This Is Not Paris, This Is Bekasi

If Parisian have Escargot, the people of Bekasi have Tutut. 

Escargot. Only the fancy people can eat such delicacy. Cooked with butter and wine, this particular land snail is a favorite among Parisian. It's a very popular dish and the whole population of Mother Earth is well-aware about its' existence. Even the Americans and Europeans have adapted the recipe and made their own version of Escargot. As much to my surprise, Indonesia also has its' own version of Escargot! It's name is Tutut.

A bowl of Tutut

Very small portion for something that costed Rp3.000,00 per portion

Tutut. We, Indonesian, are more familiar with the term "Keong Sawah". The fancy and the less fancy can eat such gourmet food. It looks like Escargot, or land snail, but much much smaller. Those gastropods are slightly bigger than my thumbnail, and the squishy meat inside the shells are as skinny as my pinky. 

Put the Tutut inside a big pan, then cook them with ginger and garlic and other ingredients. Unlike Escargot, Tutut is served with broth, rich in flavor. As I told you before, Tutut, or Keong Sawah, are very small. We can't use fork and knife to take the meat out of the shell. The only dinning utensil that we can use is a toothpick and our ability to suck.  

The first time I tried Tutut, I was flustered on how to eat it without me having to suck the meat out of the shell, because I find it messy and slightly uncomfortable. I ended up using a toothpick, poking the meat from the upper part of the shell and pull out from the opening at the bottom part of the shell. The meat was rather squishy and chewy, but not slimy. It was meaty, and it had a unique flavor. The broth was very savory and rich in flavor, but I didn't drink it all because I was not fond by its' odd and bright color.

A bowl of Tutut will only cost you Rp3.000,00. It's worth a shot if you would like to know how it tasted like! At first, I'm not sure about if it's okay to eat it or not, because it looks unhygienic and weird. But, I decided to gather up my courage and bought a portion. It turned out that Tutut didn't tasted as slimy and bad as I think it would. Go on, buy some and try it yourself!

The sight of the Tutut, well-cooked and locked inside its' shell

Took it out and voila! 

It looks weird and eeky, but it tasted good

Care for more?

Roti Lauw's Roti Gambang

I was a picky eater back when I was smaller than Gimli from Lord of The Rings. I didn't like chicken liver nor bread crusts back then. I prefer to have my rice coated with soybean sauce for dinner, or simply rice with dried shredded beef jerky, or what we Indonesian refer to as Abon Sapi. I was not the slightest bit fond of mushroom. I couldn't finish my fried chicken to the bone. But, my Mom said that even though I was a picky eater, I somehow managed to finish all of my meals, even if it took hours to do so.

I even have my personal favorite brand of bread back then, which is Sari Roti. Four-year-old-me loved Sari Roti's product as much as Pooh loves honey. Whenever I have the chance to have bread for breakfast, I always choose Sari Roti's bread loaf. I asked my Mom to get rid of the crusts, apply some margarin onto the fluffy white bread and sprinkle some rainbow chocolate sprinkles. I took a bite of the could-like sandwich and it was heavenly. 

One day, we ran out of Sari Roti's bread loaf and had to buy from a bread monger who usually sells his bread in aluminum boxes. Imagine Libra, with scale as its' symbol. Those aluminum boxes are attached to a long bamboo stick, and the man carry the entire thing by resting the bamboo stick on his shoulder. Mini me was not amused by the fact that Mom was going to buy another product other than Sari Roti. "Roti Lauw. What kind of bread is that," little me protested. Ever since Mom bought a pack of Roti Lauw's bread loaf, breakfast felt like hell.

Years after years have passed. The picky-eater-side of me started to vanish. I no longer dislike chicken liver or bread crust. I still love to coat my rice with soybean sauce or Abon Sapi, but not as often as back when I was still a kid. I still hate mushroom. Hate it with all my guts. I'm still learning to finish my fried chicken to the bone. Sometimes I succeed, sometimes I just gave it to the stray dogs in my housing complex, with the remaining bones and meat. What surprise me is that, in the present day, I prefer to have Roti Lauw's bread loaf instead Sari Roti's.

Yesterday, the Roti Lauw sellers roamed around my housing complex. He didn't use the scale-like wooden boxes anymore, yet he used a cart-cycle. I called him over, planning on buying myself a pack of its' deliciously fluffy and light bread loaf. But when I asked him, "Did the house over there bought any of your bread," while pointing at my house, he nodded with a smile on his face, so I didn't buy the bread loaf. Instead, I bought a pack of Roti Gambang. 

Roti Gambang, you see, is one of Roti Lauw's product. It's a hard-as-rock and firm bread that tasted chocolaty sweet, and it contained lots of palm sugar. I guess yeast was not added to the dough because this particular bread is far from fluffy and light. I can actually use to hit people's head and expect them to groan in pain. 

Despite its' similarity to brick, Roti Gambang is my second favorite bread of Roti Lauw. My Dad also love this particular bread. Back when I was a kid, my Dad usually bought a couple of Roti Gambang, then he cut a small piece of the bread and told me to eat it. It was an unpleasant memory because I didn't enjoy eating that bread at all. But now, I love it!

When you happen to stumbled upon Roti Lauw's cart-cycle, don't hesitate to call over the seller and buy yourself a pack of Roti Gambang. I bet, those of you who dislike soft and fluffy bread would love Roti Gambang. It tasted delicious, somewhat chocolaty somewhat palm-sugary somewhat savory. It has a rather weird texture, all firm and brick-like, but don't mind it. And, it will only costs you Rp7.500,00 for a pack of Roti Gambang! How awesome is that?

A Well-spent Money

Tukang Bakso, or meatball seller, is one of the most common food vendors that you can find in Indonesia. There are some who open up a small Bakso restaurant on the sides of the streets and there are also door-to-door Tukang Bakso who usually use carts to carry their product. Those Tukang Bakso have the tendency to signal their presences by making sounds with a kentongan, a wooden-based instrument attached to the cart, by hitting it with a wooden stick. When you hit a kentongan, it will produce a high pitched sound that echoes through out the neighborhood. I usually can tell if there's a Tukang Bakso roaming around my housing complex, even when he's actually five blocks away from my house. An obnoxious high-pitched sounds like that are hard to miss.

I didn't have lunch today, which made me starve during the whole lesson of car driving class. I drove a car an hour long, with my stomach singing the song of its' people, can you imagine? When I arrived at home, I was lucky to find a Tukang Bakso parking his cart exactly in front of my house. So, I decided to buy a bowl to satisfy my need for food.

Tukang Bakso doing what he does best

The sight of the Bakso Cart

"A portion of Bakso, please," I said to the man. This particular Tukang Bakso's Bakso are a bit different, but in a good way. His Bakso are light and chewy, and it didn't taste like flour, like any other door-to-door Tukang Bakso's Bakso I have tried. The broth also tasted delicious and savory, especially if you eat it with some cut spring onion. Noodles and bihun were added to the bowl, making my early dinner looked appealing and colorful. "Rp 6.000,00, miss," he said. I paid the man and he went off, leaving me with a bowl of hot and delicious Bakso.

Scooping some broth to the bowl

In about 15 minutes, I finished the whole thing and I was satisfied and happy. I ate the noodles and bihun first, leaving the best part for the last. The combination of the meatballs, the spring onion, and the broth flew me to the moon. I enjoyed every scoop of it. It was, by far, the best Rp 6.000,00 I have ever spent!

My bowl of Bakso, with some noodle, bihun, and spring onion 

A close up look of my early dinner

Last Friday Night's Achievement

Last Friday night, I succeed at making my first Cappuccino, along with a heart latte art. All thanks to a friend of mine, a former barista at Gudang Rottie, named Ichsan. He taught me how to make Espresso and how to steam milk, which are the essential foundations on making Cappuccino. Finally, after a month-long learning on making hot drinks and latte art, I did it!

My first proper Cappuccino, woohoo!

The Sensational Hot Jeletot

Has anybody heard of this food before? Its' name is Hot Jeletot. It's a deep-fried food that originated from Bandung, West Java. It was said that those who cannot stand spicy food would feel pain from eating this particular traditional treats. I was very curious by how deadly Hot Jeletot is, so I decided to give it a try.

Last Friday, me and my fellow employees of Gudang Rottie decided to buy ourselves some Hot Jeletot. We were lucky to find a Hot Jeletot booth not far from our working place, only a minute away if we are using motorcycle. A fellow waitress said that those deep-fried tofu are extremely spicy, which is why I decided to buy some for my Mom, thinking that she will love it and goes, "Spicy my foot!"

A dozen of Hot Jeletot, with complimentary chilly pepper from the seller

One for me, two for my Mom

I was ready to take my first bite of the sesational Hot Jeletot. The outer appearance of the deep-fried food is very appealing to me. Perfectly deep-fried, overflowing crispy batter on each sides, golden in color, not to mention the glorious savory aroma coming out from the freshly fried tofu. I was getting all fidgety, but I restrained myself not to go Hulk and devour the Hot Jeletot in a mere second.

The physical appearance of a Hot Jeletot, perfectly deep-fried and crispy

"Hot Jeletot's filling is very very spicy," said a fellow employee. As a person who cannot stand spicy food, I was excited and anxious. I decided to cut open the Bandung-originated treat to find out what lies beneath that crispy skin. To my surprise, I was welcomed by a stack of reddish orange vegetables that looked deadly, which aroma pierced through my olfactory system and made me crunched up my face in pain. Lethality level: Over 999999.

Cut it open, then you'll find the spicy filling

A close up of the spicy lettuce filling that burnt my tongue last week

I took a big bite of the deadly treat, a second later, I was in pain. My tongue was hurt from savoring the spicy filling of the Hot Jeletot, sweat drops were falling to my cheeks, again my face was crunched up in pain, and I gasped for air. It was very spicy, but I have to say that it tasted delicious. I couldn't take another bite of the lethal spicy fillings, so I took it our from the tofu and eat the remaining not-so-deadly deep-fried tofu. Without the filling, the tofu itself was savory and crunchy, very delicious and suitable to be eaten with a bowl of warm rice. This spicy treats are highly recommended for those of you who fancy spicy food and unafraid of setting one's digesting system into a raging inferno. 

Are you brave enough to challenge thyself to gobble down some Hot Jelatot?