16 year later, I find myself back in Jakarta. No break from school, but a short break from work. Prayers blasting from the mosques filled the night air. Lucky to be in town while much off the population seemed to be out. Though I couldn't get my bearings in a city I once called home, little pockets here and there did bring out the warm and fuzzy in me.
My agenda for this trip was to (1) chill, and (2) eat. I did a lot of both. Especially the latter!
I've always claimed loving Indonesian food. But I had no idea that my idea of "indonesian food" was so limited. Thinking about it now, I ironically didn't eat too much Indonesian food growing up. Empal at home once in a while. Nasi Goreng at the Hilton. Cumi-cumi and other yummy seafood at Senayan. Kecap manis. Sambal. Bakmi GM. Abon sapi. You'd think 13 years would've opened me up to so much more about Indo food. According to Pops it's because back in the day, things were not as sanitary as they are now. Perhaps. Thanks to my move to Singapore though and the new (old) group of friends I have surrounded myself with, the cuisine has finally found its way back into my life.
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Tempeh (fermented soy bean) has always been a favorite! But I've never had it this way!
Wiki describes tempeh bacem as " boiled with spices and palm sugar, and then fried
for a few minutes to enhance the taste. The result is damp, spicy, sweet and dark-colored tempeh."
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This is either soto ayam (a yellow spicy chicken noodle soup made with vermicelli) or gado-gado (indonesian salad with boiled veggies, peanut sauce then topped with emping or krupuk)
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Satay (skewered meat, grilled and served with peanut sauce of course!)
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Had some chinese dimsum when we first arrived. This was for us to nibble on.
Really crunchy dried fish - sweet, a little spicy and a tad bit nutty from the sesame seeds.
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Dimsum fun: 2 kinds of chee cheong fun. Rice noodle rolls - one stuffed with shrimp, the other with fried tofu
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Dimsum fun: Lo mai gai. Glutinous rice with mushrooms, chicken, salted egg yolk and
other goodies wrapped in lotus leaf then steamed. Typical dim sum fare. First time I had this
was in Jakarta and haven't had it since moving to Singapore.
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Dimsum fun: This resto also served a baked lo mai gai
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Dimsum fun: baked char siew bun. Sweet & savoury goodness!
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Siomay Bandung. Steamed fish dumpling served with steamed veggies and peanut sauce.
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No idea what this is called in Indonesia but I have learned that this is a typical Chinese dessert
called ah balling. Glutinous rice ball (some with ground peanuts or black sesame buried inside!)
served in a hot sweet ginger or peanut soup. The green ones were pandan flavoured. Yummers
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K's mom cooked up this speciality of hers one morning. Tender beef in a rich ginger gravy
served ontop of vermicelli noodles.
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Bakso. Clear soup with noodles and meatballs. Never got to eat too much of this growing
up as I only knew it to be sold as street food. Now you can find it in food courts. This one had fried
garlic ontop. And instead of vermicilli, I had it with kway teow noodles. nom nom nom
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Pempek Palembang. An assortment of fried fishcakes served with either peanut
sauce (ala siomay) or with a dark sweet and sour sauce
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| Krupuk kampung. More street food I remember from my childhood. Good stuff! |
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| Grandma's Ice Tea from Social House. Amazing stuff - lemon ice tea served over sorbet :) |
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| Nibblers from Social House. French fries with garlic & rosemary |
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Nothing like honey BBQ ribs! These aren't the same as what I used to eat growing up (Tony Romas was all the rage - when it wasn't open in Jakarta, we'd make sure to get our fill every year in Singapore), but it sure brought back memories. |
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Martabak manis. One with keju (cheese) in the back, and the one in front with
kacang & coklat (peanut & chocolate). This dessert pancake is a calorie
bomb. But extremely delicious!
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| Who doesn't love a cafe latte? |
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A beautiful belgian waffle from Social House. With berries and a honey orange creme cheese topping |
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My beautiful brunch plate from Social House. Called "the hangover" it's a grilled
sausage ontop of gorgonzola polenta and truffle scrambled eggs
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| Chicken noodle from Bakmi GM. My favouurrriittteee!!! |
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| Pangsit goreng. Also known as pinsec prito back home. The one from Bakmi GM is the BEST |
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| Rujak. Traditionally, a mix of crunchy fruit and veggies with a deliciously spicy sauce of palm sugar, tamarind and ground peanuts. Mom used to make this at home, and we used to eat it with jambu air (water apple) |
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| More Indo dessert! Kue rangis. Grilled coconut with sago flour topped with palm sugar |
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| The prezzies I brought home with me. Local indomie! Used to be my after school snack, together with a cheese omelet while reading an Archie comic :) |
