Food for thought

[jstar]

I thought those MSA (Meat Standards Australia) gradings were not mandatory?

 

[atlantis]

Why is it the cuts I see sent here are very lean and tough? Is there a store in Bali, that sells the cuts I mentioned before?

To make it short you have to understand that import permits in Indonesia are regulated by protectionist laws and quotas (the latter reinstated in 2022). The quotas are very low compared to the size of the country and the potential market for beef here.
To give you figures, when it comes to imported beef the total yearly quota for 2024 is said to be around 300.000 tons, with over a third of it to import water buffalo from India or Brazilian beef.
Out of the 300K tons I think that only 50K tons are awarded to private importers (which would be the one susceptible of importing higher grade meat) while the rest are awarded to state procurement firms (mainly Bulog) which would be more interested by cheaper alternatives to feed the local demand, particularly for the peak month of Ramadhan.
Also, the never ending rising demand for quality beef in China has increased prices for beef for most markets and has favored the cheaper exporting countries like India or Brazil allowing them larger market shares over the past few years in Indonesia.
Indonesian bureaucracy also doesn't help since every year the issuance of importing permits are done with delays, often of 4 to 6 weeks (I think that for 2024 importing permits were issued mid February only), putting pressure on prices and existing stock. Restaurants, and the food service industry in general, have to deal with that and it often results in lowering the quality of the beef you will get on your restaurant table.
Though I don't think that there is really serious survey of the local herd, the outbreaks of Foot and Mouth Disease and Lumpy Skin Disease in 2022 and 2023 have undoubtedly resulted in an herd reduction in Indonesia. Despite this, the import quotas have not been significantly increased but their use have seen an increase of lower quality grade imported meat to favor cheaper stuff.

 

[atlantis]

Talking about herd reduction, the Swine Flu last year has decimated the pork livestock in North Sulawesi and we are now in a situation where pork meat is up to 150K/kg while it was down to 40K at the beginning of the outbreak.
North Sulawesi which was once a haven for pork eaters is now quite different.

 

[Shadrach]

So buy US beef or grade A Australian. There is always wagu. Jeesh, If I can buy it here I'm sure you can find it if you actually wanted to and not just complain about it.

Thanks,

So buy US beef or grade A Australian. There is always wagu. Jeesh, If I can buy it here I'm sure you can find it if you actually wanted to and not just complain about it.

I am not just complaining about it! I did ask for stores to buy good quality steaks with nice marbling! I checked different Pepito's, and Delta Dewata in Ubud. Instead of you, being such a Grouch, give some store names to help!

 

[fastpitch17]

I thought those MSA (Meat Standards Australia) gradings were not mandatory?

They are not mandatory. It is up to each meat packer to grade their own.

 

[fastpitch17]

Thanks,

I am not just complaining about it! I did ask for stores to buy good quality steaks with nice marbling! I checked different Pepito's, and Delta Dewata in Ubud. Instead of you, being such a Grouch, give some store names to help!

I don't like in Bali. Ask the French guys there. They seem to be able to source quality foods. Big stores will not carry higher end meats. General consumers can't afford them. Smaller outlets will offer. Ever thought about asking a restaurant about were you can buy? They have suppliers. Maybe the supplier's won't sell to you but they can tell you who they supply who would.

The other thing I can suggest is learn how to cook the product available. If this grouch can take a local ribeye, cook it on a grill and serve it tender enough to cut with a fork, I'm sure you could do better.

 

[Wisnu]

Very easy to get good quality beef cuts in Bali. We get our wagyu and australian Tbone from Bintang ubud or Lucky Sanur. I saw massive tomahawk in Lucky, not cheap though. Bintang Ubud has mimolette too, my fav cheese.
For indonesian dishes such as oseng-oseng, wagyu meltig is very affordable. Available in thin and thick cuts for approx. 60K per piece of 200g.
Local beef is good for rendang and other slow cooked dishes.
Although we live in very kampung in east Bali, every morning I enjoy fresh bake croissant. We get frozen croissant dough from leo bersaudara bali.
Life is nice if you know how to enjoy life - complaining will not solve the problem; do something to get it.
With little effort, we had our own tempe and tofu when we live in Kazakhstan, Egypt and Nigeria.

 

[Shadrach]

Very easy to get good quality beef cuts in Bali. We get our wagyu and australian Tbone from Bintang ubud or Lucky Sanur. I saw massive tomahawk in Lucky, not cheap though. Bintang Ubud has mimolette too, my fav cheese.
For indonesian dishes such as oseng-oseng, wagyu meltig is very affordable. Available in thin and thick cuts for approx. 60K per piece of 200g.
Local beef is good for rendang and other slow cooked dishes.
Although we live in very kampung in east Bali, every morning I enjoy fresh bake croissant. We get frozen croissant dough from leo bersaudara bali.
Life is nice if you know how to enjoy life - complaining will not solve the problem; do something to get it.
With little effort, we had our own tempe and tofu when we live in Kazakhstan, Egypt and Nigeria.

Thanks for the store names. When I go there again, I will check it out!

 

[Wisnu]

Leo bersaudara is also selling rye flour, all wheat flour, semolina, phylo pastry, ect,
No reason not to have good bread and cookies

 

[atlantis]

wagyu meltig is very affordable.

This is a common (and misleading/deceptive) name given by sellers for Meltique products but you have to know that Meltique has nothing to do with Wagyu.

Wagyu is a beef cattle breed originating from Japan (basically all japanese cows are wagyu) which has the particularity to naturally have more intra-muscular fat cells than the average cow. It results in superb marbling and an un-matched tenderness and taste. The best known wagyu of all are the Kobe beef (another often abused name all over the world for what are in reality non Kobe beef) and a good wagyu on the Indonesian easily reach Rp 1.000.000 / kg and (far) above for primary cuts. Unfortunately they are not easy to come by.

Meltique is a commercial name for a beef which is not a wagyu but has a rich marbling which may resemble the one of a wagyu. Therefore for marketing purpose unscrupulous traders sell it with the name "wagyu meltique". However this intramuscular fat you see on a Meltique product has nothing to do with the natural one of a wagyu. basically it's a fat injected beef meaning that the marbling is artificial.

The injections are done in the lean meat and it creates a great marbling effect which obviously increases value and tenderness of what is a sapi biasa at origin. The original technique is french and called "pique" but Meltique products come from Australian cattle and the commercial name is owned by a Japanese company in Australia.

If you put apart the fact that it's not natural beef, it remains a great product, particularly for the food service industry because it's very well trimmed, very consistent in quality/tenderness and with very little waste. They are best grilled imho, particularly the striploin and the ribeye. Tons of it are imported in Indonesia so one shouldn't have much trouble to find it, perhaps not in supermarket (?) but definitely at butcher shops and obviously in many restaurant.

 

[atlantis]

No reason not to have good bread and cookies

It reminds me that I was very disappointed by the quality of bread in Bali at my last visit (January 2024). I know amateur bakers in Manado who do a better job that anything I purchased in Bali.
I have a few friends and acquaintance who own Deli shops in Bali or produce decent locally made cheese, and we brought with us a carton or so of selected wine but I was flabbergasted that I could not put my teeth on real good bread If you (or anyone) have any address (around Kerobokan/Seminyak) please send them my way for my next visit.

 

[jstar]

I have bought at Baked, Oka’s Bakery and Starter Lab in Canggu and they were not bad. I think the latter is closed now which is a shame. The former has multiple affiliates on the island.

Was also rather impressed by the multi-grain bread of Poule de Luxe. Unfortunately not only by the quality but also by its price.

We have a bread making machine (Kenwood and Panasonic) now at every location. Very convenient.

 

[atlantis]

I have bought at Baked, Oka’s Bakery and Starter Lab in Canggu and they were not bad. I think the latter is closed now which is a shame. The former has multiple affiliates on the island.

Thanks. it's a start. I was (and am still) shocked that out of 7 or 8 places we stopped by I could not get something really good. Average + was the best I could find while for some reasons I thought I could get something luar biasa while in Bali.
We now have some places like Baked by Artisan in Tomohon or some amateur bakers in Manado who sell online through sosmed and manage to do some interesting sourdough and other bread.

Re: bread machine. I bought a rather expensive one at Ace a few years ago which NEVER worked (any bread was at best half baked or a disaster) and as stupid as may be sometimes, I went to complain only 3 or 4 months after purchase. Needless to say that my complaint fell in deaf ear. Brand was Hamilton beach. Anyway, that was the only model available so not much of choice there.

 

[fastpitch17]

We get our higher gluten flours through Tokopedia since all the baking supply stores here only stock the Indonesian ones. Not traveling to Jakarta to resupply like we used to do so on line works for us.

 

[fastpitch17]

This is a common (and misleading/deceptive) name given by sellers for Meltique products but you have to know that Meltique has nothing to do with Wagyu.

Wagyu is a beef cattle breed originating from Japan (basically all japanese cows are wagyu) which has the particularity to naturally have more intra-muscular fat cells than the average cow. It results in superb marbling and an un-matched tenderness and taste. The best known wagyu of all are the Kobe beef (another often abused name all over the world for what are in reality non Kobe beef) and a good wagyu on the Indonesian easily reach Rp 1.000.000 / kg and (far) above for primary cuts. Unfortunately they are not easy to come by.

Meltique is a commercial name for a beef which is not a wagyu but has a rich marbling which may resemble the one of a wagyu. Therefore for marketing purpose unscrupulous traders sell it with the name "wagyu meltique". However this intramuscular fat you see on a Meltique product has nothing to do with the natural one of a wagyu. basically it's a fat injected beef meaning that the marbling is artificial.

The injections are done in the lean meat and it creates a great marbling effect which obviously increases value and tenderness of what is a sapi biasa at origin. The original technique is french and called "pique" but Meltique products come from Australian cattle and the commercial name is owned by a Japanese company in Australia.

If you put apart the fact that it's not natural beef, it remains a great product, particularly for the food service industry because it's very well trimmed, very consistent in quality/tenderness and with very little waste. They are best grilled imho, particularly the striploin and the ribeye. Tons of it are imported in Indonesia so one shouldn't have much trouble to find it, perhaps not in supermarket (?) but definitely at butcher shops and obviously in many restaurant.

Quite a lot of Meltique available now a day. Doesn't really look quite like Wagu but does in a pinch. Definitely should be grilled or you are cooking it in a puddle of oil. Most of it that's offered is 1 cm slices. With Meltique you will get a lot of shrinkage. My supplier cuts for me and all steaks are cut 2 to 3 cm. With OZ or US striploins and Ribeyes, I prefer them whole and I do the trimming and cutting. Locally aquired ribeye is always whole and cooked whole. I save fat from any trimming I do and when I cook a whole ribeye I make a cap with it since locally produced is pretty much lacking in fat.

 

[atlantis]

Definitely should be grilled or you are cooking it in a puddle of oil.

This is exactly what I meant... without explicitly saying it. We sell hundreds of kilo of it monthly so, if I try to always be informative concerning products we market, I can't afford to be that descriptive but you are absolutely right.
We cut frozen and vacuum pack steaks of around 3 cm thick which is the fair size for a decent steak imho or sell them whole to resorts/hotels.

 

[Wisnu]

This is a common (and misleading/deceptive) name given by sellers for Meltique products but you have to know that Meltique has nothing to do with Wagyu.

Wagyu is a beef cattle breed originating from Japan (basically all japanese cows are wagyu) which has the particularity to naturally have more intra-muscular fat cells than the average cow. It results in superb marbling and an un-matched tenderness and taste. The best known wagyu of all are the Kobe beef (another often abused name all over the world for what are in reality non Kobe beef) and a good wagyu on the Indonesian easily reach Rp 1.000.000 / kg and (far) above for primary cuts. Unfortunately they are not easy to come by.

Meltique is a commercial name for a beef which is not a wagyu but has a rich marbling which may resemble the one of a wagyu. Therefore for marketing purpose unscrupulous traders sell it with the name "wagyu meltique". However this intramuscular fat you see on a Meltique product has nothing to do with the natural one of a wagyu. basically it's a fat injected beef meaning that the marbling is artificial.

The injections are done in the lean meat and it creates a great marbling effect which obviously increases value and tenderness of what is a sapi biasa at origin. The original technique is french and called "pique" but Meltique products come from Australian cattle and the commercial name is owned by a Japanese company in Australia.

If you put apart the fact that it's not natural beef, it remains a great product, particularly for the food service industry because it's very well trimmed, very consistent in quality/tenderness and with very little waste. They are best grilled imho, particularly the striploin and the ribeye. Tons of it are imported in Indonesia so one shouldn't have much trouble to find it, perhaps not in supermarket (?) but definitely at butcher shops and obviously in many restaurant.

Thanks for clarification. I didnt check the detail as but you're correct, i had an impression that meltique is local wagyu grown in west java as told me by one of the seller and commonly marketed in tokopedia.

Anyway, it better and much tender than local beef; but we dont cook it for steak. Instead, we use meltique for stir fried dishes (oseng2) or my nasi goreng . For steak, I still prefer more meaty aus black angus.

 

[atlantis]

, i had an impression that meltique is local wagyu grown in west java as told me by one of the seller and commonly marketed in tokopedia.

The seller unfortunately knew little about what he was marketing.

The best quality Indonesian wagyu farmed in Indonesia are grown in Sumatra (but the embryo come from JaBar and JaTeng). They are those of the Tokusen brand which is owned by PT Santori (Japfa group). Very decent stuff for the price paid and more effort should be done to commercialize it instead of some of the imports which for the same price are of far lower quality.

At the origin the introduction of wagyu cattle breed in Indonesia is a governmental program started in 2020 in order to help meeting the need for premium quality beef meat and therefore decreasing the need of imports.

Results are encouraging but I have some reserves concerning quality on the long run if the same mistakes are done than for other products (ex: kopi luwak) which could have been great for Indonesia.

 

[Balifrog]

"

Chicken Cordon Blue was likely invented, popularize, or named in the United States. It has a European rolleto design, but no known ties to the Cordon Blue school or any of its chefs.
Its popularity comes from it similarity to another Indonesia food, croquets. This is from the Dutch colonial influence It is very similar to an Indonesian food croquets, and tied to why it has gained in popularity through the country. The Indonesians that I have spoken to viewed it as an extension of the croquet."

I hope you are joking......

Cordon bleu (dish) - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

And comparing it with croquettes.....

 

[jukung11]

To make it short you have to understand that import permits in Indonesia are regulated by protectionist laws and quotas (the latter reinstated in 2022). The quotas are very low compared to the size of the country and the potential market for beef here.
To give you figures, when it comes to imported beef the total yearly quota for 2024 is said to be around 300.000 tons, with over a third of it to import water buffalo from India or Brazilian beef.
Out of the 300K tons I think that only 50K tons are awarded to private importers (which would be the one susceptible of importing higher grade meat) while the rest are awarded to state procurement firms (mainly Bulog) which would be more interested by cheaper alternatives to feed the local demand, particularly for the peak month of Ramadhan.
Also, the never ending rising demand for quality beef in China has increased prices for beef for most markets and has favored the cheaper exporting countries like India or Brazil allowing them larger market shares over the past few years in Indonesia.
Indonesian bureaucracy also doesn't help since every year the issuance of importing permits are done with delays, often of 4 to 6 weeks (I think that for 2024 importing permits were issued mid February only), putting pressure on prices and existing stock. Restaurants, and the food service industry in general, have to deal with that and it often results in lowering the quality of the beef you will get on your restaurant table.
Though I don't think that there is really serious survey of the local herd, the outbreaks of Foot and Mouth Disease and Lumpy Skin Disease in 2022 and 2023 have undoubtedly resulted in an herd reduction in Indonesia. Despite this, the import quotas have not been significantly increased but their use have seen an increase of lower quality grade imported meat to favor cheaper stuff.

I didn't know Indonesia kept doing this. I thought they lost the WTO and dropped quotas in 2018.

U.S. Wins WTO Dispute on Indonesia’s Agricultural Restrictions

Indonesia’s Appeal Rejected, Confirming Original Findings that Its Import Restrictions Are Against WTO Rules

ustr.gov