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Post by hwinpp on Nov 2, 2010 5:07:09 GMT
Ok, here are the final bits and pieces. Last day of the show. It was very, very quiet in Medan, compared to Jakarta and Bandung. Ok, I've never mentioned lunch. Because it was usually at the hotel, buffet style, pretty average. Here's the tom yam soup, made of maggi cubes... Fried noodles Steamed fish Veggies, kai lan (broccoli) to be precise Do your own salad Black pepper chicken Desserts Fruit punch? And free flow Heineken, as was the case at all show days from noon onwards Medan at night This surprised me... a Catholic school in what is supposed to be a very Muslim part of Indonesia Last great nasi padang, I concentrated on the sea foody stuff this time Mutton and buffalo skin curry, amok (different name in Indonesia but clearly amok), fried fish in the middle Chicken curries on the left, curried clams in the middle, beef rendang top right, this time I even got a dessert, chc pudding How to eat the buffalo skin curry, add the crispy fried crackle to the curry, eat with spicy pineapple salad The amok in detail, less coconut, more veggies Dessert Travel day, 9th in total. Early morning breakfast Drive to the airport. Many people told me Medan has become a shithole. Didn't get that impression at all. Relatively flat with no skyscrapers, very green, nice quiet neighbourhoods around the main business district, lots of shops, a couple of biggish malls. I liked it. The obligatory stop over in KL as there aren't any direct flights between Indonesia and Cambodia... And just before touching down in Phnom Penh!
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Post by bixaorellana on Nov 4, 2010 23:09:45 GMT
That hotel buffet has traveled around the world, hasn't it? Only the black pepper chicken looked worth trying. I would kill for some of that buffalo skin curry! Great report, HW. Medan does look pleasant. That's a great shot of touching down at PP.
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Post by hwinpp on Nov 5, 2010 2:09:43 GMT
Hotel buffets all seem the same everywhere, don't they?
I usually didn't even have lunch, because I was worried about the dinners!
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Post by hwinpp on Nov 5, 2010 3:05:38 GMT
Ok, these will be the absolute last ones... Some random pics I must have thought were interesting: Dilarang means forbid/ prohibit, so what's the whole first sentence mean ;D This was nice, the krupuk was used to scoop up the peanutty beef Same dish, different restaurant, I had to try it again Indonesian way of serving satay, it's paid by the stick Butterfly gourami, everything is eaten except the head And a raw, savoury salad called rujak
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Post by bixaorellana on Nov 5, 2010 4:55:46 GMT
"It's forbidden to park a tuk-tuk here" ~~ ?
Hey, you never answered my question about Mount Merapi.
Pretty food!
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Post by Deleted on Nov 5, 2010 6:11:08 GMT
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Post by bixaorellana on Nov 5, 2010 6:45:18 GMT
Incredible video! I didn't realize that was the name of the volcano erupting in Indonesia.
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Post by hwinpp on Nov 5, 2010 7:22:16 GMT
Ha, ha, tuktuk was not a bad guess. It means forbid (dilarang) park (parkir) on/ at (di) sidewalk/ pavement (trotoar). Followed by the relevant laws (with dates) and the fine (250k rupiahs, 31USD). According to the news scientists are still waiting for the big one A couple of other volcanos are also acting up, including anak krakatao, the child of Krakatoa.
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Post by tod2 on Nov 5, 2010 12:20:33 GMT
Hwinpp - Those food photos were a real eye-opener for me! Of course most dishes very unfamiliar so I want to ask you about buffalo skin curry- do you mean to say that actual buffalo hide/skin is eaten? Or is that just a strange name for some other meat or vegetable Can you please excuse the question if it seems slightly ignorant....I know cow hide makes shoes, car seats, handbags etc., but we don't eat it I was pleased though, to see I know and have eaten satay many many times in Singapore and also bought by the stick - but smaller portions than what I see in your photo. I also know what krupuk is and have cooked /fried it here at home. I found I like smaller 'shrimp chips' better. Krupuk was much harder. Heck, maybe I did it wrong My next recognition was Beef Rendang which I have made once only - it did not look quite the same as the very dark portion in the dish. I bought Tom Yam soup in a packet when I was grabbing stuff to bring home - still have to get to making it. Can you tell me about that brightly decorated plane on the apron at the airport? Is it a local airline? Thanks hwinpp - I will end by saying I also make Hainanese Chicken rice taught to me by a lady from Singapore, but she lived right here in Pietermaritzburg and ran cooking classes!
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Post by Deleted on Nov 5, 2010 17:07:48 GMT
One thing that upsets me about the food pictures is that the first time I went to Indonesia, the food was absolutely fantastic and I couldn't get enough of it. So I was very much looking forward to it on my second trip, which I did not cancel in spite of the Bali bombings a few weeks earlier. The food in Jakarta was still good, but the food in tourist cities like Yogyakarta, Malang and Bali was pretty terrible. It wasn't fresh and seemed to have been waiting to be cooked for too long. But considering the fact that the restaurants were all completely empty, my friend Emmanuelle and I could not begrudge the restaurants at all. They were so happy to see us, but they just could no longer afford to offer better items.
It was all redeemed one night in Bali when we gave up on Indonesian fare, and we had the best tex-mex meal that I have ever eaten in my life, with an Australian wine that I still dream of finding again one day.
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Post by hwinpp on Nov 6, 2010 3:09:45 GMT
Hwinpp - Those food photos were a real eye-opener for me! Of course most dishes very unfamiliar so I want to ask you about buffalo skin curry- do you mean to say that actual buffalo hide/skin is eaten? Or is that just a strange name for some other meat or vegetable Can you please excuse the question if it seems slightly ignorant....I know cow hide makes shoes, car seats, handbags etc., but we don't eat it I actually mean buffalo skin, it is cooked a long time of course but then is perfectly eatable. But there is something strange about buffalo skin that might or might not distinguish it from cattle skin, I don't know because I've never had cattle skin. In Laos you can buy these little yellowish sticks, an inch accross, half an inch thick and maybe 6 inches long, at most any shop. These are a very popular snack and are dried buffalo skin! When I first had them I told my friends it would be impossible to eat but whaddya know, they turned out to be quite tasty but surprisingly easy to chew. The pieces are shaved and then just thrown into a fire for some time. After that the charred parts are scraped off, then the piece is hammered with a stone and then it becomes eatable. I was pleased though, to see I know and have eaten satay many many times in Singapore and also bought by the stick - but smaller portions than what I see in your photo. I also know what krupuk is and have cooked /fried it here at home. I found I like smaller 'shrimp chips' better. Krupuk was much harder. Heck, maybe I did it wrong My next recognition was Beef Rendang which I have made once only - it did not look quite the same as the very dark portion in the dish. Agree, rendang in Singapore (and Malaysia) isn't as black. It's also cooked longer (making it more tender) and it's got a more complex taste than in Indonesia because they use more spices& herbs, one important one being lemon grass. I bought Tom Yam soup in a packet when I was grabbing stuff to bring home - still have to get to making it. Nothing wrong with that. I used to do it that way too, until my girlfriend told me how simple it was to make it with fresh ingredients ;D I will ask her to make sure, it's very easy and I'm sure you can get all the main stuff in Seth Efrica. Can you tell me about that brightly decorated plane on the apron at the airport? Is it a local airline? Yes, it's an Air Asia plane. They repaint their planes frequently for special promotions. Right now there's also one in black, promoting the San Francisco Raiders American football team (I think). Thanks hwinpp - I will end by saying I also make Hainanese Chicken rice taught to me by a lady from Singapore, but she lived right here in Pietermaritzburg and ran cooking classes! Hmm, that is one of the all- time favourite Chinese dish. Glad you call it Hainanese chicken rice and not Singapore Hainanese chicken rice I make it too. The secret is in the rice IMO, you need a strong stock to give it flavour. Also I drizzle some sesame oil over the chicken just after it's come out of the pot and is still warm.
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Post by ilbonit0 on Nov 8, 2010 11:57:59 GMT
hwinpp - since you mentioned that you had heard medan was a "shithole" I'll post you this link that recently appeared in an Australian newspaper, succintly titled "Medan, I hate you". Interesting that you didn't find it nearly so bad as its reputation suggests! www.smh.com.au/travel/worst-city-ever-20100719-10hkz.html
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Post by hwinpp on Nov 10, 2010 3:30:03 GMT
I don't know if the author of that article is being sarcastic and saying the opposite of what actually happened to him/ he experienced on each and every count or whether there are two Medans in Central Sumatra, Ilbonito. Since he lives in Jakarta one could assume he speaks a bit of the language and would know how to ask for directions. It would be too much to analyze each of his sentences here, but to tel you the truth, I doubt his mind could be changed short of making him accompany someone to Medan a second time... The comments below the main article say it all. Give it a shot if you have the chance
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Post by Deleted on Nov 10, 2010 12:29:25 GMT
Some the food I don't even recognize, hw.
What about the scales?
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Post by hwinpp on Nov 11, 2010 8:42:49 GMT
Scales included. Even the backbone. It's all crunchy ;D
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Post by Deleted on Nov 15, 2010 0:32:20 GMT
No way! Really? How do they manage not to choke on it.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 15, 2010 23:23:32 GMT
Just kidding of course! ;D
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Post by trotter on Sept 7, 2011 23:27:46 GMT
The sign says: No parking at this "trotoar" meant for foot-pedestrians only... followed with the stipulated traffic law under section so-and-so, para so-and-so... with a fine of Rupiah 250,000. But why "trotoar"? Is "trotoar" a made-up word in West Sumatra by the local authorities who had visited France and walked on the French 'trottoir'? I doubt the North Sumatrans (Aceh) or the South Sumatrans (Padang) will use "trotoar"; nor will the Javanese on the Java island. <scratching my head>
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Post by hwinpp on Sept 8, 2011 2:30:05 GMT
Quite possible, Trotter.
But I think it's probably from Dutch. Who got it from the French. Even the Germans say Trottoir.
Are you in Medan? I'll be there again mid October, it's been a year already!
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Post by trotter on Sept 8, 2011 10:20:56 GMT
I'm a Canadian of Asian root. Been reading this site for some time. Great stuff and great posters here.
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