Eat Java (2017)

 

Kopi Jos, coffee with burning coal

Java has become synonymous with coffee. For many reasons, and over many years. That connection remains, not just in the coffeehouses of America but right there on the island of Java, Indonesia, in the cultural centre of that island, Yogyakarta.

One of the first things I did, after exiting my hotel room on the first afternoon, was to stray down the alleyways adjacent. In one I found a very small eatery advertising Sedia Ice Cream, it was nothing but an alleyway itself with a few wooden tables, a simple cabinet where the makings of simple meals were kept, Nasi Goreng (fried rice) or Mei Goreng (fried noodles). I was on the look-out for authentic Indonesian coffee, and found it right there.

The plain unfiltered coffee (Kopi Tubruk) came in a glass. It’s as simple as coffee can get. Coffee powder in a glass, with added boiling water, but don’t eat the mud that’s left, it’s bitter, dry and will stay in your throat for minutes. Javanese coffee has its own mild taste and that was a little slice of a very welcome heaven, in very undemanding surroundings.

Around the corner, a slightly larger street stall proffered Penyetan Bujon - a range of boiled or fried foods from Ayam (chicken) Kremes (with crunchy bits), to Ayam Geprek (smashed chicken - like spatchcock), Lel Tepung (catfish in flour), Tempe (fermented soybean hash brown), Tahu (tofu), Terong (aubergine), Usus (chicken intestines) and Ceker (chicken’s feet). I had a mixture of deep fried tofu, the soybean hash brown, deep fried chicken heart and intestines with cucumber, cabbage, a spinach-like green and some local chili sauce all served up on a wavy paper plate. A superb snack.

Later, I found that evenings brought out the local populace, and local food vendors too. So, on that humid first evening, I headed north along Jalan Malioboro (Marlborough) looking for both a SIM card and for an plug adapter, as well as something to eat.  The hotel didn’t have an adapter to spare and I,  forgot to bring mine. I crossed the railway track and headed into unknown territory. I was soon face to face with a kiosk selling the local SIM cards and, not far away, along the very same road, a purveyor of power plug socket adapters. Feeling satisfied that I was able to re-charge my phone and my tablet, I remembered food and noticed a sign across the road - Susu Sapi Murni (fresh cow’s milk).

Not just cow’s milk, but a whole range of packet and packaged snacks were available. Some, traditionally, were wrapped with pandan leaves, others in greaseproof paper sachets. These snacks included Nasi Sambel Tempe Penyet (rice with hot chilli sauce and mashed soybean hash brown), Nasi Ayam Sambal Balado (rice with fried chicken and hot chilli sauce), and not to mention sticks of Satay, and Telur puyuh (Satay sticks of soy sauce cooked quail’s eggs). More importantly, for me, was a small stall selling Wedang Ronde (ginger and bread drink). I had two bowls, and was tempted for a third but the night was young and in the distance I could see other eateries. I had to pace myself, you understand.

After a hundred yards, or so, another stall presented itself, called Angkringan Kopi Jos “Pak Agus”. I paid the sign little notice until later. That stall sold another wide range of snacks. However, it also had two old-fashioned kettles boiling water over coals. It was dark by then, so the coals glowed brightly, attracting our attention. I asked for coffee. The vendor spoke something in Indonesian, pointed to the kettles and, as I have very little of that language, smiled like an idiot and nodded my head. I waited. It began to rain. Sheltering under the ‘shop’s’ tarpaulin became quite romantic with the sound of the rain, its scent and the way the streets lit me with colour.

I noticed our coffee maker take the kettle off the fire, and begin to pour the water over what was obviously coffee. He turned to me, said something else in Indonesian and brandished a hot glowing coal from the fire, at me. The proverbial penny dropped. He was offering me Kopi Joss Arang (black coffee with glowing, and some say Egyptian, charcoal). I nodded feverishly. On our first evening in Yogyakarta I had found the one thing I was hoping to find there, and without actively seeking it. It is rumoured that the name, Kopi Jos Arang, comes from the sound as the hot coal hits the coffee. But I didn’t hear it.

Now, according to Wikipedia, Bakpia is a sweet pastry filled with sugared mung bean paste, and is influenced by Chinese pastries. The most famous bakpia producing area is the Pathok area near Jalan Malioboro in Yogyakarta. I can attest to the Chineseness of the pastries, as Malaysia has very similar pastries in Ipoh and Malacca with a range of more authentic Chinese fillings from red bean to Lou Po Beng (wife cakes filled with candied winter melon). However, I chanced upon one Bakpia bakery and cafe, which prides itself on difference. Called Bakpiapia, and claiming to be ‘beyond bakpia’ that establishment was baking Bakpia in a range of tastes from Abon (meat floss), Kacang Hijau Cokelat (green nut and chocolate), to Kacang Hijau (green nut), Cokelat (chocolate) and Keju (cheese). Others include Tuna Pedas (hot tuna), Durian, Nanas (Pineapple), Blueberry Cheese, Cappuccino  and Pisang Keju (banana cheese). The small cafe area allows the visitors to sit and drink a refreshingly cold bottled (Sosro) ’Fruit Tea”. It less tea taste and more fruit. I drank a couple of this chilled bottles and looked for it everywhere after, but couldn’t find it anywhere else.

People kept telling me that I must eat Gudeg. They said that Gudeg typifies the food culture in Yogyakarta so, of course I was intrigued. Friends living in Yogyakarta guided me to where they considered that we would find the best Gudeg, a delight of Gudeg, simply the best. A typical recipe for Gudeg (Jogja) might include young jackfruit pieces, coconut milk, bay leaves, lemon grass, palm sugar and other ingredients depending on your preference. Basically, Gudeg is a sweet jackfruit curry, with a very large emphasis on the sweet. It is frequently accompanied by chicken’s egg, hard boiled in soy sauce and split into two. It is an acquired taste.

Despite being a predominantly Muslim country, and the largest population of people of the Islamic faith in the world, alcohol, thought not quite as plentiful as Malaysia, does exist in bars and clubs. Bintang (Star), a light lager, is the beer of choice. Indonesian has had a brewery since 1929. Bintang beer (bier) has had a mixed heritage, from Heineken to national and back again since 1936. Tbk the beer manufacturer in Indonesia produces Bir Bintang, Heineken, Guinness, Green Sands, Bintang Zero and Recharge. Served ice cold in sultry Indonesia, who could possible ask for more.

Except, of course, for the most expensive coffee in the world - Kopi Luwak, grown, processed and brought to the connoisseur of fine coffee in Yogyakarta. Specifically Mataram Luwak Coffee, eaten, digested and excreted by wild civets, collected, washed and made ready by small processors who package this smoothest coffee in the world for your delectation. It is said that Kopi Luwak, after its collection from those wild civets, is washed and roasted in high heat for about an hour to produce a coffee which is low in caffeine, low in bitterness and low in acidity.

The above is just a small sample of the food and drink I came across from the Yogyakarta region, on the island of Java, within the Indonesian archipelago.