A friend of mine who goes by the name Memes has a big brother who opened a snack joint with his buddies named Risol Soubs. This particular snack joint is located at Tebet, and it held a break-fasting event a while ago during the Ramadan Season. Orphans, friends, and family were invited to this gathering, including me. At first, I was only going to attend the event, but then it turned out that Memes' camera's memory card malfunctioned, so I ended up being the documenter.
When I arrived at the location, the place was jammed-pack with people. The orphans, who were the main guest of the event, were sitting at the front yard, listening to a lecture by an ustadz. I proceed to the kitchen and found Mas Dika, Memes' big bro, preparing some snacks to be given to the guests. There were lots and lots of risols, and a tray of what it seemed to be deep-fried banana coated with chocolate and powdered sugar. My hands were all fidgety, wanting to snatch one of those good-looking bananas, but then I heard Mas Dika exclaimed, "It's an inferno in here!". I wasn't sure how to respond to his shouting as he was wearing three layers of top, T-Shirt, Baju Koko, and a thick Denim Jacket, in a pipping hot kitchen.
 |
| Don't you just want to snatch a stick or two? |
 |
| The sight of Mas Dika, preparing risols for the guests |
 |
| The Before and After of Risol Soubs' famous flavored risols |
 |
| Fry them until they are brownish gold in color |
 |
| Trays and trays of risols |
While we all wait for the Adzan to echo around the neighborhood, we played games with the orphans. The game is simple, whoever can do a task or answer a question will win a lovely Disney bag. I was planning to join the game, I mean come on who wouldn't want a Disney bag, but it turned out that the questions were addressed to the kids only. Blue blistering barnacles.
"Allahu Akbar. Allahu Akbar," said an ustadz at a mosque near our place. Everybody was excited to break their fast. Mas Dika's friends gave out snack boxes for the orphans and everybody else to enjoy. The snack box was filled with two pastries, a chocolate cake, and a cup of pudding, along with a glass of mineral water. Then, it was followed by a tall glass of fruit soup. Man, those refreshing and juicy fruit soup was awesome! I got myself a glass with endless refills.
 |
| Boxes of snacks, ready to be given away |
 |
| Stack them boxes |
 |
| Always say a pray first before you eat |
 |
| I bet those chocolate cakes tasted superb |
 |
| My share of fruit soup |
 |
| Another friends of Mas Dika, ready to hand out some fruit soup |
 |
| "Calm down, calm down, everybody will get some!" |
As night falls, everybody took out their praying clothes and praying mats, and shalat side by sides. Soon after the praying was finished, it was time to feast. It was a very luxurious dinner, with all those rice set and side dishes. There were two big plates of rice set, or Nasi Tumpeng, decorated with a wide selection of side dishes. There were spicy potato cubes with chicken liver, chicken, fish, meat, slices of eggs, potato cakes, vegetables, crackers, and macaroni. The table was occupied with food and dinning utensil, and those who would love to eat are allowed to queue.
 |
| The sight of the luxurious Nasi Tumpeng |
 |
| The sweet and savory macaroni |
Since the kids were our first priority, we let them queue first. It was an endless line of hungry mini-mes, excited to have their plate filled with various food. The ladies who were in charge of scooping the food did their job very well as they scoop every side dishes available on the table to the kids' plates. Unfortunately, the little fellows were rather picky with their food. So, instead of accepting the luxuriously decorated plate, they choose the food that they want to have for dinner themselves, which mostly was a spoonful of rice and a piece of chicken. The food ladies were very flustered, but it was a rather funny scene to see.
 |
| A spoonful of this and a handful of that |
 |
| The kids were really happy with a plate of rice and a piece of chicken |
 |
| "But, I only want rice and chicken." |
 |
| The first Nasi Tumpeng was finished! |
The kids enjoyed their meal as much as I did. We had dinner together, and we chatted and made jokes. I made friends with some of the little boys, whose names unfortunately escaped me. They were really happy that they can enjoy such delicious food, even if it was just a big spoonful of rice with two types of side dishes.
 |
| Dinner was fun! |
 |
| Careful there boy, you don't want to choke yourself! |
 |
| Fried chicken. Fried chicken everywhere. |
"Hey, big sis, take a picture of this," exclaimed one of the boys. I turned on my camera and fired a flash. The boy was biting his drumstick with a big smile on his face. "Big sis, take a picture of me too," shouted another one. He did the same pose as his friends, taking a big bite of the chicken, but this time with a big grin instead of a smile. They were really adorable!
I had fun with Risol Soub, and with the kids too! I will definitely come if Risol Soubs held another break-fasting event next year.
Risol Soubs
Jl. Tebet Utara 1, No. 12
Jakarta Selatan 12820
Phone: (021) 9067 0158
