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Food trails: A taste of Indonesia


Being vegetarian in South-East Asia can appear daunting. I recall my family trip to Singapore where  bread and fruits kept us going on most days. A few days before my trip to Indonesia, I met this "South East Asian street-food enthusiast" who had traveled widely in the area. So, I asked him, "As a vegetarian, what foods can I look out for in Indonesia?" He apologetically told me that it was all about seafood in SE Asia and he had no recommendations for me. 

Now that I've been there, I can tell you that that's not true at all! If you eat egg, that certainly helps you quite a bit, but even if you don't, this food walk is going to be quite the treat.

First stop: Jogjakarta aka Jogja
Jogja is a city in the island of Java, brimming with cultural heritage. A Muslim-dominated region, the biggest attractions at Jogja are its humungous Buddhist and Hindu temples from as early as 9th century AD!
Sunrise at the Borobudur Buddhist temple:

The little treat for rising early to visit Borobudur: an egg cake and pisang goreng/ fried banana with grated cheese. The climate and landscape across many parts of Indonesia resembled my native Kerala. The pisang goreng here is the same as the pazhampori of the Malayalis. 

The Sultan's Palace:

A dance performance at the Sultan's palace. Jogja is the capital of the 'Special Region of Jogjakarta'. Essentially it's a kingdom within the Republic of Indonesia, ruled by the Sultan from his palace in the centre of the Jogja city. 

The palace hosts traditional dances for visitors. Stories of Ramayana are most commonly depicted in these dance forms.

Break for lunch at Prambanan temples:
 
Prambanan is a temple complex with am impressive hundred temples. Legend says a princess, in a bid to dissuade a king who was after her, agreed to marry him if he built a hundred temples overnight. What she didn't know was that he had an army of ghosts that he set to work through the night, leaving the princess in quite a fix!

If you do visit Prambanan, tired and hungry in sweltering heat like we did, head first to this canteen where they serve you unlimited food for a nominal price. There, I had my first traditional gado-gado. Gado-gado is mixed veggies and sprouts with peanut sauce. Here, it was served with rice, crackers and steamed vegetables. The Jasmine iced tea is a good sidekick with every meal. 

Street food:
Back in the city, we took a stroll down Jalan (Street) Malioboro. Street food doesn't offer much to the vegetarians. Numerous vendors sell meat satays/kebabs.
For dinner, we went out further along Malioboro street to a row of food stalls. We had some starters and light snacks. Like pisang/banana with chocolate sauce. The main course that will fill your stomach is the nasi goreng/fried rice. Quite different from the Chinese fried rice, the nasi goreng wasn't very spicy. And interestingly, you'll mostly never find it hot. Indonesians don't seem to care much for hot food. 
                                       
The reason we came to these roadside stalls was mainly to try the one thing they were famous for- Kopi Joss or Charcoal Coffee. Coffee with a piece of hot coal thrown in. I have no clue why they make it that way but it was an experience to be highlighted. In the picture, you see sugar at the bottom, charcoal residue and then the milk. 

While that wraps up my time in Jogja, we head next to Bali!
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