Soerobojo: CITY OF culinary HEROES :D

I spent 6 days in Surabaya. This town has a great culinary sensation. Here are some of them:

Kepiting Cak Gundul (Jl. Raya Kupang Indah)
I had the crab served in our dining room as a take-home meal. The chef always serve it in pieces, so we could enjoy it easily. The taste is combination of sour tomato sauce, sweet oyster sauce, and spicy pepper + garlic, so it’s hot and tangy. Don’t forget to lick your fingers, I bet you won’t let go the last sauce .

Tahu Tek H. Ali (Jl. Dinoyo)
This is a special nutritious meal from East Java. It contains sliced tahu, lontong (rice ‘compound’), potato, egg, calery, taoge (bean sprouts), and shrimp crackers. So what’s special…? It’s the AMAZING sauce! All of those ingredients are dressed with dark brown sauce that made from petis, peppers, and peanuts. Petis is special seasoning from east Java. It’s made from shrimp and brown sugar or salt (depends on the preffered taste, sweet or salty). Most of East Java’s traditional foods contain petis, but tahu tek contains petis more than another traditional food. One is never enough!

Pecel Pincuk Hj. Aisyah (Jl. Raya Jemursari)
It looks like the ordinary pecel, but what made it different are it’s GREAT taste and the pincuk. Pincuk is clipped banana leaf, used as platter for pecel. In Surabaya, pecel is incomplete without rempeyek. So once we order pecel, we’ll get green vegetables and other side-dishes, spicy peanut sauce, and crispy rempeyek. This is what we called ‘Indonesian Salad’. If you choose the hot sauce (with more chili), make sure you also get the JUMBO iced drink to cure your burnt tongue.

Martabak “Holland” (Margorejo)
Look, hear, and taste! That’s a complete sensation of culinary experience in this martabak booth. We could see the chef’s magic hands quickly mixing all the ingredients, hear the frying process and ‘fighting’ between spoon and spade, then taste it right after it sliced. What made this martabak is so in a great amout of demand is it’s thickness that means more meats and eggs. You’re not gonna share this one .

Gado-gado Arjuno (Jl. Arjuno)
This is another ordinary food that has an EXTRAORDINARY taste. I underestimated it as an ordinary gado-gado just before I tasted it. Slightly it’s the same like anywhere’s gado-gado, but if you taste the sauce deeper, you’ll find the different. The sauce is not only made from peanut. It also contains coconutmilk and brown sugar that make the sauce tastes more ‘creamy’ than the ordinary one. Gado-gado Arjuno is one of the most popular booth in Surabaya. Make sure it’s included in your lunch list.

Those above are just some of culinary sensation we can get in Surabaya. Sometimes we have to pay more, but it’s really OK for a great taste, right?

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