Megono cooked rice is specific cuisine from Pekalongan city, Central Java, Indonesia. Pekalongan is known because batik (traditional fabric GENUINE FROM INDONESIA). So, if you visit Pekalongan and buy batik, you should eat megono cooked rice, so you totally taste Pekalongan City.

At Dokter Wahidin Street, exactly opposite of Muhammadiyah Orphan House, you’ll find one of best food stall which serve megono cooked rice. It’s known as Mrs. Hajah Luwiyah Food Stall, but now its call Mrs. Inung Food Stall.

If you order tea as your drink, you’ll served by waiters with a big glass containing sugar and spoon. So, where is the tea water? The tea water is in teapot. You can add the water as you wish. Empty the teapot is not a problem :).
A plate of megono cooked rice with cuttlefish black sauce and a bowl of warm cow garang asem really tasty dined when the rain fall….Megono appearances is so simple. Sowing on the rice like cooked jackfruit color. That’s the condiment, made from refined red onion, garlic, small hot chili, coriander, galangal,jintan, candlenuts, mixed with sliced onion, big red chili, kecombrang flower, bay leaves, scraped coconut meat, young jackfruit meat. The taste is like we ate mint candy, the difference is mint candy result cold effect, this condiment result hot effect.

Gravy or Dry

There are two kind of megono cooked rice that you can find in this food stall. Gravy megono cooked rice, its means that you order megono with gravy side dish, such as a bowl of cow garang asem, or opor (meat or chicken dish cooked with coconut cream and various spices), cow tendon cooked with bean sprouts, cuttlefish with black sauce, or rendang. Dry megono cooked rice, means that you order megono with un-gravy side dish.

In this food stall, there is pickles too, called pickles with yellow spices. This pickle contains sliced cucumber, cabbage, carrot, wrapped with turmeric, onion, garlic, ginger, galangal, pepper, and vinegar.

Almost of food stall or restaurant in Pekalongan have megono cooked rice in their menu’s list. But, the taste from one food stall to another is different. Each food stall has its own specific side dish.
For example, Mr. Bon foods stall at H. Agus Salim Street; you can dine megono with fried refined chili with cockles. Garang asem in this food stall made from cow meat, tendon, fat, and foot. If you like goat meat, you should go to Haji Zarkasi food stall at Sulawesi Street.

Original article by Ni Komang Arianti, edited and translated by reog. Source: KOMPAS.