Chewing on the principle of living to eat, not eating to live
The holy month of Ramadhan is coming, and for a whole month Muslims restrain from, among other things, eating from sunrise to sunset. So, before we have to say goodbye to temptation, I dedicate this column to food glorious food.
When it comes to food, I am guilty of gluttony. Food reviews are the first thing I read in every publication. To my doctor's horror, I eat the chunks of fat given to grease the grills at Hanamasa.
I once took it for granted that everybody has a neverending love affair with food. I got my wake up call during a junior high arts and crafts class. I received a lowly 6, on a scale of 1 to 10, for a project because of my declaration of love for food.
It was a colorful wall decoration which had four different types of food lovingly sawed from a sheet of wood. But the highlight of the piece was a twist of an old, local proverb: instead of "makan untuk hidup" (eat to live), I put in "hidup untuk makan" (live to eat).
When I asked the teacher why I only got a 6, he said I misquoted the proverb. I told him I did it on purpose. He more or less told me I still deserved the 6 and to get my priorities straighten out. Luckily, my arts and crafts teacher is one of the few people I've met who view food strictly as a form of survival, not enjoyment.
These days, along with accumulating wealth, eating out is practically a national sport. Although when it comes to food Jakarta is not as cosmopolitan as I would like it to be, it has its share of interesting offerings. Fusion, the ubiquitous Chinese, Italian, Greek, Middle Eastern, Mexican, Dutch, Indian, Japanese, French, Spanish, currently trendy Vietnamese and exciting local fare.
Usually, the quality of dishes from unpopular regions is poor. Price is not always a good indication on the quality of grub served. My friend and I had to pay an appalling sum of Rp 150,000 for several pieces of unimpressive chocolate. On the other hand, I have had the pleasure of blowing roughly Rp 200,000 for the most tasty, succulent lamb Provencal.
My perennial favorites are hot dogs from Gelael, Coupe de Maison from Ragusa, a bowl of steaming soto mie (chicken broth and noodles) from the street vendor opposite YPK hospital, as well as the fondly remembered roast beef from the now defunct Toba Rotisserie.
Every month, another restaurant or cafe du jour opens. The decor is swanky, and the menu is usually uninventive, comprising the usual suspects: spaghetti bolognaise, oxtail soup, fried rice, black pepper beef, beef teriyaki, same old, same old.
But if you're patient, have the money to spare, you're likely to find some gems in the sea of trendy restaurants. Not to mention the help of fellow foodies from the numerous food mailing lists, eager to spread the good food gospel.
These mailing lists are bursting with food enthusiasts (one even boasts 2,400 members), and aside from food reviews and recipes, they do regular culinary tours for a relatively small fee. They are one-of-a-kind tours, visiting organic farms, cooking demos, etc. Heaven!
One even managed to realize a food event that attracted literally hundreds of people, even out of towners. Although the event was a disappointment for me and a lot of people (there was no food to speak of, most was gone in mere hours of opening), it was good to know that there are people out there who think up events like this. Hopefully they will do another one in a more organized fashion.
An interesting proposition drawn out by a founder of one of the lists caught my attention. He thinks that the wealth of the Indonesian culinary world can be packaged in an attractive way as the ultimate tourist attraction. Culinary tour for the masses? Love it!
A lot of people will surely benefit from it. Sadly this idea fell on deaf ears at the tourism ministry. Maybe the new government will do something about it. In the meantime, while I can, I'm going to tuck in to a fat, juicy beef rib marinated in fresh local herbs and grilled to perfection over charcoal. Bon appetit!
-- Krabbe K. Piting