Dad's Favorite Noodle

Bakmi 17 is just an ordinary street food that you can find at Pluit. The seller is chinese, and this particular noodle cart has been running for two generations. In 1972, the seller started his noodle career at a traditional market at Pluit. Things were going well, but he decided to move the noodle cart to a housing complex. 

My Dad was ten years old when he first dined in at Bakmi 17. He had a delicious bowl of Bakmi 17's famous pork noodle and it has been his favorite up until now. He told me stories of how he would always greet the seller every time he visit the noodle booth when he was as old as I am. Unfortunately, due to age issues, the original seller let his son take over the business, while he mainly visit the booth on Saturdays and Sundays. Still, my Dad greet the son of Bakmi 17's original owner every time we visit the booth. 

"Bakmi CapCit" is the name that my Dad use to address the noodle booth. "In Chinese, "Jap" means Ten, while "Qi" means seven. Combine the words, and you will get "JapQi", which is seventeen if you sum the numbers together. Seventeen is one and seven, and if you sum the numbers up you will get eight. Eight is a lucky number among Chinese people," explained Dad. I guess by saying the words "JapQi" over and over, he accidently twisted his tongue and started to pronounce it as "CapCit". 

One of the workers of Bakmi 17 has been a devoted follower of the original owner. The business started in 1972, while he joined in in 1978 up until now. "I've been working at Bakmi 17 since 1978," said the man eagerly. "Yes, I still remember you," replied Dad. It's like seeing an old friend reunited after a long time not meeting each other.  

The famous Bakmi 17

Cooked on a humble blue cart, nothing fancy or exuberant

"Two bowls of your salty noodles, and one bowl of one and a half portion of your salty noodle for me," my Dad would say. He enjoys eating this particular dish very much, he even would have his second servings. 

Dad would say, "I'm happy!" after he finished his noodles

Although this particular noodle seems ordinary, Bakmi 17's ultimate dish is beyond pleasurable! A bowl of this noodle would fly you straight to the moon. The noodle is chewy and a bit hard, like how half cooked noodles would taste like, and delicious. Topped with minced pork and vegetables, accompanied with a couple of pork dumplings beneath the stacks of noodles, this noodle deserves a two-thumbs up. The broth tasted amazing, especially at the near end when you're about to finish the whole dish, as it combines with the remaining noodles and minced meat. It's a bit hard for me to describe how delicious this simple bowl of noodle is as I get fidgety by just thinking about the savory broth and the salty minced pork enters my mouth willingly. 

Good Lord, if only I can eat the noodles with my bare hands like a savage, and drink the broth along with the leftovers greedily, then I would.

A portion of Bakmi 17's salty pork noodle

Yum, look at those minced pork on top of the goldilocks

Another challenge I need to accomplish to join Man Vs. Food

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My favorite part from this noodle is the leftovers. You know how there will be some remaining noodles and toppings after you eat a bowl of this chewy strings? Yeah, I love gulping down those remnants. A spoonful of the leftovers tasted like fireworks on the Forth of July! Oh, and the broth is to die for! It's very oily, greasy, deliciously epic, and it reeks of pure awesomeness. Not to mention the pork dumplings. The dumpling's shells are very chewy, not soft and fragile like most boiled dumplings you usually find. They are are generously filled with minced pork and vegetables, and they tasted salty and scrumptious. IT'S JUST THAT GOOD! Food-gasm.

Good Lord, can you imagine what I would do to have a spoonful of those leftovers?

Epic dumplings, made by the almighty owner of Bakmi 17

I know I may sound like a maniac during this entire post, but it's because Bakmi 17's salty pork noodle is just damn good. Trust me on this, I ain't bluffing or anything, you have to get your butt to this particular noodle booth and order yourself some pork noodle. You will have the time of your life. 

My precious~

Bakmi 17
Pluit Putri, DKI Jakarta
Jakarta Utara 14450