Soto Bandung

onSoto Bandung is another traditional Sundanese dish worth savouring. Just like Lotek has a Javanse cousin called Gado Gado , Soto Bandung is related to the more widespread Soto Ayam (chicken soup). As opposed to soto ayam which uses chicken, soto bandung uses beef and santen (coconut paste).

Soto Bandung consists of a powerful clear broth, filled with beef strips, peanuts and slices of a white carrot named ‘lobak'. It is usually spiced up to flaming levels with a green sambal (chili paste) but that is only advisable if your tolerance for pedas (spicy) is off the charts.

Soto Bandung has a powerful aroma that instantly gives you energy and warms you up. This would be a great dish for cold rainy days (which by the way are plentiful in Bandung ) when you find yourself sneezing and snottering. Unfortunately it is not too common to find Soto Bandung these days.

Instant noodles are obviously far more practical and fast to make but the difference in taste can't be ignored. Fresh spices such as ginger, sereh (lemongrass) and salam leaf definitely beats the artificial MSG flavourings that come with instant noodles nowadays. So if you are lucky enough to spot a soto bandung stand, take your chance and taste soup like your Indonesian grandma would make.

source : www.streetdirectory.com

Es Campur

Es campur literally means ‘mixed ice' and although you may expect an ice cream cone or a sorbet, the ice in this sweet little dish stands for ice cubes. The ice cubes float in a mangkok (bowl) filled with milk, coconut shavings, avocado, nangka (jackfruit) and several kinds of jelly.

Indonesians seem to have a thing for jelly. With Es Campur, you have the chance to taste three kinds of jelly at the same time. First of, there are little cubes of cing-cau jelly made from the cing-cau leaf. Next there’s sekotang which are little pink balls made of tapioca. Finally there is the cengakeleng which is made of coconut.

They all differ in taste and texture but share the ever present sweetness factor. Es Campur is a very colourful dessert with the green of the avocado and the pink and black of the jelly. As far as taste is concerned, it is probably a tad on the sweet side for the average Westerner. Still, the Sundanese prove to be masters in combining different tastes turn out to fit together. Es Campur can be found in most food courts located in malls or in traditional Sundanese warungs. Make sure the milk that is used is fresh and the ice cubes are made of purified water which in this day and age is almost always the case. Expect to pay about Rp.5000 for a large bowl of jelly filled sweetness

source by www.streetdirectory.com