Autumn at Starbucks

this may be a late blog post but it's never too late for Autumn, especially when it's in Starbucks..

an invitation from Starbucks Coffee Indonesia has always been a nice little surprise when opening my inbox.. well, not only because I am such an addict to this drink called coffee, but the name Starbucks has always been my favorite place to be.. it was homey and I may say that it's my third home.. the first would be my actual home and the second is my car.. yeah, I spent a lot of time in the car thanks to the heavy traffic of Jakarta.. the food tasting was held at their store in Kota Kasablanka, which was quite near from my office but, again, due to the heavy traffic took me more than one hour to arrive and I was late again.. enough talking and let's get to the business..

it all started with the autumn blend.. a mixture of Sumatra and Antigua, Guatemala coffee, brought to give you the full bodied coffee with a soft herbal aroma.. too bad I didn't get the chance to try it, thanks to the heavy traffic.. but the explanation sounds so promising.. me want it!

right.. now let's head to the food, shall we?

the first one has the longest name, Smoked Chicken Apple on Sundried Tomato Foccacia (Rp34,000).. foccacia is actually a flat oven baked Italian bread with similar in style and texture to pizza.. Starbucks' version was stuffed with smoked chicken, mixed salad, green apple, cheese slice and honey lemon dressing then topped with baked tomato.. I love everything about this dish.. the bread was soft and fluffy.. all the fillings were fresh and matched each other.. I love the sliced apples which added a unique taste to the whole dish.. yum yum..

Rustica Smoked Chicken & Cranberry Sandwich (Rp42,000).. another sandwich offered by Starbucks.. now imagine.. a wheat bread filled with smoked chicken, lettuce, cheese and cranberry jam.. unimaginable? well, turns out that the combination was unique and tasty.. the cranberry jam was not too sweet for me and balanced the whole salty fillings.. smart creation, huh?

the classic Smoked Beef Quiches (Rp25,000) won't fail you.. an open-faced pastry crust dish filled with savory custard of cheese and smoked beef.. best eaten while it's still hot.. classics will always have that special spot in my heart, no matter what the innovation brings.. it was really delicious! I even finished the whole serving.. crunchy outside with smooth, silky fillings.. *drool*

in between the salty and sweets, we were given this fresh Iced Shaken Lemonade.. I suspect it was passion fruit tea.. it was very light and refreshing.. the kind of drink what will make you happy just by drinking it, especially when it's free :D I have never tried their shaken lemonade before, since I always prefer coffee but this one has definitely made me re-think about my preferences..

see that melting sugar on top of the Cinnamon Roll (Rp17,500)? now that is exactly what I called appetizing.. though it is a classic dish, Starbucks' cinnamon roll was memorable.. a strong flavor and aroma of cinnamon with the melted sugar on top of the crunchy roll.. well, I am definitely a fan! love it more than words can describe.. this dish made me smile :)

the seasonal Purple Yam Coconut Cake (Rp28,000).. a new innovation of combining coconut and purple yam in a cake.. it was unique but not my favorite.. it was just too sweet for my liking..

it was Starbucks' version of the popular red velvet cake, VIA Red Velvet Cake (Rp25,000).. the cake was very soft and light with a rather bitter cream as it was made with VIA.. unfortunately, the nuts outside was not too crunchy.. but it was an enjoyable cake.. I think I remembered trying it before and not liking it, but this one was somehow different.. I even finished my serving, that's how much I love it..

another creation with Starbucks VIA.. it was my favorite dessert of the night, VIA Snowflake Land (Rp17,500).. it was actually similar to puff but personalized with VIA taste.. a rather bitter VIA base-fillings wrapped with puff pastry then topped with chocolate layer and white chocolate flakes.. a balanced bittersweet dessert.. this is simply the best one :) a closer look below of the yummy dish..

going home empty-handed was something that won't happen when you attend Starbucks' gathering.. so a large Starbucks tumbler, a pack of VIA House Blend and two vouchers for any Starbucks tall drinks were mine *huge grin*

after a hectic week, I guess I deserve a reward for myself with a cup of hot caramel macchiato and VIA snowflake land.. then I am content :) thank you Starbucks Indonesia for the invitation and keep up the good work..

Starbucks Coffee
Kota Kasablanka
Ground Floor, Unit M-01
Jl. Casablanca Raya Kav. 88
South Jakarta