Pandoraspace

Dearest Uncle G,

Recently, I re-read the children’s book by Dr. Seuss called Green Eggs and Ham and thought of my Indonesian food trip.  Have you read that book before?  Just in case you have not read it, it is about a persistent guy named Sam who tries to make his unnamed friend try green eggs and ham.  Throughout the entire story, Sam hounds the unnamed friend who, without trying the green eggs and ham, says that he does not like it.  To end Sam’s pestering, the unnamed friend  eventually tries green eggs and ham thinking he will not like it but ends up liking it instead.  I love this story because it sounds funny when read fast.  Try it. Read this excerpt from Green Eggs and Ham really fast -

“SAM:  Do you like green eggs and ham?

UNNAMED FRIEND:  I do not like them Sam-I-Am.  I do not like green eggs and ham?

SAM:  Would you like them here or there?

UNNAMED FRIEND:  I would not like them here or there.  I would not like them anywhere.  I do not like green eggs and ham.  I do not like them, Sam-I-am.”

Like Sam’s unnamed friend in the Green Eggs and Ham book, I was doubtful about some of the Indonesian food I encountered.  I wonder if you would be more adventurous than me.

I forgot to ask Danang what this was when I chanced upon it at the traditional market in Jogjakarta.  Monk thinks it is fried bats.  Whatever it is, I’ll passed on this roadside food. (more…)

Dear Uncle G,

For as long as I remember, people have always warned me not to eat roadside food.  Most of the time, I heed their advice.  But sometimes, roadside food is just too irresistible to pass up.

Love, Pandora

In Indonesia, I could not resist eating grilled corn, which is sold everywhere.  LS, Danang and I were in Ketep Pass, Java to see Gunung Merapi when I first saw someone selling grilled corn on the side of the road.  The next time I saw someone selling grilled corn was when we were in Jimbaran, Bali with Tito L and Tita D.  Grilled corn with salt or basted with butter is also sold in the sidewalks of the Philippines.  In Indonesia, however, other than salted or buttered grilled corn, you can also opt to have your corn basted with chili butter.   (more…)

Dearest Uncle G,

What in the world is Oleh-Oleh was the first thing that came to my mind when I first heard  that word uttered. I later learned that Oleh-Oleh is a store that sells local food stuff and gifts that one could bring home from a trip. In the Philippines, we call the coming home gifts pasalubong.

Tito L and Tito D took us to Krishna Oleh-Oleh in Bali so we could get out Dad these tiny, crunchy, dry and salty roasted peanuts.  The peanuts were so addictive that LS and I kept munching on them the whole time we were in Bali. We got our Dad a few bags of these great peanuts but they were so heavy that I actually wanted to throw them away when I realized that I could no longer carry my bag.  But, I digress… Other than food stuff, you could buy t-shirts and toys in the Oleh-Oleh.  The prices of the things sold at the Oleh-Oleh are far cheaper than the prices for the same things sold elsewhere in Bali. I think it is because Oleh-Olehs cater to locals rather than tourists. (more…)

 

Dear Uncle G,

On our first day in Jakarta, I tried Onde-Onde.

Onde-Onde is probably the Indonesian version of buchi, which according to this article, is a stick rice ball “filled with sweet bean paste, rolled in sesame seeds and deep fried to form a crunchy crust”.  Unlike buchi, however, the crust of the Onde-Onde is lighter, crunchier and airier.  I tried the green tea flavored Onde-Onde. Following Tita D’s example, I flattened the Onde-Onde by sandwiching it between my palms before taking a bite off of it.  The taste of green tea tempered whatever oily taste the Onde-Onde had and added a new layer of taste to the sweet bean paste.  Yummy!

I do not usually like green tea because it has a grassy flavor.  On this one occasion, however, I loved the flavor that  green tea brings to Onde-Onde.  This is another thing we should try together.

Love, Pandora

 

Dearest Uncle G,

On our first day in Jogjakarta, Danang took us to an authentic Javanese restaurant called Yu Djum. Getting to Yu Djum reminds me of how I got to Alamo’s in Legaspi, Albay. That is - we drove through narrow alleys lined with small houses until we hit the end of a road, which opens up to a cluster of small houses, and in one of those houses, you will find Yu Djum.

We got to Yu Djum at 11:00 a.m. and were among the first customers there.

I instantly felt at ease in Yu Djum. It felt like one of those old restaurants in the province that remains unchanged by time. As we entered, four old men started playing Javanese musical instruments while an old lady sang. Inside, there are about six or seven rectangular wooden tables each with two benches. On each table there are a few glass jars filled with kerupuk (fish crackers).

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Ciao Uncle G!

LS and I are back from Indonesia and already we are planning our next trip there. We had a grand time. I now understand why you want to go back there and stay for an extended period of time. Given the right circumstances, I would like to be in one place in Indonesia like Jogjakarta or Bali for a whole month and just absorb the experience at the leisurely pace.

LS and I wanted to explore as much of Indonesia as we could during our ten-day stay there. But, as our schedule was packed, we had no time to try out all the restaurants you recommended we go to in Jogjakarta and Bali. We did try eating at a restaurant in Jimbaran as you suggested. We loved it and ate there twice.

It was not that we did not spend a good deal of time eating. We did. Being our father’s daughters, we always take time to enjoy food. It is just that we did not plan on where to eat. Most of the time, we simply decided what places  to see and ate whatever we found at that place. Most of the time, we let other people decide where we should eat.

On the whole, we enjoyed the food we had in Indonesia and I made it a point to take note of what I ate so I could tell you about it.

I must warn you though that, unlike you, I am no gourmand. In fact, I am a picky eater. I do not like the taste of liver or soup that tastes like fish or shrimp. While I do know how to cook, I have not stepped into a kitchen in more than six years. I do not thing that I could even cook a decent and edible meal. Worse, describing food is one of the most difficult, if not, impossible endeavors. As my college professor once told me, how can you describe the taste of chocolate to one who has never tired it?  But, in my own crude way, I will try to describe for you the food I ate in Indonesia.

Hopefully, sometime soon (maybe in Indonesia) we will finally see each other and I can sample your cooking.  Until then…

Love, Pandora

Not too long ago, I learned that Uncle G (not his real name) stayed in Indonesia for extended periods of time.  Since he is a chef and a gourmand, I asked Uncle G to recommend to me several restaurants that LS and I could try while there and he provided me with a long list of restaurants.  Although we only tried one restaurant on that long list, I was consciously taking mental notes of the food I tried in Indonesia so I could tell Uncle G all about it.  

As I was writing my letters to Uncle G on my Indonesian food trip, I decided that I should also share the letters with you since you may find them useful on your Indonesian trip.  In the next few days, I’ll be posting my letters to Uncle G.

If you knew how batik is made, you would never see it as just fabric again.

The physical process of making batik is long and laborious.  It begins when intricate designs are drawn on to white fabric.  Using an instrument that is similar to a fountain pen, the batik maker then traces hot wax over portions of the design. The wax will prevent portions of the fabric from being colored by the dye.  When the wax dries, the fabric is soaked in boiling dye-bath until the batik maker is satisfied that the fabric has obtained the right color.  After, the fabric is plunged in cold water to stop the dying process.  The fabric is then dried and the wax scraped off.  This process is repeated each time a new color of dye is applied to the fabric to color the other portions of the design.

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LS and Danang were warned that I was going shopping

Before I got there, there were many things about Jogjakarta that I did not know. But, the one thing I did know about Jogjakarta was that it was the place to buy batik.

On our first day in Jogjakarta, I told Danang that I wanted to buy batik and he took us to some out of the way store that had very inexpensive batik but not the type I was looking for.  I wanted to buy hand-made batik.  That night, after Danang dropped us off at our hotel, LS and I took a becak (a pedi-cab that looks like a rickshaw) to the famous Malioboro Street that is lined with batik shops.  For two hours, I literally dragged LS from one shop to another looking for the batik things to bring home as gifts.  LS was cranky after our batik shop jaunt specially when she noticed that I was only able to purchase a few items. (more…)

I failed the Masangin

In Jogjakarta, there are two ancient Banyan trees in the middle of a park known as the South Square of the Kraton (Palace of the Sultan). It is believed that one who is able to walk between those two Banyan trees at night while blindfolded will get his wish or receive great fortune. The ritual, if you could call it that, of attempting to walk between those trees at night while blindfolded is called masuk antara dua bering or Masangin, which literally means passing through two ficus trees (Banyan trees are of the ficus benghalensis species). (more…)