This post is especially close to my heart as it features my family’s favourite local food places in my hometown, Malang, in the Indonesian province of East Java.

Even as I start to write, good memories of having those meals with my family flood back in my heart and my tummy yearns to gobble all that yumminess!

Eng An Kiong temple hawker place 

A frequent joint my parents go to is this unlikely hawker that is actually placed IN a small carpark, right next to parked cars, underneath a Buddhist temple. Its a make shift, get in-get out kind of place. Comfort and leisure are not what you would expect from dining here but I promise you would not be left with a bitter taste in your mouth.

The pangsit (chicken dumplings) noodles and chicken satay are their must-haves, alongside are dishes such as bakso (meatball soup), their famous rujak cingur (spicy Indonesian tropical fruit and vegetables salad with peanut sauce).

They also serve some refreshing cool drinks and desserts, my all time favourite (3rd picture below) kolak pisang. I was in Malang culinary heaven indeed!

This bowl of fresh egg noodles are dipped quickly into boiling salted water, then fried alongside the minced chicken, doused in soy sauce, sesame oil, white pepper and lots of garlic. Mixed with stir fried lettuce leaves (cooked in the same wok after the minced pork for extra flavour), sprinkle freshly chopped onion leaves and top it all off with crispy fried shallots. Accompanying this, a smaller bowl of clear pork broth and 1 or 2 pork dumplings so that you have the option of having the noodles dry or a little more soupy. Every element plays its part in making this such a simple yet mouth watering dish.

It’s a small bowl with big flavours <3, exactly what I, currently in Sydney, am craving BADLY at the mo 😦 Garlicky, well seasoned, delicious slippery noodles that you can slurp and slurp and not get enough. To counter the oiliness, take a bite of the pickled cucumber or pickled green chilli, waiting at the sideline, at your service to refresh your palate for the next few mouthfuls 🙂

Satisfyingly chargrilled, juicy, sweet and savoury with a nice chilli punch. YOMM!

An actual dilemma I faced : do I wait until I finish my pangsit mi? or do I just dive into this satay? Needless to say, the latter.

Coupled with a pile of freshly cooked, steaming jasmine rice, the classic chicken sate is never to be missed. Add on the stir fried red onions and a dash of lime, you’re good to go. What’s a great sate without some fat on it? Each stick has one or two fat cubes on it – DEFINITELY a guilty pleasure, though it just heightens the flavour all the more!

 

Harmoni Cafe & Resto

My mum and sis in law took us to this lovely restaurant and had ordered some of the popular dishes. How can you explain a table full of good food? Just heaven….
The fried rice full of flavour, be-speckled with fried noodles and stir fried shallots and bite sized meatballs.
Grilled rice was done good and proper, the rice still moist with a hint of coconut milk (I suspect?), the fragrant smokiness of the grilled banana leaf adding that extra something to the dish, and of course, the chilli and lime just ties everything together nicely.

The generous glasses of thirst-quenching sweet drinks we’d ordered on such a humid day is a perfect way to end our hot and spicy big lunch. Es Manado and Es Alpukat are classic crowd favourites : the first is ice blended soursop with basil seeds and coconut and red jelly cubes, and condensed milk – absolutely FANTASTICO! And the second is ice blended avocado with a shot of coffee and chocolate syrup, and of course condensed milk. SUGAR HIGH MUCH? But oh sooo gooooood…

Rawon Rampal

My mum took us to this famous roadside restaurant, Rawon Rampal. You know its good when its on the side of the road. Although not for foreign stomachs, I advice to have anti-diarrhoea pills ready afterward :p

The beef tripe does not look appetising in any way, and its not everyone’s classic favourite but it is for locals (and I) – a must have when eating there. Falls apart when cut into, sweet and flavoursome, it absorbs all the beef broth and spices in every bite, a great side to its main dish, soto (pic below)

The restaurant is famous for its rawon, a spiced beef soup, but also equally famous for its soto. The tasty flavoursome beef soto is delicious and filling for a seemingly small bowl.

Shao Kao Chinese Grill, Tidar

This fairly new chinese-style BBQ place has a semi-outdoor dining area overlooking quite a spectacular view of the Dieng valleys. We had dinner there, so didn’t catch the day view but the night view was quite spectacular 🙂

We had ordered a variety of chargrilled vegetables and intestines – and have the option to choose from 3 grill sauces : BBQ, spicy or plain and we opted for all.

The verdict: sweet, spicy, full of flavours perfect to have on its own, or with a plate of steamed rice. Everything was delicious! Top them up with ice/hot tea or a favourite beer, it’s the place to go for young and old alike for a chilled catch up.

Side note : It’s amazing how food can cause such reaction to your brain. Nostalgic (sitting down for a meal with family), purely pleasurable, hectic (due to speed of eating and humid weather) that can only be described as PRECIOUS. It would be a disaster should any of these dishes not be continued to future generations.

Extra pics : Changi airport stopover dining

On our flight to Surabaya, we had some hours transit in Singapore – which of course meant dining in its food courts! I was excited as a kid trying to choose what to have for lunch….the variety of noodles and rice dishes, which one?! We didn’t have a lot of time and eventually settled for a quick snack of pork bun (not pictured as it was wolfed down before any chance of a snap), $1.90 Old Chang Kee curry puff and $2.50 dry laksa bee hon and $1.50 YinYang mixed hot coffee and tea – We felt like we won a small lottery, delicious and cheap food at an airport – THANK YOU SINGAPORE ❤

You are looking into a small bowl of nostalgic national treasure ❤