With love from Indo

These are actually deep fried fishcake fritters and are usually eaten as a snack/side. They are served with a sweet & sour sauce (mostly sweet) and cucumbers; when eaten on the go, these are cut into bite-sized pieces and placed in a box before being drenched in the sauce, and garnished with cucumbers to add some freshness. The fritters remain wonderfully chewy, and it doesn't taste as oily/greasy in that way.
These were from Jakarta, but if you're in Surabaya, one of the more famous ones are from Pempek Farina which I favour actually, because you can really taste the fish!

This place is really famous and apparently they sell out within 2 hours after their 9 am opening! They have a different menu on rotation everyday with the most popular days being Tuesday (Nasi Campur) and Thursday (Nasi Lodeh). So, I waited eagerly and patiently like a kid waiting for Christmas, or a Tuesday in my case and was thrilled to have finally gotten my hands on a coveted packet.
No doubt it is a good plate of Nasi Campur (the local mixed rice), but personally I found it to be too spicy to enjoy. It wasn't that I couldn't take the spice level, I could (barely); but when I picked out at least 20 chillis in a single plate alone, it was pretty hard to identify any other flavour profile besides "spice".

Jalan Darmo Permai Utara X No.18, Suko Manunggal, Tanjungsari, Suko Manunggal, Kota SBY, Jawa Timur 60187

One of Indonesia's most popular street food, these meatballs in soup is usually eaten as a light snack.
But don't be alarmed, because they are pretty small so they don't quite fill you up to be a meal. It usually comes with tahu (fried tofu which soaks up all the wonderful broth) and siomay (Indonesian siew mai usually made from the same beef in the meatballs and some fish paste). To up your bakso game, interesting add-ins include bakso puyuh, a personal favourite of mine, which features a whole quail egg inside the meatball. Add in sambel (chilli), tomato sauce for some sweetness, a drizzle of kecap manis (dark soya sauce) and a squeeze of lime and tuck in! Soak the fried fritters in the soup for extra shiokness, though I'll have to say the ones here were pretty disappointing but everything else was on point!

Jalan Manyar Tirtoasri, Gang. XII No.2, Sukolilo, Surabaya, Jawa Timur, 60118

Don't know why it's called that, but this is the standard Es Kacang you'll find here, otherwise known as Es Campur. A very nice icy treat, and the one here is actually really special because they put in tape, or fermented tapioca. It has an acquired taste I'll admit, because the sour tang from the fermentation can be really strong, but my parents seem to really love it. For some, even the smell can be quite off-putting.

Our decision on what to eat was made 1000x easier when we saw this newly opened stall, because my mother said Pancoran in Jakarta is really well known for their food.
Glad that these noodles didn't disappoint, and plus points for having kway teow too, since most places here just offer egg noodles. Flavourful and quite light tasting, which is uncommon here because most are really oily (but good). Love the crunch from the fried wanton skin bits!

68 Santong Kuo Tieh
Food court Pasar Atom Tahap 1 Lantai 4 FC 08

I first heard of them a few months ago, and now they seem to have opened so many more outlets!
I can see why they are popular- when eaten straight off the griddle, these were wonderfully crispy and fluffy on the inside. They are a little too oily for me though, but I guess that's precisely why they're so good. I usually like my waffles plain, but I can never resist Ovamaltine (which is an extremely popular spread here, and offered in almost all the waffle stands I've been to yay!). The dark chocolate sauce is also really good here, not too sweet and gives a very nice, indulgent chocolatey taste to the waffles.
My favourite waffles however, will still have to be the HK egg waffles in Grand City, just because they're just as good without being too greasy. However, Pocoyo is undoubtedly a more convenient option because they seem to be everywhere now!

Honestly wasn't expecting much because I just needed coffee, but wow this is one good cuppa! I did some research and apparently the founder got through to the top 20 finals of the national barista competition in 2015. Very nice blend of coffee, and while I'm no expert so I can't describe it in the usual coffee lingo, I can say I enjoyed the flavours and am very happy I found somewhere I can get a good coffee fix here!

The difference between Singapore's spring rolls and these Indonesian spring rolls is the filling- instead of turnip, bamboo shoot is used instead. There's no peanuts either, but having these deep fried means there's still a nice crunch, though a non-fried version is also available. As with many savoury snacks here, it's served with green chilli which people just eat for a solid spice kick in between bites. The brown sauce, which is actually a fermented bean paste, adds sweetness to it as well.

If you're ever curious about how the steamed buns are like in Indonesia, these are it!
Unlike in Singapore, the bread appears to be less white and texture-wise more fluffy. Most versions I've had in Indonesia uses ammonium bi-carbonate which I can't appreciate because it makes the buns smell and taste strongly alkaline, but thankfully this recipe doesn't (or at least I couldn't detect it).
While the charsiew is quite similar, the red bean (also known as tau sar there) is quite different. Its darker in colour, usually grainier in texture, and less sweet because they mix the beans with less oil and sugar. I don't think there's any ready-made packaged red bean paste you can buy off the shelves there, so every bakery has their own rendition of the bean paste. Thankfully, the one here wasn't too sweet and retained its wonderful earthy aroma. 😊

Jl. Dharmahusada Indah Utara I/B 66

So this is known as the Fuzhou bagel (I'm not kidding, as was told by my good friend Wiki).
I can certainly see why it is named that way, for the sesame seeds and the rather tough bread texture did remind me of a good ol' sesame bagel. However, that's where the resemblance ends- this was filled with meat and/or mushrooms depending what you order so to me, it felt more like a baked Chinese bun instead.
My favourite was definitely the Chicken filling (ayam)– it had a good bread-meat ratio, and although the meat was a little dry, it was nicely flavoured with Indonesian chilli padi. A great protein alternative to the Western bagel if it's really called that, it certainly makes for a good snack/breakfast. 👌

I've had my fair share of doughnuts- artisanal or chain, but Krispy Kreme remains as my personal favourite. There's something about the combination of fluffy bread and an intense glaze that dangerously borders being too sweet which I can't resist. I know Singapore has them too, but when your dad brings a dozen all the way from Jakarta, nothing else comes close to that warm feeling I get (and it's certainly not just cos of those doughnuts) ☺