With Bali under our belt, Virg and I became more adventurous in eating Indonesian food in Yogayakarta. Moreover, after realizing that we were within our budget we decided to spend more on food. Upon arriving at the Wayang Homestay, we asked Erica to tell us the names of restaurants that serve good local cuisine. She gave us a map with information about restaurants, malls, museums, etc and told us the ballpark figure to pay to the becak driver in going to and from these places.
Here are the photos, prices and sources of food we ate in Yogyakarta:
Nasgor Sumringan, IDR 25,000 (US $1.95) at Raminten Resto and Cabaret Show, top floor of Mirota Batik. This was the hottest plate of Indonesian food I tasted on the trip. The waiter advised me to get the “not spicy” version of this meal, but I told him “medium spicy” (I do not know if there is such term). This innocent-looking plate of food arrived and I dug in immediately only to realize there were 2.5 long chili peppers chopped into smaller pieces and mixed with the rice. Maybe it was actually 500. 🙂 I finished my drink and had to order a bottle of water to (wrongly) alleviate the heat! Tears streamed down my cheeks and I had to almost lie down on the platform where we ate. The heat aside, the nasi goreng was packed with flavor.
Soto (beef with noodles and rice!), IDR 18,000 (US $1.40) at Raminten Resto and Cabaret Show, top floor of Mirota Batik. I am not a fan of flavorful water on my dish but this one tasted good. After the Nasgor Sumringan debacle, Virg’s soto was a welcome treat for my tastebuds.
Es Dawet, IDR 17,000 (US $1.32) and Jus Mix, IDR 20,000 (US $1.56) at Raminten Resto and Cabaret Show. The es dawet was sweet but not enough for burning tongue. The jus mix was a mixture of strawberry and guava. This red concoction with a fresh strawberry as acccessory tasted 90% guava. It boggled the minds of the uninitiated.
The interiors of Raminten Resto and Cabaret Show along Maliboro Street. Customers climb on to and settle on the platform.
Nasi Campur Baceman Kambing (rice with lamb boiled in coconut milk and palm sugar, then fried), IDR 30,000 (US $2.34) at Bu Ageng. I ordered this dish because I have not tasted kambing in a long time. I thought that after the Borobudur-Prambanan tour, I deserved a taste of a childhood nightmare. The kambing tasted great but I did not detect any hint of coconut milk in it. The whole plate was a little of everything-rice, kropek, dried shrimps, dried sardines, vegetables and the kambing, among others. This is a meal I would eat for 3 straight days without any complaints.
Nasi Campur Lele Njingkrung (rice with smoked, fried catfish). It is the same as Nasi Campur Baceman Kambing except it had catfish. It cost IDR 25,000 (US $1.95) at Bu Ageng.
Es Cincau Hijau (with ice, jelly agar-agar, coconut milk and palm sugar), IDR 13,000 (US $1.01) and Es Lidah Buaya (iced aloe vera), IDR 13,000 (US $1.01) both at Bu Ageng. Es Cincau Hijau was a party in my mouth. The jelly did not have a lot of flavor but the combination of coconut milk and the sweetness of palm sugar was soooooo good.
Sego Semrawut, IDR 20,000 (US $1.56). We were too tired and lazy to find a place for dinner so we ended up at Kafe Nenenku Semog near The Wayang Homestay. It was managed by kids. Okay, they were teenaged boys who barely spoke English so we had to resort to acting, but they were cheerful. One of them had to buy the ingredients of the food we ordered and came back a few minutes later. Another teenager cooked it (overcooked the kropek) and still another teenager acted as the waiter/cashier. I did not finish this meal because it was too oily and had like 2-3 cups of rice.
Sego Goreng Lombok Oleg, IDR 20,000 (US $1.56) at Kafe Nenenku Semog. This was basically like sego semrawut without the noodles. I told Virg to order something because I could finish my own food. Of course, I was mistaken.
Pancake Durian, IDR 10,000 (US $0.78) at Kafe Nenenku Semog. It tasted like fresh durian with thin lumpia wrapper topped with cheese. I am not a big fan of fresh durian, but I had two bites of this.
Minuman: biru (blueberry) and lychee, IDR 10,000 (US $0.78) each at Kafe Nenenku Semog. I had lychee and when it was mixed with milk, it was almost wonderful.
Breakfast at The Wayang Homestay. The item immediately to the left of the egg is chicken. Beside that is flower-kropek.
Nasi Goreng Lada Hitam, IDR 30,500 (US $2.38) at Restoran Kedai Kebun. This was happiness on a plate-with more than 2 cups of rice, chicken, shrimps, egg, vegetables and not a lot of spice. 🙂
Mix Juice, IDR 17,000 (US $1.32) and Ice Buah, IDR 14,000 (US $1.09). The ice buah had slices of pineapple, papaya and watermelon. At the bottom, there was something sweet (palm sugar?) that tied the flavors together.
The signs of eating more than a cup of rice per meal were showing on the sides and front. 🙂 At Restoran Kedai Kebun
Just two of the many food carts in Yogyakarta. The top photo shows a bak pao vendor and his goods. Bak Pao did not taste like the siopao I know. Bak Pao had a dough similar to bread and was available in chicken, chocolate and something else I cannot remember. Bak Pao, IDR 6,000 (US $0.47)
Iced tea and fish cakes prepared for us by Cek of The Wayang Homestay. The iced tea was a very much needed at 4pm in a sweltering Yogyakarta. The fish cake tasted like kikiam. It was nice. 🙂
Gudeg. It travelled with us from Yogyakarta to Jakarta but we were not able to eat it on the train or after we arrived in Jakarta.
On a more personal note: This is the first post written at my own place in New Manila. It is fitting that I write the alpha post about food and lots of rice because I am a Filipino at the very core: a rice-eater through and through.
At night. I used my cellphone to take this photo. The moon was not red that night, the red object is the top of a tower somewhere in Quezon City.
Soto & Nasi Goreng seems delicious… but I think the refreshments are more heavenly 🙂 They really like spicy food.. We ate a spicy canton thing in Jakarta.. I’m just curious with the Gudeg… What is that browny thing beside the rice? 😉
Emee, the nasi goreng in any shape or form was goooooood. I could not stop eating (majority of the time) even if I was full, almost bursting with rice goodness. Haha. Yes, they really like their spices and their dips. I thought we have a lot of dipping sauces (patis, suka, toyo, asin, sili, bagoong, etc. and their combinations) but theirs have all of those except patis, and more. We did not have spicy canton in Jakarta but we ate a lot. A LOT. Regarding the brown thing beside the rice, I have no idea. 🙂 Maybe gudeg? Gudeg is unripe jackfruit, but we were not able to eat our gudeg. 🙁 If (When?) you and my heir apparent visit Yogyakarta, you try it and tell me how it tastes. *Homework* Hehehe.