I went back to my hometown couple of weeks ago – Bandung. It’s about 2-2.5 hours drive from Indonesia’s capital city Jakarta. Ian and I drove there – but if you’re thinking to pass by, you can take a travel car (even from the airport!) that only cost like 6-7 USD. And they have air con, 1 shuttle mini bus only have about 10 people but it’s not rare to only have 6 people accompanying you.
If you hear the word “Satay House” – don’t assume it’s a restaurant selling all kinds of meat on skew. In Bandung, the word “Satay House” is actually referring to it’s Parliament House that was build on 1800’s - since this country was ruled by the Netherlands for 250 years. Surprisingly, Indonesia doesn’t speak their language. But we do inherit some of their building style. The reason why it’s called “Satay House” is because on the top of the building, there is a decorative storm catcher with bumps around it. I don’t think they intentionally refer to the Satay food. But it turns out looking like that. Today I’m not going to do a historical review – but I will share with you the unique weekend street market in front of that satay house.
On the weekend, don’t even think of bringing your car and pass by this place. It’s super crowded. They literally shut down the streets to held it’s street market. Initially, there is a running track on a field across the Satay House – where it’s full with people jogged in the morning. Because there are a lot of people coming, naturally, hawkers also come to sell their goods. But now, it’s actually more crowded by shopping activities and not so much of the sport. Funny thing is, about 50% of the people still dressed as if their going to do exercise ha ha… So they buy things with their running shoes and training pants.
What stuff available in this market? Well almost everything you can think of. Clothes, shoes, food, stuffed animals, ceramic and even pets are available. Even if you want to take a horse ride, it’s also available! Crazy huh? Even surprisingly good, they come in a “cheap” cost.
A snack like cupcakes, brownies, spring rolls only cost about 10 cents USD. Or if you’re interested to buy a traditional style ceramic tea pot, only 1 USD. Clothes? 3-5 USD will get you a relatively good one. Make it 2 USD if you don’t care about quality. Sandals? 1 USD. And the seller is willing to manually stitch your sandals to make it stronger and long lasting. I bought my self 3 pairs of socks that come in 50 cents USD – in TOTAL, not each.
For parents with child, you can keep them entertained by “manual” ferris wheel. The reason why I’m calling it manual is because you literally have someone pedaling for it (like bicycle) in the back so the wheel will run! (see picture).
Bandung in the 70’s was called as “flower city” or “Paris van Java” – but nowadays, there’s not much of flowers. Bandung is most known for it’s innovative foods and clothing factory outlet. I tried out the “Grilled Rice”, it was great! This is a combo with rice in a banana leaf filled with some anchovies, then grilled. On the side, you have grilled chicken, fried tofu, fried mash corn, veggies and a kicking chili paste! All for only 1.5 USD. It’s basically sold in a hawker style – where they grilled everything on the back of the cart – which is side by side with a sewer. They provide some plastic seats (with no desk) in case you want to eat immediately. No washing basin for hands – or the plates as a matter of fact ha ha… Definitely not fit for a hygiene test. To minimize the risk of getting germs, you can try my approach. Which I ask them to wrap it to go – and eat it at home. On the side, they also have interesting desert like “Fruit Soup”. Which is basically 10 types of fruits being cut and mixed with milky drink. Refreshing! Only 80 cents USD. If you’re more adventurous, there are other things like the Indonesian style dim sum, crispy fried mushrooms, etc. This is really one of those place that will be very challenging for people who care about their weight.
Me personally, blah, enjoy life! As long as it’s a halal food – I don’t care how many calories in it. Just eat it! You can always make it up with extra cardio exercise at the gym ha ha…
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