Sala Lauak & Pragede Jaguang : Snacking in Padang

We all have our own little 'guilty pleasure' kind of dish. Ignasius Chan (owner of Iggy's Singapore) secret late night indulgent is Ma-Ling canned processed meat. I myself when in doubt, I usually go for Fiesta's Fried Karaage. They are just so good that it keeps you wanting more, and it somehow possess this ability to make you crave after departing from them for a while.

I guess it is what Perkedel Jagung for Dina of Dua Ransel. I could see her eyes glow upon seeing this on the street side of Pasar Atas, Padang. We were around the area of Jam Gadang, and decided to take our own stroll inside the famous market when we met this gerobak parked among the lines delman. 

I was curious with the name, googled it and turns out it is one of the local's specialty. Sala Lauak is said to be part of Pariaman culinary. Another coastal city 50km north of Padang. Sala means fried, while Lauak means fish. When tasted it does has the aroma of salted fish, but not of the flavor, a bit soft but still harder than a perkedel. I reckon it has been modified from the original recipe in Pariaman. 

If I had to choose though, I'd have more of Pragede Jaguang. It was sweet with a strong dominance of corn all over. Crunchy without forgoing the texture of the corn. I imagine dipping it in a homemade sauce or chili, it would be just perfect. 

What's funny around this area is that it is so populated with people and tourist but they seem to be less interested with the history. Upin and Ipin made appearance here along with Sonic The Hedgehog and Mario Bros. Just as with many tourist spot, it has become more of a money-making venture than an attempt to preserve the story. What do they have to do with Jam Gadang? I haven't got a clue. Well, I'm happy at least we could still trace some of the story from the food. 

More Padang & Bukittinggi stories coming. But before that, I'll be leaving for another two weeks trip. I won't be able to write much without my gears. But I make sure I'll come back with heaps of stories and pictures. =)

Keep in touch with my live tweets @Wanderbites as I travel & scour on good food. I won't spill where I'm heading. Stay tuned! 

Bika Talago Bukittinggi : Heartwarming Delicacy

Remember that cooking video with the Supercook Bara Pattiradjawane?

Did you catch my tweets when I was in Padang last month? 

Now can you connect the dots? 

Well, let me spell it out for ya then. Yes, we won the writing contest by Indomie on their #AsliCabeIjo event. By we, I mean me and the always cheerful Dina from Dua Ransel. The prize was a three days trip to Padang and Bukittinggi. I've never been to both city, so you can imagine the kind of excitement that I had. There's so much to share, but I guess I'm gonna start with the one that speak to me the most. 

There's a saying that goes: "Often, its the littlest thing that left the biggest mark in your heart." It's exactly the case with Bika Talago. The gem is hidden in a small house off the road, halfway from Padang Panjang to Bukittinggi. Colored in orange, it is as if it's trying to scream out of the ordinary line of local houses and attract passersby to take a visit. They did it I suppose, now that we're here. 

We were lucky that they just started to bake the Bika when we arrived. Dina quickly whip out her camera out of the bag and by peer-pressure I took out mine and start click-clacking the shutter. 

The way Bika cooked is a story of its own. Take a look at the clay pot here. Raw bika is put in the lower clay and then closed with another clay pot on top of it. Big chunk of wood charcoal and hot fire inside. In about 10 minutes or so, the raw Bika would start to warm up and ready to be served. 

While munching them, I knew the universe were conspiring to make us happy by sending us the rain. It just made them twice as tasty. Warm food in a cold weather, it just doesn't get any better than that. I personally love the brown sugar more than the white sugar flavor. It has a strong banana aroma and a very coconutty flavor on the tongue. The fact that it was heated in a closed clay might be the reason why it absorb and in itself disburse such an appetizing smell. Sweet and savory tender loving.

The only regret that day was buying only one four pieces of them. Two of each was definitely not enough for me and Dina. Just as it led us to Bika, I guess the universe also purposefully let us took only a quick teaser, so that we'll crave for more and come back in the future. Well, I hope it happens soon!

Stay tuned for more Padang bites!

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Bika Talago 
Jl. Padang Panjang - Bukittinggi Km. 10
Sumatra Barat

Tokyo Banana & Macha Mochi - Japanese Souvenirs

What a joy to find a pack of Tokyo Banana at home just when I was expecting nothing. That's the beauty of zero expectation I suppose, whatever comes your way simply surprise you in a beautiful serendipitous way. Just as life ... or relationship ... *ehm* alright let's not get carried away.
 
Back to Tokyo Banana (東京ばな奈) and Macha Mochi, I'll take you through as I unbox, and see how gloriously packaged these stuffs are. I personally think the idea behind Tokyo Banana is fascinating because:

1. It's not an actual banana
It's just yellow sponge cake in a banana form, filled with banana flavored cream.

2. Putting 'Tokyo' in the name is brilliant marketing.It kinda position itself as the must-have souvenirs if you're visiting Japan. It also conveniently give tourist a boasting right when they return to their countries. Yes, you don't have to mention it, anyone receiving this will know you've just come back from one of the top travel destination in Asia. Now you can put off those smirk in your face. Haha.



Each of these bananas are wrapped in singles then put in a well designed box which then layered with a colorful attractive wrappings. This is definitely an eyecandy. Priced at 1500 yen (approximately 170k Rupiah) for a box of twelve, it is indeed a relatively convenient presents and considerably affordable.

As for the taste, for a piece of snack I love it, plus who doesn't like a present? I think its an ideal snacking device. Knowing the artificiality behind it, it is kind of a turn off, but knowing how they carefully crafted a product such a way simply to represent banana is a turn on. So I'm in between. Then again, anything sweet entertains my tastebud. On the other hand, the mochi felt more real in a way and quite satisfying with the texture play of gooey soft mochi, sweet filling, and powdery matcha.









While we're on this topic, I tweeted about this some time ago. If Bogor is well known for its asinan, thus named as Asinan Bogor. Gresik for its Nasi Krawu. Bandung for Kartika Sari. Balikpapan for Kuku Macan. Garut for Dodol. Semarang for Wingko. Then what it is for Jakarta? Can anyone enlight me?

I find it suprisingly hard to find souvenirs for my overseas clients whenever they come to Jakarta or whenever I'm visiting them abroad. So far I've given out Mangoes. Yes, Singaporeans don't have our kind of Harum Manis Mangoes. I've given out Cimory bakpau susu. I've given out Batik. I once carried freshly fried ayam goreng from Medan Baru. But what is that one thing that says "Jakarta"? I think there's a lesson we could learn from Tokyo Banana and there's a business opportunity here.

Anyone care to venture this? Let me know.

Meanwhile, Xin Nian Khuai Le everyone! Welcome the year of Dragon! Have lotsa angpau!

Thanks to Jeanice at http://jeje-ang.blogspot.com for carrying this all the way from Japan. You rock, cuz!

Cheers,

Fellexandro Ruby
Food Conversationalist / Photographer / Entrepreneur

Munch on my tweets @Wanderbites