Here 'prosciutto' means salami<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Guess what? I went to Pondok Indah Mall for the
\nfirst time ever. Me, who's been giving you the impression that
\nall I do is jaunt around this fair capital.<\/p>\n
But it's true, I've never ever been to the mall because I
\nwould have to travel through kilometers of Jakarta's beastly
\ntraffic, and mammoth malls leave me... well... \"cold\" isn't
\nexactly the word, but its close.<\/p>\n
I place convenience far above fads and fashion (some of my
\ndearest friends call it laziness) so I go to malls that are
\nlocated on the route I travel most; between home and work. I go
\nto shop, not to see and be seen, so visits are strictly according
\nto need. Anyway, one shopping mall is exactly like another -- be
\nit in Singapore, Indianapolis, Dusseldorf, Jakarta, Jeddah or
\nDunedin.<\/p>\n
Actually, had it not been for an American pal of mine, I would
\nnever have gone to PIM. You see, my pal had just arrived from the
\nwintry climes in America's northwest and needed some wearables
\nsuitable for the tropics. He is structured along rather generous
\nlines and everywhere we went, we couldn't find anything in his
\nsize. That's how we eventually landed in PIM.<\/p>\n
It was on the Saturday following Lebaran and the place was
\nbusting at the seams with every specimen of human, especially
\nharried-looking moms and dads with their entire brood in tow.
\nHarried-looking because their staff hadn't returned from their
\nrespective villages, so there wasn't anyone at home to keep the
\nkitchen fires burning.<\/p>\n
I'm sure the likes of poulet frite a la Kentucky and la vera
\npizza di Pizzahut would have done a roaring trade, what with
\nthose products being regarded as the epitome of western cuisine
\nby middle and upper class Jakartans. The holidays -- that's the
\nreason why PIM seemed on the point of getting indigestion from
\nall those people it had gorged on. I was told, though, that the
\nplace can get just as full during ordinary days, and mostly with
\nnon-shoppers.<\/p>\n
Shopping malls have entertainment value as well, especially
\nfor ngeceng -- that's Jakarta teenage jargon for \"to see and be
\nseen\". There were millions of them around the place. So the pal
\ndidn't get anywhere in the hunt for his XXX-size (Caucasian XXX,
\nthat is). What I found, though, were some English-made socks
\nwhich I'd been searching for, so I stocked up on them. That was
\nonly part of my luck. The rest came when we went into Hero
\nsupermarket for some daily necessities, like milk and bread.<\/p>\n
As I wandered passed the meat counter, I took a double take
\nwhen I saw Italian salami advertised at Rp 4,000-and-a-bit per
\nhundred gram. But that's not why \"mah eyes lit up an' mah heart
\nwent bang\" (thank you, Guy Mitchell).<\/p>\n
You see, the little name-cum-price tag was stuck on a chunk of
\nprosciutto, the kind of ham Italians make and which I could eat
\ntill kingdom come. Well, I've never come across prosciutto priced
\nthat cheap -- Rp 4,000 a slice would be more like it -- and it
\nwas real, too, because besides some words in Italian, the label
\nalso showed the red-white-green of that country's flag.<\/p>\n
I quickly flashed the man behind the counter my most charming
\nsmile: minta salami dua ons, pak (could I have 200 grams of
\nsalami, mister). Not my fault -- is it? -- if some idiot stuck
\nthe wrong tag on the stuff. Either that, or the Hero people don't
\nknow the difference between salami and prosciutto. Shame on you,
\nJak! Ashamed? Of course I was. I cried the entire time I stuffed
\nmy face with prosciutto and melon. Mmmm.<\/p>\n
-- Jak Jaunt<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/here-prosciutto-means-salami-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }