Long Overdue

It has been 2 months since we returned from Yogya and I can still feel the overloaded calories accumulated from the mere 3 weeks spent there. Despite my attempts at self-control, the food there is just too cheap to resist!! Imagine $0.80 for a cup of Jus Alpukat (the real blended stuff, indo style – avocado, condensed milk, coklat, gula and all). Our dear Fucai loves this roadside version – he has it almost every day! Such an influence is he that all of us have tried it at least once. I still prefer the Cinnamon Cafe version of Hazelnut Alpukat though (at about 3 times the price), and of course the times we spent nongkrong-ing at the numerous cafes.

From restaurants to cafes to warungs, we can’t seem to stop eating. Strangely enough, we technically never ate at the school canteen. (Dhava bought ampela from the canteen once for the resident kucings in Lembaga Bahasa.)

Being in Singapore for too long left me accustomed to the “Healthier Choice” kind of food. Yogya food in contrast was characterised by being overly sweet, salty, and of course, spicy. Some of us (me included) initially went around ordering Teh or Jus “tanpa gula” to prevent the possible onset of diabetes (paranoid!). We kind of got used to the Indo lifestyle as slowly but surely, Teh Manis became one of our must-haves at every meal. 

Reminiscing about the food there, here are just a few notable makanan/minuman we encountered during our stay:

Sugary Goodness

DURIAN MARTABAK – Durian-flavoured prata swimming in condensed milk

SODA GEMBIRA – Soda + Condensed Milk + Syrup + Ice (Almost a recipe for happiness*)

COLA GEMBIRA – Makes Fucai Happy ;)

Recipe for Happiness (*Cola Gembira is a variant of Soda Gembira)

Take it with a Pinch Mountain of Salt

MIE ACEH GORENG – Weirdly seasoned fried noodles yang berair
MIE AYAM – Chicken noodles with Mamee-Monster-like seasoning
MIE REBUS (not the Malay version) – Literally boiled (rebus) instant noodles
PANGSIT - Wanton

Not for the Faint-hearted

SATE KELINCI – Sate = Satay; Kelinci = Rabbit/Hare

Not exactly found in Yogya; we came across this during our excursion, in Kaliurang (i think).

Food We’ll Miss

NASI GURIH – Nasi Lemak  (the rendang sapi one at warung Aceh was good!)

NASI PECEL – Nasi + Sayur + Telur drenched in sweet peanut sauce; served on a plate/banana leaf 

TEMPE GORENG** – Beloved Dhava's favourite
**Trayfuls of tempe are served at almost every warung as a snack. Simply keep track of the number of pieces that you eat and pay for it at the end of the meal. Can you count faster than you eat? – no mean task since Dhava can’t resist good tempe goreng.

NANAMIA PIZZA – Wood-oven-baked slices of pizza that taste way better than they look (At $1 per slice, I could eat this everyday!)

Nanamia Pizzeria

Even at home - Indo home - I was well-fed and treated like a princess, with wholesome breakfast (including additional roti/snack to ta-bao - just like Stacy & Zhi Xin) and 
sumptuous dinner served every day (many thanks to our Ibu & Bapak!). 

Back in Singapore, I'll inevitably compare the food here vs. the food we had in Yogya, complaining how overpriced everything is. "Where have all the street food gone to?" "Where are the warungs?"  

"I want to eat durians in the drain!"  

Well, I guess it is time to tune back to reality. 
How I miss those precious days there - Kapan akan kembali ke Yogya lagi......

-Cindy-