One of Minahasa cuisine is chicken bamboo. Appropriate with its name, chicken meat was cooking in bamboo and roasted. Chicken bamboo made from chopped chicken meat. The chopped sizes depend on chicken size, usually 18 – 20 pieces. Chopped meat washed and mixed with spices, such as ¼ kg of small chili (Capsicum frutescens L.) and big red chili, 5% of small chili quantities.Others spices/condiment are ½ kg of ginger, turmeric (finger size) to give color to food, ¼ kg of lemongrass, and 2 kg of onion leaves to give sweet taste and become others spices balancing, so we do not need MSG anymore. Pandanus leaves, basil leaves, lime leaves, and turmeric leaves gave aromatic sense to this cuisine.
After wrapped with condiment, chopped chicken sautéing in high temperature in wide-mouthed clay pot until half cooked. This proceeds made chopped chicken really ripe.
Then chopped chicken put in bamboo (space between joints), closed with banana leaves. Bamboo which used was special bamboo, called tali bamboo with green color.
After that the bamboo roasted on fire from wood and coconut fiber at 50 cm distance, so that bamboo had not burned and chicken inside had not burnt. Every five minutes, bamboo had to turned so that all of chopped chicken ripe. This cuisine process took time about 4 hours, begun with condiment preparedness until cuisine ready for served.
Cooking in bamboo have several advantage, such as the taste more delicious, and the meat more tender.
Beside in its source area, you’ll find this exotic cuisine in Jakarta, in restaurants or food stall which served Manado/Minahasa cuisine.
Source : Kompas, written by Pingkan Elita Dundu & Frans Sartono, edited and translated by reog.

The city of Surabaya, become central of East Java traditional food, because we can find a lot of kind region food which become Surabaya food. For example, Sate madura (Madura satay), Soto madura (Madura soto), tahu campur lamongan (Lamongan mixed soybeans curd/tofu), and Nasi krawu gresik (Gresik krawu rice).

Central food industry, like smoke banding fish, kerupuk (chips made of flour flavored with fish or shrimp), terasi (condiment made from pounded and fermented shrimp or small fish; usually in compact shape), as well as petis (condiment of the fermented fish or shrimp; usually in fluid shape).Nowadays, Surabaya food had spreader to other cities, especially Jakarta. If the tripper arrive into Surabaya, usually they are looking for Rujak cingur (vegetables or fruit salad with slices of beef snout). The taste of rujak cingur between Surabaya and another r city could be different, cause the level of quality. The people whom do not know rujak cingur before, usually unwilling to eat this food, because of its black colored performance.

Beside rujak cingur, petis is also people’s look for. The taste of petis is delight in tongue of Japanese people.

One of favorite food in Surabaya is Ote-ote porong. They, whom have known ote-ote porong, usually come to Porong, and brought ote-ote porong for gift. Unfortunately, we can go to Porong, because right know Porong sink because of mud which a result of Lapindo drilling.

Formerly, Surabaya becomes famous cause of bolang-baling bread. But nowadays, that food is no more seems. But in Jakarta, nowadays, you’ll find a kind of bolang-baling bread which sells with cakwe and sauce. Bubur madura or Madura porridge which contains various kind of porridge and serves in pincuk (a folded-over banana leaf used as a container for portions of food) infrequently seems anymore.

Source: KOMPAS, written by Ny. Tuti Soenardi, edited and translated by reog.

Traditional food culinary in Manado and Minahasa is very specific. Beside full of spices, the cooking process and method are unique, such as burn food in the soil, use bamboo (put in raw food in bamboo and then cook it), cooking on dodika (traditional stove) using earthen cooking pot.
The cooking process and method above still become behavior some people in villages. Citizen in Manado and Minahasa usually use Bamboo cooking method in ceremony party and special day.Chicken bamboo only one from several variations of menus with bamboo cooking method. Other menus, such as posana, pig/chicken leilem vegetables, pig/chicken popaya vegetables, saut vegetables (from young banana stem), and pig/chicken pangi vegetables or keluak leaf (keluak is the fruit of the kepayang tree used as a spice). Also nasi jaha cake and lemang snack.
Usually, the main spices are rawit chili, ginger, garlic, red onion, onion leaf, lemongrass, lime leaf, basil leaf, and turmeric as coloring item for food and to loss rancid smell of meat.
Source of the articles Kompas, written by PIN, edited and translated by reog.

Lumpia is a food which made from mince rebung (a bamboo bud), wrapper with skin from egg and flour batter.
Lumpia born in Hindia Belanda phase (Dutch colonialization). Until now, lumpia become food souvenir from Semarang. In fact, Semarang known as lumpia city, because a lot of lumpia seller.
Lumpia prize is different at one seller to another seller. Gang Lombok lumpia, owner by Siem Swie Kiem, sell lumpia at Rp. 6.000,- (USD 0, 6) per item (fried/raw). Food stall at Pemuda Street, owner by Mbak Lien, sell lumpia Rp. 5.500,-(USD 0,5) per item, while another seller sell lumpia at Rp. 2.500,- per item. They could find anywhere in Semarang area, such as M.T. Haryono Street, Pandanaran Street, and others street. So, how to pick a delicious and original lumpia if there are a ot of seller?
This lumpia’s history can be considered thing when decide to buy lumpia :
In Semarang, right now, there are five branch of cooking ‘method’ with a different taste sensation. First, Gang Lombok (Siem Swie Kiem) method, Second, Pemuda Street (Siem Swie Hie) method, and third mataram Street (Siem Hwa Nio) method. The third method come from one family of Siem Gwan Sing–Tjoa Po Nio, which appear a son in law and daughter or Tjoa Thay Yoe–Wasih, a creator of lumpia.
Fourth method is from ex-employee at Pemuda Street method, and the last method is come from people who have culinary hobby. They create lumpia recipe with lumpia which already exist.
The extraordinary thing of Gang Lombok method is the lumpia is not smell (the batter of bamboo bud is not smell), and egg and shrimp do not putrid taste. You can find this lumpia at Gang Lombok 11 ( Lombok Small Street No. 11).
The special lumpia of Pemuda Street method is the batter of bamboo bud added a kampong chicken meat and shrimp. You can find in Pemuda Street and Pandanaran Street.
Lumpia Mataram street method could be found at Mataram Street (MT Haryono Street), beside could be found in another place in Semarang. You also find in Jakarta.
Beside a family lumpia creator generation which make and sell lumpi, there some people that also make and sell lumpia. They are usually ex-employee of the three food stall above, or culinary hobbies.
So, now you can decide which lumpia that you prefer to buy. Enjoy Semarang city as your trip destination in Indonesia, don’t forget to buy lumpia.
Source: KOMPAS, written by SN Wargatjie, Dari Gang Lombok Menyebar ke Mana-mana.Translated and edited by reog.

Sipirok Food Stall is take place on Sunggal Street, Medan, North Sumatra, Indonesia. The food stall’s main menus are buffalo ribs soup, roasted meat, and sambal tiny sea fish.
Roasted meat is cow meat in cube shape which roasted, then steamed, eaten with sauce in sour sambal form. In order to get soft meat, the meat which roasted only meat between cows hip and thigh. Sour sambal is also uniquely sauce from Sipirok, made from raw red chili which refined and mixed with lime and onion slices.
Others menu are buffalo marrow soup, hot-sour goldfish, sale fish curry, and sambal pati. All that menus served with several kinds of uniquely vegetables from Sipirok, like papaya flower, sweet potato leaf, and boiled sweet potato leaf. Sipirok is plateau at South Tapanuli.If you don’t like ribs soup, you can order sale fish curry or goldfish hot-sour. Sipirok which take a place in the middle of South Tapanuli and North Tapanuli seems divine to have culinary which adopted from those two areas.
South Tapanuli culinary have thick santan (milk squeezed from coconut) characteristic. North Tapanuli culinary have drier characteristic. So, in Sipirok food stall, you’ll find thin gravy in sale fish curry. For hot-sour goldfish, there is still use andaliman, Batak’s uniquely spice. Andaliman taste is a little bit bitter.
There is another traditional food culinary served by Sipirok Food Stall, that is tuktuk sambal. Tuktuk sambal made from red chili, pounded with gedapang fish, a kind of fish which live in rivers in South Tapanuli. The smell is sting, but the taste is very delicious. But, the menus do not always served, because the fish difficult to find.
Before pounded, gedapang fish roasted. After dry, fish flesh separate from its bone. Then dried flesh fish pounded with red chili and put in lime squeezed. Usually, tuktuk sambal is eaten with dish of raw vegetables and a spicy sauce, like sweet potato leafs.
Source of this article: KOMPAS, writen by Khaerudin, titled “Rumah Makan Sipirok Makan Siang Favorit di Medan”. Translated and edited reog.

Makassar city (Sulawesi Selatan District, Indonesia) and other major city in Sulawesi Selatan are beach area, surrounded by waters. So it is not surprised if those areas are overflow by sea crops. The sea crops such as kerapu, kakap, lamuru, tuna, and cepa fish, squid, shrimp, lobster, milkfish, red fish, etc.
So, if you fish foodie, and have vacation in Indonesia, don’t miss Makassar (also known as Ujung Pandang) as your destination. Beside fish market, there are a lot of food stall that serve seafood as main menus.Every food stall has specific menus. You can pick what fish culinary or fish cooking style that you like. There are Bugis culinary, Makassar culinary, China culinary, Java, Padang, and others traditional food culinary and international food culinary which seafood as main menus. The food stalls also have many classes, from restaurants till street food stall. Pick it as you like.
One of food stall which serve fish is Tawakkal food stall at Paotere. The unique menu of this food stall is roasted milkfish cut in half.
Move in the middle of city, there is Lae-Lae food stall. This food stall serves their roaster and fish box at front of food stall gate. With that position, guest can pick their fish/fishes as their desire. With same way, guest can value the freshness of the fish. Roasters at front of gate also add value for this food stall, roast fish aroma entering food stall space. For commonly guest, burn fish aroma make eat appetite increase.
Another food stall which has milkfish as favorite menus is Pangkep Utama. In this food stall, milkfish do not cut in half. The uniquely of this menu is milkfish eaten with red peanut soup.
At Mappanyukki Street, you can find exclusive food stall. This food stall is exclusive, because only serve one menu, that is pallubasa red kakap head. Pallubasa is traditional cooking method from Bugis. First, fish wrapper with dry turmeric mixed with water and a kind of star fruit which has sour taste. Then the fish is cooking with sautening garlic, onion, and lemongrass. For whose like sour taste, this culinary food can be a choice, because the gravy taste are hot and sour.
Seafood cooked in Surabaya culinary can found at the night, on Cendrawasih Street, at front of Catholic high School, at front of Fort Rotterdam Fortress, and other locations.
The different of fish which cooked in Surabaya culinary and Bugis culinary is from the sambal (sambal is uniquely culinary from Indonesia; made from chilies that pestled, mixed with spices or condiments or tomato). Bugis culinary serve beans sambal with raw tomato and chilies. Surabaya culinary serves a sambal with chili, tomato, onion, garlic, etc which cooked and then pestled.
Fish which cooked in Chinese culinary can pleasant in food stall such as Surya food stall, at Nusakambangan Street, Ratu Muda food stall at Khayangan Island, Nelayan food stall.
There are many others culinary style and food stall for seafood in Makassar. With the various sea foods culinary, it is right to call Makassar as Seafood Paradise.
Article source is from KOMPAS, written by Reny Sri Ayu Taslim, titled “Makassar, Surga Penikmat Ikan”. Translated and edited by reog.