Defence Minister Samples Fried Tofu at Battalion Kitchen to Ensure Troop Meal Quality

Defence Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin sampled soldiers’ food to ensure its quality during a visit to the headquarters of the 941/Singa Perbangsa Territorial Development Battalion (Yon TP) in Karawang, West Java, on Wednesday. The moment occurred when Sjafrie and his entourage of Ministry of Defence and Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI) officials arrived at the Yon TP 941/Singa Perbangsa base at 12.00 WIB. After being welcomed by 500 soldiers at the battalion, Sjafrie immediately took the time to inspect all the base’s facilities, from the soldiers’ quarters and the agricultural produce managed by the battalion to the personnel’s kitchen. While visiting the kitchen, Sjafrie, accompanied by the head cook, tasted the fried tofu prepared there. As he sampled the tofu, he appeared to give instructions to the head cook beside him. Sjafrie also pointed to several other dishes that had been served, including fried chicken, vegetables, fried tempeh, and white rice. Still holding a half-eaten piece of tofu in his right hand, Sjafrie and his entourage moved to the rear of the kitchen. He again inspected the food preparation process, from frying and portioning the side dishes to cleaning the mess tins. However, Sjafrie’s conversation with the kitchen staff was largely inaudible due to the noisy kitchen environment. After inspecting all the kitchen facilities, Sjafrie proceeded to the main hall to have lunch together with all the soldiers. The meal shared by Sjafrie and the troops consisted of rice, fried chicken, fried tofu, fried tempeh, vegetables, sambal, and bananas.