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| The Old Ampera Bridge in Palembang |
Palembang, on the island of Sumatra, is my father-in-law's home province. Originally he was born in one of the villages upstream. When he was a school boy he would walk through the jungle with his brothers to get to school. Sometimes they would encounter the Sumatran tigers and crocodiles. Imagine going to school like this every day!
What I really wanted to write about is the food. The one food that Palembang is well-known for is pempek. Everyone has their own special recipe but the great tasting one has a strong fish flavour (if it's not fishy then they're skimping).
If I had to describe what pempek is to a non-Indoensian then I'd say they are a superior type of fish ball and very delicious. It's so delicious that at the airport leaving Palembang, you'll see almost everyone carrying boxes of pempek to take back home. We were among them. (We took this box back to Jakarta).
If I had to describe what pempek is to a non-Indoensian then I'd say they are a superior type of fish ball and very delicious. It's so delicious that at the airport leaving Palembang, you'll see almost everyone carrying boxes of pempek to take back home. We were among them. (We took this box back to Jakarta).
When in Palembang you must try all the local specialty food. You probably will never get to try them any where else again since each is a closely guarded secret.
Take this dish, for example, it's called mi celor.
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| Mi Celor |
There are only two shops serving this and this is the only thing they sell. The recipe would have been handed-down through the generations only to family members because even the workers don't know, they only serve it up.
In Indonesia, the food stalls have a stand in the front of the shop where they serve the dish from. I got curious. I saw the pot opened and wanted to have a peek inside to see what they put in the soup/sauce. The serving guy wasn't at the stand so I thought here's my chance. I was almost there with my head almost over the pot when I was intercepted by one of the workers as he quickly put the lid back on. Drats.
Oh well, at least I can still enjoy fresh green coconuts every day any where in Indonesia. Thank God there's no big secret in that.
P.S. I couldn't resist posting this pic. Just look at the size of those prawns!
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