7 times, in a counterclockwise direction. Then proceed with sa'i that went back and forth between the hills of Safa and Marwa 7 times. And ends with tahalul by cutting a few strands of hair. Alhmadulillah. I was overly happy that I was able to finish my first Umrah smoothly. We went back to the hotel at 3 AM. 


Masjidil Haram at 3 AM


 After done the Umrah, Alhamdulillah!

The saolin soccer boys :D aren't they so cute!

Day 5 (12/28): Mecca
We didn't have much schedule in the day time. So after get enough rest, I went to hunt for food after dzuhur at zam zam tower. I will write post about my food journey in Saudi Arabia in the next article. Then after asr at Masjidil Haram, we had afternoon tausyiah with Ust. Hatta while waiting for Maghrib. At night, our scheduled was for tawaf sunnah and pray in the Hijr Ismail. Pray in Hijr Ismail is sunnah but it as important as praying in Raudhah at Nabawi mosque, just like in the Raudhah people were queuing and jostling to pray in Hijr Ismail.

Day 6 (12/29): Mecca
Today we had some time for city tour around Makkah. We visited Gua Hira, Gua Tsur, Padang Arafah, and Mina. Here, Ust. Hatta told us a story when Nabi Muhammad was trapped in Gua Tsur chased by the Quraisy. Lessons learnt from the story: Try our best before asking for a help. Help of Allah appears when strictly necessary. InshaAllah, a miracle will come to who was in trouble at the right time. In the afernoon, we had Umrah bada after asr and finished it at 10 PM.

The spot when Adam and Eve met (with auntie, lil cousin, and elder brother)

Ends of Arafah line

Thousand tents at Mina

Day 7 (12/30): Mecca - Jeddah
This is our last day in Mecca :'( We gathered at 3 AM to perform jamaah tahajud. Then proceed with thawaf wada (thawaf perpisahan) after subuh. I prayed deep in my heart to get another chance to visit Baitullah again one day for either hajj or umrah. Amin yra! Goodbye Mecca, til we meet again inshaAllah.

Next schedule, before departed to Jeddah, there was a closing ceremony with Abah Ihsan. Lesson learnt: our true best friends are our parents/children, not a friend nor a neighbor nor a boss/subordinate. Parents who always remember us in their prayers, who always devoted in our joy and sorrow. Thank you Abah Ihsan for this reminder. 

At 2 PM we continued the journey to Jeddah. We only transited in Jeddah for couple hours before our flight to Jakarta. On the way to Jeddah we visited the red sea and floating mosque/mesjid terapung, and had little shopping at balad shopping center. We finally checked in to our hotel in Jeddah at 8 PM.

The farewell (with my elder brother)

Between Red Sea and the Floating Mosque (with my lil cousin)

Day 8 & 9 (12/31-1/1): Jeddah - Jakarta
We checked out from hotel at 9 in the morning. The boarding time of our flight was at 1 PM. It was 9 hours long flight + 4 hours time difference. We arrived in Jakarta on the ninth day, January 1st 2015, at 2 AM. This is the end of the journey. That was all the schedule we had in 9 days Umrah.

As you can see, we had activities days and nights. I felt restless but Allah gave me the strengths during my Umrah journey. Alhamdulillah for 2014. I ended it with some good deeds. Let's begin the year of 2015 with new spirit. Bismillah :)


Jeddah International Airport



Return tickets to Saudi Arabia

Travel essential for Umrah:
- Comfortable shoes without laces since u will need to take it on and off when you get into the mosque.
- Shoes bag to bring the shoes inside mosque since there is not enough shoes locker inside the mosque
- Couple of socks
- Mini Al-Quran
- A guide book of sunnah prayers & dzikir
- Tissue
- Mask. The air is so dry, so it sometime hurts our nose when we breath.
- Small prayer mat/sajadah & praying clothes/mukena
- Abaya or gamis is a must bring. It's really convenient to go around with abaya when in Arab, and it is common to pray with abaya.
- Shoulder bag
- Long scarves
- When you tavel in winter, you will need to bring a coat and some thermal underwear to wear in the morning and night when the temperature is around 18-20°C. At day time, the temperature goes to normal and it is as hot as in Jakarta. Medina is colder than Mecca and Jeddah, so you don't need those coat/thermal underwear anymore in Mecca and Jeddah.

Things provided by Maghfirah travel:
- 1 Luggage
- 1 Passport cover
- 1 Shoulder bag
- 1 Prayer book
- Name tag
- 1 Hat
- 1 Gamis + 2 instant hijab/bergo (for woman)
- 1 Praying top/atasan mukena (for woman)
- 1 Muslim clothes/baju koko + 1 peci (for man)
- Ihram dress top and bottom + 1 belt (for man)
- APS (Alat Pendengar Suara/ hearing device) with a deposit of 1m per person. This is what I like the most from Maghfirah travel. Technology really makes life easier. It helps you when you perform tawaf, sa'i, jamaah prayers, and city tour.


As seen from its name, Zam zam restaurant serves Arabic food. The newly open restaurant located at Kemang area.

The interior of this restaurant is pretty good with the typical of Middle East style and dim lighting. It is recommended for a meal with family or group of friends since they serves big portions. I, myself, went there with mom and big brother. The overall food taste was great. However, I personally think that the exterior decoration is less attractive that it was not attracting much people to come.

Anyway, let's talk about the food. We ordered lamb briyani (IDR 90k) which is a recommended menu at this place. Meat kabab (IDR 90k). Shakshoka/scramble egg Arabic (IDR 35k). Mango squash (IDR 20k) and avocado juice (IDR 18k).

Biryani Lamb
Biryani lamb is a mixed rice with lamb meat, raisins, and stir-fry onions. Biryani rice is made of long-grained rice from India. Biryani flavor was rich in spices. The lamb meat was tender and well-seasoning. Additional raisins was added in rice to neutralize the strong spices.

Meat Kebab
It consists of two roti prata, beef, potatoes, and salad. Wrap everything with roti prata, make it into a roll, and take a bite of it. That is how you enjoy eating Kebab.

Shakshoka
It is basically Arab-style sunny-side up eggs cooked with tomato sauce. It tastes a bit plain. Not sour nor spicy. I expected too much from it, I though it would be like our 'balado eggs' :P

Biryani Lamb

Meat Kebab

Shakshoka/Scramble Egg Arabic

Avocado Juice

Mango Squash

ZAM ZAM RESTAURANT
Jl. Ampera Raya No.3
Kemang 
Jakarta Selatan
Phone: +6221 7183410
Hours: Everyday 10AM to 8PM

Payment: 10% tax || cash & cards accepted

Halal meter: Muslim owner

Food: ÃªÃªÃªÃª
Ambience: ÃªÃª
Visit reviewed: 18/1/2015