Ramadan

I got back from the uk to find myself in the middle of Ramadan, the Muslim fasting month. Since I live in a very Chinese/Christian area, the signs of Ramadan are not as noticeable as elsewhere, and it’s still fairly easy to eat and drink during the day.

Indonesia straddles the equator, so the sunrise and sunset times are much the same year round: the sun rises just before 6am, and sets just before 6pm. In order to survive the days fasting, people get up at about 4am, eat (something filling presumably) and go back to bed. They then fast (no food, drink, cigarettes or sex) during the day, before breaking fast at sunset. There are various traditional foods they eat at this time, they are typically sweet, and include such things like es buah (a sort of chilled fruit soup) and kolak, which is a mix of palm sugar, coconut milk and various fruits.  

I wanted to try fasting, so in preparation I tried a mini fast, getting up at about 10am, drinking a cup of coffee, a few glasses of water, and eating some not very filling instant noodles, and then ‘fasting’ with everyone else. The result: I’ve been getting pretty damn hungry and thirsty, and my energy levels have been low, especially around lunch time. The Muslims at work who I told about my attempts were pretty scornful, they all seemed to think their full days fasting complete with exercise and work or study was a much worthier endeavour.

This week I have fasted for two non consecutive days. Both times I got up at 5ish, ate a load of bready food, drank as much water as I could stomach and went back to bed. Both times I drank too much water, meaning I kept having to go the toilet, pissing away all my valuable hydration.

The days seemed to pass in a haze of tiredness. I couldn’t have my morning coffee, and energy levels remained low thanks to a lack of food. I would imagine I was more irritable than usual, especially since the school is full of braying morons. Although I was hungry all day, it was the thirst that was harder to bear, though with both I reached a level, and didn’t really get any worse from there. Fasting is boring, getting things to eat and drink during the day gives you variety and something to do. I also really enjoy eating, not much of a revelation in itself, but when you don’t eat for a day, you really miss it.

Breaking fast is very pleasant, there is a wonderful period of anticipation leading up to the sunset, a spirit of togetherness and solidarity between the fasters, and the first drink (hot sweet tea traditionally) is a delicious relief. 

A trip home

I've just returned to Jakarta after spending a week back in the UK for a wedding. It wasn’t much of a holiday as I spent a lot of time moving around, but it was nice to see family, fill up on some Western food, and also to clarify in my mind some of the things I like and dislike about living in Jakarta.

The most notable thing I liked about being back in the UK was the climate, I was actually able to relax; outside it was warm and fresh, with a lovely breeze, and inside much the same, minus the breeze. I wasn’t always hot, I wasn’t always sweating, and I wasn't forced to scuttle between air conditioned rooms. That said, I’ve been back four days now, and despite the initial discomfort, I am again acclimatised to the vaguely greasy feeling this climate creates.

Using public transport again felt a little strange, as it seems I’ve become used to travelling everywhere by taxi. The buses and trains were much as I remember them: not too crowded, reasonably efficient, and a bit pricey, but having to get myself from the house to said transport become an nuisance, I almost found myself standing outside the house wondering how to proceed without a taxi to pick me up.

If walking to the train station was an irritating chore, strolling around the shops was not, much preferable to dodging lanes of traffic and certainly better than another mall. I was going to write another anonymous mall, but each of Jakarta’s malls does have some sense of identity, at least compared to the ones in the UK.

I had expected miss certain things while I was away; I had not expected to find myself missing aspects of Jakarta, especially since I was only away for week. Specifically, I missed nasi goreng, my lunch time comfort food, and Teh Botol, which I really like, but don’t actually drink all that much of it. More generally I missed the spicy nature of the food, in particular the little fresh tasting green chillies you get with bags of gorengan.

Things I've enjoyed about Jakarta recently:

• I was sitting on the back of an ojek, weaving in and out of traffic, and it was dark and hot. The traffic increased so we came to a stop underneath a flyover; the temperature and humidity increased, it was suffocating, I felt like my body was in a vice; there was graffiti everywhere, cars and bikes were trying to force their way around us, the traffic on the toll road next to us was roaring past, and it occurred to me that I was enjoying the whole experience.

• I had stayed the night in east Jakarta; I wandered out from the air conditioned bedroom onto the roof terrace and early morning light. It was still pleasantly cool, and I could hear the area waking up and coming to life, with the call to prayer being played somewhere in the distance. It was a very pleasant sensation and thoroughly atmospheric.

• Wandering though Jakarta’s night food markets is one of the pleasures of living here. Weaving between all the different stalls, dodging the smoke and steam and smelling what is on offer is wonderful. There are so many different places to eat, they all smell delicious, and there is very relaxed atmosphere. Most of the time someone will have pulled a tarp over the area to keep the rain off, but it keeps the heat in, making it a very noisy and sweaty experience.

• The rain, until you get caught in it. It’s warm, and torrential. Sometimes it builds up slowly, sometimes it all arrives at once, sometimes there will be a single heavy burst lasting less than ten seconds. Recently I got caught in a shower; the raindrops themselves were huge, the size of 10p pieces, but they were widely spaces. Before it intensified, I had the curious experience of standing outside during a rainstorm, watching everything around me getting wet, but because the drops were so widely spaced, I could stand between them and remain dry.

• Playing pool in Jakarta is pretty cool. If the table is in a bar it’s free, if it’s in a pool hall then it’s not very expensive. Either way, the tables and cues are of a decent quality, there is always someone there to rack the balls up for you, and quite often there will be talcum powder for you hands, so the cue runs smoothly while you play.

• I am still getting a kick out of driving (i.e. being driven) around the city at night. I get a little thrill seeing all the bright lights, especially so when I see Monas (the Monument National, a big spire in the centre of the city), which looks very impressive at night. This is surprising, as by day it is one of the least impressive centre pieces for a city you could imagine. Note I said driving around the city by night, not stuck in traffic in the city by night, that is a different thing altogether.

Food update

I have discovered a new type of food, and have been eating it whenever I get the opportunity; it’s called Peranakan or Nonya and is a mix of Malay, Chinese and Indonesian cuisines, and it is delicious. My favourite dish is laksa, a noodley soup that can have coconut milk in, can sometimes be very sour, and is filled with things like chicken, prawns, tofu or egg, depending on where you buy it. It’s always tasty, and comes with a big dollop of sambal floating on top to spice it up. Also available in these restaurants is a nice bread called roti chanai, which is the same as the parathas you can buy in the Indian restaurants in the UK. They're cooked to order and can be stuffed with a variety of fillings, I recently one full of sardines which was wonderful. 

A more traditional Indonesian food I have been eating recently is bakso, the meatball soup / noodle dish. Previously I didn’t really enjoy it, finding them a little bland. I have now discovered that if I mix in loads of kecup manis (sweet soy sauce), saus (a red gloopy sauce of some description) and sambal then it becomes very tasty and addictive. If I do this in front of Indonesians they seem a little confused, and shake their heads in amusement; apparently kecup manis does not belong in bakso.

I have recently bought the Jakarta good food guide. It is full of restaurant reviews from all over the city, of many different cuisines, and from 5 star hotels to 50p a meal kaki limas. It’s very inspiring, and I’m looking forward to working my way through it. One of the places I’ve been to is a western/Japanese food place in flashy South Jakarta. I had a wagyu steak burger. I’d not had wagyu steak before, as it’s freakishly expensive, so thought this would be a good way to try it (burgers = cheaper, Jakarta = cheaper, by UK standards anyway). It was really nice, but I was still slightly underwhelmed considering the fuss that is made about it. Also I ordered it medium rare, which is a mistake for a burger as I couldn’t bite through it; I had to take the burger out of the bun and cut it up with a knife, kind of defeating the object of ordering a burger in the first place.

My cooking of Indonesian food in still decidedly average. My pastes are getting better, or smelling better anyway, and they now have a much better, smoother texture because I’ve bought a big flat Indonesian style pestle and mortar. I think the problem is I am using UHT coconut milk. Next time I cook something I will try to make the coconut milk myself, but it does seem like a massive hassle. I don’t really fancy smashing a coconut open and then grating it, there are just too many ways for that to go wrong. 

Jogjakarta

A few weeks back I had a long weekend, so flew to Jogjakarta for a few days. Jogja, as it is normally known, is a Javanese cultural centre and a good base for exploring the surrounding area. The city itself is much like the other Javanese cities I’ve visited; the big draw is the presence of several temples an hours drive away. Before heading out sightseeing I first had to sample the cities food. Jogjan food is famous for two things; nasi gudeg, and nasi kucing. The former is a very sweet and spicy chicken dish cooked with jack fruit, and the latter translates as cat rice. Since Java is not Sulawesi (where they tuck into delights such as dog, rat and bat), this isn't actually cat with rice, but very small portions that are only enough to feed a cat. There are whole streets in Jogja selling this stuff, where students lounge around chatting and getting their main meal of the day for about 20p. 

While I was there, it was the annual Vesak celebration, a Buddhist festival commemorating the birth, enlightenment and death of Buddha. Monks from all over the region come to the temple of Borobudur for the celebration, which involves a procession to the temple followed by prayers, chanting and meditation. The atmosphere felt quite sacred, as most of those watching seemed to be Buddhist as well, so took the whole thing very seriously. The monks then moved through the crowd sprinkling holy water, and I'm pleased to report that some hit me, so I may well be blessed. The monks would then have walked seven times around the temple, but I didn't get to see this as it had started to rain, so I scuttled off to find somewhere to hide. As interesting as the celebration was, it meant the temple was closed for the duration, so I was unable to climb to the top. Photos of the monks, and a few of the temple here: www.flickr.com/photos/amnewman.

Also in the vicinity of Jogja is the Hindu temple complex Prambanan. They are very beautiful, more so because they are set in some lovely green and well maintained gardens, a distinct rarity in these parts. I could happily have spent the rest of the day chilling out and watching some of the dances troupes in the area, but I had to get back for my flight. 

Many times I've wondered, when I've got out of a car and left the door open, whether anyone would be fool enough to drive into it. I lived in the UK for 32 years without it happening; after five months in Indonesia, and two days in Jogjakarta, it finally has. I got out of my taxi at the airport, and in the time it had taken me to check to see if I had all my belongings, a lorry had driven into the open taxi door and got itself stuck. The driver did seem to be reasonably alert, he noticed my shouts and stopped to allow me to free the door, before driving off leaving me with an irate taxi driver to contend with. 

Attempts at making the local food and drink

So far, so unsuccessful. Not bad, just a little bit bland. I’ve tried cooking a tempe curry, a fish curry, a long bean dish, fried noodles and rice, and some sambal. The sambal was great, really sweet and spicy and very easy to make. The curries have involved making pastes (similar to the stuff that Thai curries use), which have smelled really good, but not translated into a tasty end product. Not sure if the pastes are to blame, or what I do to them afterwards. The fried noodles and rice have been pretty good, but then all I do is fill them full of kecap manis (sweet soy sauce), and that makes anything taste good.

I’ve also tried making juices/smoothies, and, damn it, it isn’t as simple as throwing a load of fruit into a blender. I started by not peeling or deseeding the fruit. That was a mistake, which I knew even as I was doing it; the results were very fibrous and full of ball bearing like pips. Before anyone scoffs too loudly, I only did this with fruit that can sometimes have edible skin, such as guava.

I’ve now taken to peeling and deseeding the fruit, but the results are only marginally better. In search of an answer I took to observing and questioning the local juice makers. The solution is as unsurprising as it is obvious: loads (and loads) of sugar. So much for the natural sweetness of nature’s bounty!

What and where to eat in Jakarta

Rice! And noodles! Either fried, or boiled and eaten with some dishes on the side for flavour. Nasi goreng (fried rice) is a national dish, and my usual lunch.

Some dishes I particularly like, and that are particularly Indonesian are tempe, and gado-gado. Similar to tofu, tempe is made from soy beans. Whereas tofu uses the milk, and has a slightly slimy unpleasant texture, tempe is made from the beans themselves, and has a much more pleasing meatier texture.

Gado-gado is the national salad. A mixture of whatever comes to hand, it normally features beans, tofu and/or tempe, lonton (rice steamed in banana leaves until its solid), bean sprouts, an egg and krupuk (prawn crackers). It is dressed with a spicy peanut sauce. This sort of sauce is found everywhere in Indonesia food; you can have it with fresh fruit (when it is called rujak), or maybe with some deep fried catfish (when it is called pecel lele). A famous example would be sate, marinated meat (chicken or goat usually) grilled on coconut husks and then served with spicy peanut sauce.

Jakarta has an admirable selection of places to eat. They cater for almost any budget, and can be found in almost any location. I would say any budget, but I don’t think our office boys (probably the lowest strata in employment) can afford to eat there too often, instead contenting themselves with IndoMie, the local instant noodles. These are cheap, and despite some far fetched scare stories perpetuated by various  bule about them causing cancer, are actually really nice - several cuts above likes of Supernoodles.

The cheapest food outlets I am referring to are known as Kaki Lima (5 legs). They are one or two person stalls on wheels that get pushed from point to point, selling their wares. They normally consist of a wok, a burner and gas canister, a bit of storage, and probably an umbrella to keep the sun and rain off. The five legs refer to the two legs of the pusher, the two wheels and the stand. They provide quick and cheap meals (from about 40p) of reasonable quality. Each kaki lima only sells one product and sometimes the quality will be better than you find in some restaurants, but I concede this may be due to familiarity and a personal fondness for nasi goring and deep fried tempe.

Kaki limas are found everywhere. If there is an unoccupied pavement space, there will be a kaki lima. If they discover a handily placed block over an otherwise open sewer they will have set up next to it, and the customers will be sitting on the block eating their lunch. Each type of kaki lima makes a distinctive sound, which they sound as they move to attract custom, much like an ice cream vans tune in the uk. Useful you may think, until they decide to sell their bakso (meatball soup) at 6am outside your house. And your house is on a dead end street, so you know that even if you quickly get back to sleep, you are going to be woken up again in 5 minutes.

A step up from the kaki limas are the warungs; essentially the same thing, but a bit bigger and with a fixed location. They sell the same sort of thing, at the same sort of quality, for a slightly higher price.

A step up again are the places selling regional Indonesian food. The main types near me (and throughout Jakarta as far as I can tell) are Javanese (from Java), Padang (from Sumatra) and Sundanese (also from Java). These are apparently entirely separate cuisines, although I currently have difficulty telling them apart. It’s certainly true that the Javanese places don’t sell beef rendang, and are a bit cheaper (rice and 3 different dishes can cost from 50p up to about £1), but at the moment the subtleties are lost on me.

Telling Indonesia people that I like nasi padang has become one of my favourite pastimes; there is sharp intake of breath, a short and loaded silence and then a load exclamation. Their reaction seems to encompass surprise that I have heard of it at all (strange since places selling it are everywhere), surprise that I’ve tried it (they are admittedly funny looking places), surprise that I find it tasty (I can’t understand why, it is really is good), but mostly surprise that I can tolerate the heat. I suppose I’ve acclimatised to the heat of the food now, but nasi padang seems no hotter than any of the other food. That said, I do use the sambal sparingly, as they can be murderously hot.