Sambal Bu Rudy

Akhirnya pesanan Sambal Bu Rudy gue datang juga, woohoo! 

Baru-baru ini, gue lagi ngidam-ngidamnya sama yang namanya sambal. Hampir setiap hari dari minggu lalu, kalau gue makan di kantin ataupun di barak, pasti pakai sambal. Yah, meskipun di keesokan paginya gue bakalan memonopoli kamar mandi selama hampir setengah jam sendiri, tapi gue tetap menikmati tiap suapan sambal yang masuk kedalam mulut gue.

Nah, kebetulan, minggu lalu teman gue membuka pre-order oleh-oleh khas kampung halamannya, Surabaya, dan Sambal Bu Rudy adalah salah satu produk yang bisa dipesan. Tanpa banyak ba-bi-bu, gue langsung memesan satu botol sambal maut tersebut. 

Kata teman-teman gue yang sudah pernah mencicipi Sambal Bu Rudy, sambal ini pedasnya bukan main! Menurut Ibu Negara dan teman sebarak gue pun, selain tingkat kepedasannya yang bisa bikin orang keringatan dari ujung kepala sampai ujung jempol kaki, sambal ini juga enak banget. Kan gue jadi penasaran, ya? Ngebayangin seberapa enaknya sambal ini agak susah sih buat gue, karena gue sudah keburu parno duluan setelah melihat wujud sambalnya yang berwarna merah cerah. Entah itu beneran sambal yang dibuat dari olahan cabai-cabai super pedas, atau neraka dibotolin. 

Malam ini, gue menyantap sepiring ayam bakar yang gue beli di kantin barak dengan beberapa sendok Sambal Bu Rudy. Padahal hanya 4 sendok, lho, tapi pedasnya nggak nahan! Aroma olahan cabai dalam Sambal Bu Rudy agak menusuk, tapi nggak sampai bikin berlinang air mata. Rasa sambalnya pun lebih ke segar ketimbang pahit karena ada irisan-irisan bawang merah didalamnya (jenis sambal terfavorit gue setelah sambal kecap!). Pedasnya nggak terlalu nyegrak di leher, ataupun di hidung, tapi gue sempat batuk-batuk saat suapan pertama saking pedasnya. Meskipun gue kepedasan, yang sampai bikin ingus meler dari hidung dan keringat mengucur dari dahi, gue nggak bisa berhenti mencocol suwiran ayam bakar gue ke sambal tersebut. 

Buat yang belum pernah coba Sambal Bu Rudy, gue rekomendasikan untuk segera beli tiket pesawat ke Surabaya dan beli sebotol buat stok sambal dirumah. Para pecinta sambal dan makanan pedas pasti ketagihan dengan sambal yang satu ini. Gue aja yang nggak tahan makanan pedas nggak bisa berhenti nyocol, apalagi kalian yang doyan banget? 

Nasi Kucing Gerobak Meong

Jadi, ceritanya, hari Minggu kemarin gue mampir ke toko buah bernama All Fresh yang berlokasi di Tebet. Yang awalnya cuma mau beli pancake duren doang, malah beli makanan-makanan lain gara-gara laper mata. Tiba-tiba keranjang gue udah penuh dengan duren yang sudah dikeluarin dari kulitnya, dua porsi salad buah ganyeman Ibu Negara, dan dua porsi Nasi Kucing Gerobak Meong.

Agak heran sih nemu nasi kucing di toko buah yang berisikan dengan produk-produk lokal dan impor seperi All Fresh. Meskipun nasi kucingnya lebih bersih dibandingin nasi kucing yang biasa kita temukan di pinggir jalan, dan dibungkus dengan kemasan yang menarik dan praktis, tetap saja aneh rasanya nemu makanan kaki lima di tempat seperti ini.

Satu bungkus Nasi Kucing Gerobak Meong bisa kita dapat dengan harga Rp6.500,00, yang menurut gue pemerasan masal karena gue bisa dapet sepiring nasi dan lauk dengan porsi yang jauh lebih banyak di kantin kampus gue dengan harga yang sama. Kalian lihat kan betapa mungilnya nasi kucing ini di foto diatas? Nah, masuk akal nggak tuh porsi yang sebegitu kecilnya dijual dengan harga yang sebegitu dompet-unfriendly-nya? Seandainya gue udah menghasilkan uang sendiri, gue sih mendingan beli Indomie di warung belakang rumah dan minta diseduh ditempat, lengkap dengan keju, kornet, dan telur setengah matang. 

Saat gue buka bungkusan Nasi Kucing Gerobak Meong, yang merupakan kertas warna hijau dengan motif daun pisang, gue disambut dengan secuil nasi yang ditumpuk dengan ikan peda disambelin, sesendok sambal hijau, dan daun jeruk yang basah bermandikan minyak dari sambal tersebut. Sempet speechless gara-gara porsinya yang sedikit banget. Kucing juga nggak kenyang kali makan Nasi Kucing Gerobak Meong! 

Tapi, despite the fact that the portion of this nasi kucing is inhumanly sedikit, rasanya enak, lho! Nasinya empuk dan kenyal, agak manis di lidah, tipikal nasi pulen yang bisa lo temuin di Hokahoka Bento. Ikan pedanya gurih, dan dimasak bareng sambal merah yang pedas banget tapi bikin nagih. Sambal hijaunya lebih pedas dan rasanya nyegrak di tenggorokan dan hidung, agak pahit, tapi tetap bikin nagih. Gue cuma butuh tiga suap untuk melahap habis nasi kucing ini. Enak sih, nagih malah, tapi sayang porsinya kurang banyak. 

Silahkan mampir ke All Fresh Tebet buat kalian yang penasaran ingin nyicipin Nasi Kucing Gerobak Meong. Harganya sih nggak masuk akal, tapi ternyata rasanya enak! 

Homemade Choux

Today, I received a batch of homemade choux from Baruna, my adoptive junior - also known as adik asuh here at the institution. He made the choux all by himself and, boy, did he do a great job at it! 

The homemade choux was puffy and very light - it had this kind of texture and appearance that would deffinitely make me fall for it if someone were to tell me that the choux was bought at some bakery or cake shop. My batch of choux were made yesterday, which explains why the pastry was slightly flabby. 

They were filled with sweet cream that was very sweet and foamy. For me, the cream has this sickening kind of sweetness if you consume it too much. Yet, for Gita (my dorm mate whom I share the choux with), it was fine and dandy. The inner part of the choux was soggy from making contact with the cream. A bit disturbing because I don't like soggy pastry, but it was still enjoyable and delicious.

I'm giving a 7 out of 10 for these homemade choux! I would definitely add another one and a half if the choux was served fresh from the oven and the cream was thicker and more custardy. 

P.S. Happy Belated Birthday, Baruna! I wish you all the good things in the world. And thank you for the homemade choux, they were lovely! 

P.P.S. Pardon the lack of good quality in those pictures I used in the post. The lighting in my barrack did no justice to the choux. 

The King of Fruits

Crates of durians

There are two kinds of people in the world. One that doesn't like durian and one that does. Dad and I are alike, we both love durian. But, not Mom. According to Mom, durian has this repulsive odor that make her feel as if she was in her second trimester pregnancy: endless cycle of sickness and vomiting. True, for some people, durian does stink. But, to me, the strong scent is amusingly pleasant - and a calling that tells me to spend some rupiah on the king of fruits. 

Durian is very popular in Southeast Asia, including Jakarta, Indonesia. During durian season, you can definitely find this gem at every corners of the streets. The price varies from Rp10.000,00 to Rp100.000,00, depends on its' kind and quality of the fruit - in this case, the price does determine the quality. 

This fruit is well known for its' role as the King of fruits. Other than the fact that it has a very strong stench that makes people either love it or hate it, it is big in size and it has thorn all over its' husk. It's a bit tricky to crack open durian if you're not used to it. You can get hurt by the thorns from not holding the fruit properly. 

Despite the fact that I often munch on durian, I still can't crack them properly. So, every time I'm buying durian, I always ask the seller to get rid of the husk. Like today!

A worker at All Fresh cracking the husk open

I stopped by at a fruit store named All Fresh, located in Tebet, after I finished church this morning. I was only going to get me some durian pancakes, but I got caught up in the durian section and ended up buying some of the fruits as well. I bought one durian that weights for almost 2kg. It costed me around Rp70.000,00, but it was worth it as the flesh was very very sweet and custardy. 

The texture of the fruit is very creamy and custardy. It feels like as if you are eating a spoonful of heavy custard that tasted super sweet and rich in flavor. The strong aroma is rather stupefying, but it's nice nonetheless. 

There is a possibility for you to get a headache after you consume too many durian. The ultimate way to get over the headache is to pour some water into the inner part of the husk and drink from it - the husk has this layer inside that works as an antidote that heals you when you fall ill after over consuming durian. You can also get rid of the durian stench that lingers on your fingers and in your mouth by doing the same thing. 

The inside of a durian

Just look at those creamy and custardy flesh

I used to hate durian. I hated the stench, I hated the weird texture of the flesh, and boy did I hated the flavor of the fruit that made me nausea. But then, out of nowhere, I developed a big curiosity towards the thorny fruit and gradually grow fond of it. I don't know why and how, but I just did! I ended up betraying Mom and teamed up with my Dad in devouring durian. 

For those who have never eat durian, you ought to try it. True, the fruits stinks so bad and the taste of the flesh can make you go tipsy-wipsy. But, it's worth to try! You will either love it, or hate it. There's only one way to find out. 

Want some?