Jl Embong Blimbing: Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia

Surabaya is one of those cities that I don’t seem to visit enough and I really should as it is an historical city with magnificent colonial architecture, and even better, it has some great warungs and restorans!.

Historic Indonesian city offers tastes that last forever

Preserving the sensation of taste while enjoying the cuisines of the world still remains an impossibility. But just one visit to the historic Indonesian port city of Surabaya will compel food lovers to find a way to save each and every experience of the tongue.

Surabaya, capital of East Java province, is the second largest Indonesian city, and one of its most historic sites. Merchant ships began sailing there centuries ago, bringing new goods and culture from around the world into the port, the most important of which is Islam.

But the city is also renowned for introducing the rest of Indonesia to unique cuisine. First on the list is as shocking as it is commonplace in the city: mixed vegetables and cow lips. Called ‘rujak cingur‘, the dish is so unique that Indonesians from all parts of the country know it is from East Java.

Visitors to Surabaya can find this special dish in almost every part of the city, from the most expensive restaurant to a street side food stall. One of the most popular places to grab a plate of ‘rujak cingur‘ is from the vendors on the historic Embong Blimbing Street in downtown, who serve it up nightly until 2 a.m.

On this street, you can also find other traditional food such as ‘kikil sapi‘ (beef tendon), ‘soto Madura‘ (Madurese style soup) and lamb satay. While you pamper your tongue, street singers with their guitars will soothe your ears.

‘Rujak cingur‘ consists of fried bean curd, fried tempeh, rice cake, prawn crackers or krupuk rujak, water spinach, cucumber, pineapple, and a specific part of a cow’s snout, called cingur, in the East Javanese dialect.

It is covered with a special sauce made of black shrimp paste, fried peanuts, fish paste, garlic, cucumber juice, and red chillies, which make the dish hot and spicy.

Diners are advised to eat slowly and take a few deep breaths while eating. The sensation is both hot from the spices and cooling from the refreshing fruits.

“I have been selling rujak cingur for four years, continuing on from my father, who was in the business since 1970,” said Bukhori, a vendor.

Embong Blimbing Street is mainly the turf of traditional food vendors, and is regularly packed with people looking for great tastes at cheap prices. A dish of ‘rujak cingur‘ costs only 7,500 rupiah (less than a dollar). But why the cow’s snout?

“Basically, Javanese people don’t want to waste any food, so they use every part of the cow,” said Bukhori, laughing.

“It may seem weird to many people, but I’m telling you, even foreigners try ‘rujak cingur‘ when they come to Surabaya though they don’t necessarily need to know the part about the cow’s snout.”

Source: NetIndia123.com