Nindia's Letters

To: all my sleepy friends out there!

I'm checking in from my bedroom.

Do you believe that dreams represents your current state of mind? It may well be a result of complex brain distortions while we’re asleep, but a dream serves no purpose unless we put a meaning behind it. I’m here to tell you how my dreams have reminded me to be better the second I woke up.

For no apparent reason, I’ve been having bad dreams these past few days. It’s not exactly nightmares, but I do realize one similarity among all these dreams. They’re all related to my fears.

A couple of my dreams reminded me of my biggest shortcomings. One, is my carelessness and second, my tendency to delay my work. These are the things that I’ve realized and have been trying to improve on but what scares me the most is one dream in particular. This dream shouts to me and made me realize that I have unfinished issue with the people who have wronged me.

I am well aware that it’s normal to be mad and disappointed when something bad happens but the dream that I have reminded me of an event that happened years ago. I tried to manipulate myself into thinking that I have let go of the whole situation but now I know that I am still hurting.

It’s hard to admit that I have such negative feelings inside me but to be able to fix the problem, I have to acknowledge that the problem exists. I have multiple conversations with a friend who told me that dreams are one way to communicate with God.

Once, I prayed really hard and God answered me through a dream on that same night! It wasn’t a complicated dream, in fact, it’s a very simple one. I was in a dark room with my night lamp turned on. I asked to myself “what if I turn off this lamp?” The moment I turned it off, I woke up and my eyes widened focusing on the beautiful sunshine shining through my windows. The ray of sunshine felt warm and I realized how its gleam lit up every corner of the world. On that instant I jumped out of bed and give thanks to God because this is the message that He gave me: don’t limit yourself with earthly capacity (the night lamp which can only lit up a portion of a room) but trust the Lord our God because His capacity is limitless (the sun which gives light to the whole world). It’s amazing how such a simple dream answered all of my questions. I needed that confirmation at the time as I was truly questioning my purpose and my religious journey.

And this time, God reminded me to let go and surrender my worries to Him. Surrendering is not an easy thing to do. A lot of times people mistook surrender with “giving up but still hoping things will turn out the way I wanted to”. When people have this mindset, when things doesn’t go their way, they blame it all on God. What God wants us to do is to TRUST Him and be convinced that all the things that happened is the BEST. Therefore, even if we experience the bitterness in life, rejoice and give thanks so that He can see your heart and He will give you more than we could ever imagine. I have to constantly remind myself of this lesson as well. Let’s support each other and be stronger in Christ! AMEN!

On a more playful note, YOU my friend, have to try this Hokkaido Baked Cheese Tart! They're the best tart I've ever tasted. Perfect caramelization, flaky crusts, and its creamy fillings... Oh soooo good! It's best to eat it when its warm but even after it cools down it doesn't lose its winning taste. Highly recommend trying it :)

Jakarta Locations: 

1. Kota Kasablanka, Lower Ground Level

2. Mall Kelapa Gading 3, 3rd Level 

3. Senayan City, Lower Ground Level

*They're also available in Melbourne and Sydney!

I hope to hear from you soon and I pray that you'll only have good dreams :)

From your friend,
Nindia Djie

Hello my Foodie friends out there.

I realized that there is a huge hype on this new restaurant called OJJU K-Food. So I went there with my family to check the place out!

I did heard that the waiting line is crazy but it turns out that it was REALLY crazy. There was a long waiting line of more than 100 people! So I advise those of you who would want to try to have a snack while waiting. 

The place has around 15 tables with Korean decorations around the walls. It is an open restaurant so people passing through can see clearly what people are eating. I think it’s a smart strategy to lure people in as their dishes are mostly served on a hot iron plate with appetizing sizzling sounds and aroma. 

When we have ordered our food, they served us 4 side dishes which are Kimchi, Macaroni Salad, Cucumber Kimchi, and Corn Milk. You have to pay to get extra side dishes, which is a bummer. The side dishes tasted pretty standard so I don’t recommend ordering more.

After several minutes of waiting, our food finally came. We ordered their famous spicy ribs "Rolling Cheese" and 부대 찌개 (Korean Army Stew)!

Here’s some videos and pictures:

We can choose the level of spiciness as well as the type of meat (beef/chicken) for the ribs. I ordered the beef ribs (of course!) and it tasted really good. The meat was tender and the cheese is abundant! There’s a kick of extra spiciness from jalapeno peppers swirled around with the cheese. They provide plastic gloves located in a drawer under the table together with other utensils. The gloves are very useful if you really want to get it in there with the ribs! I recommend ordering this for those of you who love spicy food!

The 부대 찌개 was a total comfort food. I recommend ordering this if you come here with your friends as this is a great food for sharing. You can choose your own ingredients or order one of their ready menu (you can always add extra ingredients such as ramen or eggs if you want to). The budae jjigae was really good. It’s not too spicy and adding eggs to the soup makes it thick and super delicious. I added 3 eggs to get the perfect consistency.

Other than these 2 dishes, they also offered Korean Fried Rice, Tteokbokki, Korean style lunch boxes, patbingsoo, and other Korean style dishes. The Martabak Bingsoo is a unique combination but I personally think that the cheese with ice cream was too much. Overall, it’s a great place to check out if you have time to wait for the long line. The price is reasonable and the food was great. If you don’t have the patience to wait or you prefer a calmer and a more tradition Korean restaurant, then this place might not be for you.

I hope this review is helpful!

From Yours Truly,

Nindia Djie

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Full address for OJJU K-Food: Kota Kasablanka, Mall Kota Kasablanka Food Society Lantai UG Unit FSU35, Jalan Casablanca Kav. 88, Menteng Dalam, Tebet, RT.16/RW.5, Menteng Dalam, Tebet, Kota Jakarta Selatan, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta 12870