Satay or Sate? Jakarta or Jogya?

One of my favorite Sate, or Satay as Singaporeans will call it, can be found in this open-air eatery called Pondol Sate Djono Jogya located in a place called Pejompongan, right in the centre of Jakarta. (I wonder why it is called Jogya when it is located in Jakarta?) Although it is open-air, the dining area is actually quite dim, hot and stuffy. It is usually crowded during meal time as it is a favourite amongst the locals. Quite a number of other stalls selling sate have begun to spring up along the same stretch of road but a local told me that this is by far the best and the original one.
This place is renowned for its Sate Kambing (lamb) and interestingly, it is served with a plate of steamed rice and not the usual ketupat (compressed steamed rice wrapped in leaves). The meat is not too thick by comparison to the other Indonesian sate which is usually thick and chuncky. I guess this is so that cooking it is much easier considering the high turnover required given it is a popular warong. Barbequed to perfection outside the shop (see picture on the left), the sweet flavour and tenderness of the lamb sate is simply yummy! The small portion of skewered meat means you can go on and on, stick after stick....... sinful! What is also similar to the Singapore style satay here is that the peanut sauce is served separately quite unlike other Indonesian outlets where they pour the peanut sauce over the sate before serving.
Another very nice side dish that this place serves is the Fried Toufu. It comes with a small plate of dark and thick sweet sauce and some small spicy green raw chilli to go with it. The fried toufu is crispy on the outside and steaming hot on the inside when served. Dipping it into the sweet sauce just adds flavour to the otherwise blend toufu. Simply brilliant!
So if you don't mind sweating it out for some good sate, you should not miss this place.

Pondol Sate DJONO JOGYA Pejompongan
Jl. Penjernihan I No. 5B, Pejompongan,
Jakarta Pusat
Tel : +6221 5701292
Operating Hours : 1100 - 0000hrs (daily)

The Real Taste in Central Java

This afternoon, a business associate of mine brought me to Ungaran, a suburb which is approximately a 45 minutes drive away from Semarang city for lunch. We arrived at this place called Roso Nyoto (meaning, the real taste in Bahasa Indonesia), which apparently is well known for its Kepiting Taoco or Crab cooked with fermented soy bean.
This place is simple in its setting, some may even call it spartan, much like the ubiquitous warungs (simple open-air eateries) which you can find all over Indonesia. Pak Robert and Ibu Ruby ordered the signature dish of Kepiting Taoco plus a side order of Kangkung fried with soy sauce. For drinks, we had the Es Degan Jeruk, which is a very unusual combination of lime juice with coconut pulp. The lime juice is not too sour (I suspect they added some sugar syrup to it) coupled with the young succulent coconut flesh, unique and refreshing indeed! A must try if you happen to come to this place.
The signature dish, Kepiting Taoco, is cooked using local crabs, the size of which is just slightly larger than a human palm instead of those jumbo-sized Sri Lankan type which we get to see a lot of in many a Singapore seafood restaurants. When placing your order, you have to state your preference of either Jantan (Male) or Telur (egg, meaining female) species, which by the way, is the norm in most Indonesia seafood restaurants. The crab is fried with a generous serving of fermented soy bean (taoco) and a little chilli, the small green spicy kind. Surprisingly, this dish is not at all spciy as one would expect, but instead, the taoco gives it a very unique and original taste. Not overwelming but does very well to bring out the sweetness of the crab meat. Finally, I have found a place in Indonesia that serves crab in a uniquely different non-spicy flavour, so unlike the usual black pepper or chilli (or saus padang as they call it in Bahasa). Simply delicious and definitely finger licking good! Oh, by the way, this dish is always served with a plate of steamed rice. Although I would prefer to skip the rice and just dig my fingers into the crab right away.
As for the side dish of Kangkung fried with soy sauce, it was pretty normal and nothing to shout about.
Overall, if you love crabs and don't mind eating in a simple non airconditioned setting, you must not miss this place if you happen to visit Central Java.
Enak Bangngat like they say in Bahasa Indonesia, Very Delicious!
Es Degan Jegun - Rp 8,000
Kepiting Taoco (1 portion of 2 crabs) - Rp 40,000

Roso Nyoto - Kepiting Ungaran
Jl. P. Diponegoro 100, Ungaran, Indonesia
Tel : 024-6922894
Operating Hours : 1130 - 1600hrs (daily)