(Note: This is a late post.)
One Wednesday afternoon . . .
BOS: Prepare your passport. I have already started the booking process. Please finalize it. We are leaving for Indonesia early Sunday morning. And off we went.
The cheapskate in me wanted to fly via PAL since it was a few dollars cheaper. Good thing, I came to my senses and realized that Singapore Airlines was the better choice - corporate rate and convenience-wise! Or else, I wouldn't have discovered Tai Wah Pork Noodle at Changi Terminal 2. Well, I didn't actually discover it. One of our colleagues recommended it.
It was interesting that I have always transited at Changi to the point that I have learned where to take a quick nap without having to go to the Transit Hotel or be in the view of the public - the movie theater at the third level - but I didn't know about this great noodle place. Probably, it was because of my penchant for the familiar (McDo and BK!). BOS and I shared the big bowl which was around SGD7.50. The serving was good for 2-3 people. It may look simple but once you have tasted it, there will be an explosion of flavors in your mouth. The soup alone was tasty. It has the flavor of all the ingredients - minced pork, meatballs, pork liver and dried fish. Even the noodles were tasty. Just how much did we love it? We had the same meal when we passed through Changi on our way back to Manila!
Though we landed in Jakarta, our ultimate destination was the cool city of Bogor (think, Tagaytay). We arrived at Jakarta around 6pm and had to travel for a little under two hours. One of the interesting sights on the road were the food stalls selling stuff from nasi lemak to japanese cuisine. You read it right, jap food in stalls and not restaurants and on the road side. These offerings were announced by streamers that were covering the stalls. Much as we wanted to stop at these stalls, we were running late. Probably from the exhaustion of traveling the whole day (MNL-SIM-CGK), I didn't even had the energy to take photos.
The venue of the event (where we also stayed for 2 days) was in the middle of a rain forest but of course with modern and world-class facilities. Thankfully, we arrived before the guest house's dining area closed. After taking our bags to our respective rooms, BOS and I headed to the dining room for a late dinner. To say that we were famished would be an understatement - last meal was 12nn at Changi and it was almost 9pm. At the guest house, there was no menu selection. One gets served with what is available. That night, we had rice, ayam (fried chicken) and sambal goreng kering (crispy fried potatoes with chili). The fried chicken was the crispy type we are used to but it was quite flavorful. Think, chicken adobo simmered in marinade then fried. I was actually hesitant to taste the potatoes. If you've been reading this blog, you'll know that spicy food and I do not go well together. But the dish was a surprise. It was spicy since pounded real chillies (sambal) were used but it did not burn my mouth. The chillies just gave a kick, so to say. I'll probably try cooking some here.
What's for breakfast, teh?!
It was nice to wake up in the middle of a rainforest. The weather was cool and the greeneries were so relaxing. I don't usually eat breakfast, but the set up of the buffet table was so nice I was not able to resist it. They had the usual bread, butter and jam, cereals but I opted to have nasi goreng (fried rice), fried chicken, chocolate muffins, soto ayam (chicken noodle soup), fresh fruits and coffee. For this meal alone, I broke 3 personal practices - don't eat breakfast, don't eat papaya and don't drink coffee especially when about to go some place after. It was an epic meal in terms of proportion. Well, actually, I only took a little bit of everything so I could try all of them. Good thing I gave into temptation. The soto ayam was like the chicken version of our la paz batchoy. The papaya was very sweet and refreshing. Their coffee was very rich. From what I've heard, it is being served for free at their cafeteria. Lucky people! One of our hosts even sent us some packages of freshly ground coffee when we went home.
The following morning, there were still the bread, butter, jam, cereals, fresh fruits (they also had a juicer on the table) and coffee. In addition were the pandan flavored pound cake and egg coated potato. This is all what I have to say, they have a way of making something simple taste so special.
Unfortunately, we had to leave very early the next day to catch our flight. It was airport food, Starbucks. And I was back to my old habit - light breakfast and no coffee (yep, at Starbucks but no coffee). Had some danish and bottled water.
What's for midday snack, teh?!
Well, I didn't really remember much but I am quite sure they were mostly pandan-flavored. One dish That made an impression was the dadar gulong or coconut pancakes. They were very thin pandan-flavored pancakes with sweet grated coconut filling and rolled like our fresh lumpia. This is how I would best describe it - flavor the crepe batter with pandan then fill it with a crunchy version of the biak na bato filling! Note to self: why don't you try recreating it?
What's for lunch, teh?!
Indonesia is a predominantly Muslim country so pork was definitely out of our menu. Lunch was the usual rice, chicken and beef curry. There were also vegetarian dishes. Among these was the tempeh (tofu) which came highly recommended by my friend Billy Boy who used to frequent the place. It was the tofu version of the sambal goreng kering mentioned earlier. It was addicting but when I thought of the effect of beans to the joints, I had to stop. Two discoveries that stood out were the asinan and the sweet basil coconut drink. The asinan is a pickled fruit/vegetable dish. The version that we had was composed of mango, water apple (macopa), singkamas, papaya, pineapple and raw sweet potato served in sweet, hout and sour vinegar and chili sauce, and sprinkled with roasted peanuts. Yes, it was a mouthful. BOS, loved it! I, on the other hand, fell in love with the coconut juice served with sweet basil seeds. Trivia: I don't like basil in my food but I do love them in my drinks. Case in point, my other favorite drink locally is the lemon-basil shake! Going back to my sweet basil seeds drink, there's a similar version available at SM but it's in water unlike the coconut juice version that I had. Ice cream was also passed around, Magnum in particular. And I rejoiced with my discovery. Not a new flavor but I learned that my counterparts in Indonesia share my opinion that Magnum is an overpriced, overrated ice cream! Ha! Ha!
What's for dinner, teh?!
For dinner, two of our hosts who used to work with BOS while they were still at our center took us to De'luit Restaurant. This is the Indonesian version of our palaisdaan or barrio fiesta like restaurants. It was an open restaurant. One can opt to dine at the usual tables but we chose their kubo-like dining area. Inside the kubo was a low table so we had to remove our footwear and do an an indian seat. We had a ginormous crispy fried gourami, calamares, spicy beans and of course, sate ayam or chicken barbecue. Prior to this meal, I thought a gourami is just for display. And I also use the term interchangeably with jutanders. Guramis = gurangis, get it?! Even if it was just fried, it had a sweet taste. Again, I loved the chicken barbecue. It was basted with peanut sauce. Aside from the interesting tables, their restrooms were also notable. Why? Aside from the usual female and male rooms, they have a rest room specially designed for kids!
We headed to Botani Square for some "pasalubong" shopping. We capped the night with doughnuts and coffee. Where else? At J.Co! Here's the thing. I've had J.Co a few times before this trip but I have never dined in any of the branches in the Philippines since the place was always full. And based on what I have tried, it was not worth queuing for so long. I was like, there was probably something wrong with my taste. Other people seemed to like it. But there was no beeline at J.Co Botani considering that the place was in a busy mall! J.Co originated from Indonesia. Hmmm, I came to the conclusion that it's the hype and not the taste that causes the lines here in the Philippines. Therefore, nothing's wrong with my taste. I would rather queue for the bicho-bicho of Everlasting or the one in Nagcarlan or even just for the inasukalang donut of Maligaya Bakery.
Here's the catch, BOS and I were back at J.Co the following night. Not because we loved the donut, but I discovered that an order of a beverage comes with a donut for free! So I offered to buy BOS a drink for 36,000! Truth be told, we were actually waiting for our host and J.Co was a good location to be be visible. And yeah, there was wifi!
For our last dinner we went to Yoshinoya, the Japanese restaurant. Same as the one we have here. I've noted that if we here at the Philippines are more inclined to American and Italian food, in Indonesia it was Japanese food. Remember the roadside stalls?
Interesting finds, a play with words
I had so much fun finding unique sounding pasalubongs. Just check out the photos. Words do not have meanings. We're the ones who put meanings to them.
I've always been hesitant to try the unfamiliar but Indonesia taught me to take the risks. And as they say, only those courageous enough to take the risks are rewarded in the end. It was indeed a reward.
Terima kasih! Maraming Salamat! Thank you, Indonesia!
