Thursday, August 17, 2006

Bika Ambon

Chad brought this remarkable thing back from North Sumatra called Bika Ambon; Ambon being an island that's nowhere near Sumatra, and bika apparently being a cake made out of rice flour. What's remarkable about it is its complex structure, which reminds me of the diagrams of hydrophobic and hydrophilic membranes we studied in high school biology class.

Bika Ambonicus side view


Cross-section of Bika Ambonicus showing irregular columnar structure

Bika Ambon is pleasantly chewy and has the sort of eggy-custardy-coconut flavor that's very popular in Indonesian desserts. The other interesting thing about it is the warning on the box, which informs us (in Indonesian) that after 3 or 4 days Bika Ambon will "experience a process of hardening." We can attest to this, since our small remaining piece now resembles some kind of construction material. The suggested remedy is steam, but I suspect our remedy will be to let it hang around in the fridge for another week and then toss it.

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

despite your pseudo-scientific presentation, this cake sounds yummy. i love coconut and custard...yumm. i'm also hungry right now. where's mine?

perhaps an alternative remedy to your last bit of hardened bika would be to hang it from a string for the next holiday celebration.

Jason Sylvis said...

So cool.
Your challenge from now on is to find deserts that you use as practical materials and tools. Bika Ambon foundation blocks, fruit leather vests, twizzlers for lashing and binding...
Like Willy Wonka meets Survivor.
Good luck.

Unknown said...

perhaps you can use it to prop the wobbly fridge.

Anonymous said...

Bika! We like bika Minang, which is a less (than your bika) leavened batter poured into half cup-like molds lined with wild pepper leaves and then baked in a makeshift oven. Very cakey, not too spongy, nicely coconuty, not too sweet. Found them in Padang and then many more in the Bukittingi market.

Anonymous said...

Hello,

When ever I surf on web I come to this website[url=http://www.weightrapidloss.com/lose-10-pounds-in-2-weeks-quick-weight-loss-tips].[/url]Lots of good information here kopisusu2.blogspot.com. I am sure due to busy scedules we really do not get time to care about our health. Here is a fact for you. Recent Scientific Research shows that about 90% of all USA adults are either chubby or weighty[url=http://www.weightrapidloss.com/lose-10-pounds-in-2-weeks-quick-weight-loss-tips].[/url] Therefore if you're one of these people, you're not alone. Infact many among us need to lose 10 to 20 lbs once in a while to get sexy and perfect six pack abs. Now next question is how you can achive quick weight loss? Quick weight loss can be achived with little effort. If you improve some of your daily diet habbits then, its like piece of cake to quickly lose weight.

About me: I am webmaster of [url=http://www.weightrapidloss.com/lose-10-pounds-in-2-weeks-quick-weight-loss-tips]Quick weight loss tips[/url]. I am also mentor who can help you lose weight quickly. If you do not want to go under difficult training program than you may also try [url=http://www.weightrapidloss.com/acai-berry-for-quick-weight-loss]Acai Berry[/url] or [url=http://www.weightrapidloss.com/colon-cleanse-for-weight-loss]Colon Cleansing[/url] for fast weight loss.

Anonymous said...

What the hell is this?? I hadn't heard anything like this but it's kind of weird. In fact my oldest brother who is always visiting different countries used to bring me weird things from other places and it's nice. He also likes to visit Viagra Online almost every day.
Generic Viagra Buy Viagra

teen sex fantasy stories said...

Ginger was taken aback she thought Gladys would never crack. Gingers exasperated sarcasm was directed at herco conspirators as much as her captive.
free lesbian porn stories
grandmother beastiality stories
adult cuckold stories
free extreme sex stories
sexy rape stories
Ginger was taken aback she thought Gladys would never crack. Gingers exasperated sarcasm was directed at herco conspirators as much as her captive.

Anonymous said...

I love kopisusu2.blogspot.com! Here I always find a lot of helpful information for myself. Thanks you for your work.
Webmaster of http://loveepicentre.com and http://movieszone.eu
Best regards

Anonymous said...

http://www.sustainmeant.nl/node/224223

Anonymous said...

Thiѕ design is incredіblе! You definitely κnoω how to keep a rеader entertаіnеd.
Betweеn your wit аnd your videοs, І was
almost moved to start my own blog (well, almost...HaΗa!
) Great job. I really enjoyеd ωhat
you hаd tо sаy, and more than that, hoω yоu pгesented
it. Τoo cool!

Feel free tο surf to mу page ... short lауегеd hairstyles ()

Anonymous said...

Hi! I've been following your web site for some time now and finally got the courage to go ahead and give you a shout out from Humble Texas! Just wanted to mention keep up the excellent work!

Also visit my web page :: asthma allergy symptoms - http://liuxk2010.ipower.com/mediawiki/index.php?title=User:LauraWilb -

Anonymous said...

Paragraph writing is also a excitement, if you know afterward you can write if not it is difficult to write.


Take a look at my web blog bear river insurance utah *bearriverinsurancehq.org*

Anonymous said...

That, plus the added benefits and customization abilities that
come with your own wordpress blog for example, makes the paid option
a no-brainer for anyone that can afford it. If you are getting
an internet business off the ground, or you have been in the game for a while, but don't understand why you can't get a good response
from your clients or prospective clients, than you already
know that communication is one of the most important currencies around when it comes to
doing businesses online. Word - Press is an open source blog
publishing application and can be used for basic content management.


Also visit my web-site WP Social Press Review