Nasi Tempong

Sego Tempong Blambangan
Banyuwangi, Jawa Timur

"Nasi Tempong" was very similar to "Nasi Campur" (mixed rice). "Tempong" is Banyuwangian language, meaning a little bit of everything.
This mixed rice is the original Banyuwangi dish, where customers picked their favorite "tempong" (or topping you might say) on top of their steamed rice.
What I picked was very basic, scrambled eggs, fried chicken, fried tempeh, "dadar/bakwan jagung" (fried corn pancake), and steamed vegetables. No "tempong" would be complete without the spicy sambal, made with a little salt, tomatoes, chilies, and "balacan" (shrimp paste).

The key to a good "Nasi Tempong" was in the sambal. This one I tried was super spicy already, eventhough I asked for a little bit of chili. If you ask for a spicier sambal, just be ready to be hauled to a hospital. I meant it!
My father was the true survivor of eating a super duper spicy sambal (yup, he was hauled to the hospital and freaked the owner good). And he can eat the spiciest food ever made in our country. So, good luck to you! :)

Sate Ayam Rogojampi

Warung Rajawali - Pak Su
Jl. Raya Rogojampi (roadside)
Rogojampi - Banyuwangi, Jawa Timur

I told my Dad that I wanted to eat good satay, so he took me to this roadside "warung" (street hawker). Eating in that kind of place did not bother me at all, although the place was small (only 2 long picnic tables), noisy, and dirty.
We were seated together with the other customers, since the place was tiny. The tables were full of bottled soft drinks, "krupuk" (crackers), and other necessities for eating.
After ordering a portion of chicken satay, I realized that the chicken were cut into tiny pieces. I kept asking for more before I realized I have eaten about 27 skewers. Of course my Dad and sisters were somewhat horrified because I ate too much. :) Pak Su (the owner on the right corner picture) had to keep up with me.

The sate was actually quite tasty. Pak Su kept it simple by dipping the chicken in the sweet soy-sauce based marinate before grilling. Since the meat was not cut in big size, it did not take a long time to grill it. The sauce was a simple peanut sauce with lots of sweet soy sauce in the mix.
However, I would not recommend eating in such place, though. Not only the place was dirty and polluted by the ongoing traffic (cars and mostly motorcycles), Pak Su also did not refrigerate the meats before grilling. :(
He did not understand the basic sanitation, I guessed. Or like most people believe, once the chicken were cooked, the bacteria would die.
Wrong, I got stomach ache the next morning. What a price to pay!

Bizarre Food: Bee Larvae

OK... don't think about it, just try it. Ugh!

My lovely mother loved this dish more than anyone I know, well, expect for her sister. So when I came to visit her in the village (yes, my mom lives in the village), her sister gave this "botok tawon" (not botox, mind you!) for me to try.

I liked watching Andrew Zimmern eating outrageous and bizarre stuffs on TV. I braved myself and thought of what he said everytime, "It if looks good, eat it!".
Well, it was steamed inside banana leaves and I honestly thought it looked good. It had lots of spices, surely it wouldn't taste bad.
Besides, I've heard people say that bees were good for us (or was that because of honey?).

I took one bite and tried not to picture the wiggly larvae (mentally, I meant). Hmm... OK it tasted alright actually. I could taste the pepper, chilies, salt, and other spices.
Then I took another bite. I still couldn't look away from the mental wiggly larvae, but I forced myself to eat a few more bites. Then I gave up, defeated. *sigh*
Although I thought it tasted OK, something just felt weird.
I watched my mom ate as if she was eating something just ordinary. She gave me the look and dared me to eat them again.
Oh well.. sorry mom, I just could not stand the weird feeling I had while eating those cute bee babies. No more for me!