When we were kids – an interactive adventure

Have you ever opened a tin of ham with one of those stupid key things?  And then, after breathing a sigh of relief when you got to the end of the awkward triangular-shaped tin without cutting your finger off, did you then lift the top off, and before turning the lovely pink delicacy onto a Bakelite plate, extend your index finger and lovingly scrape it across the top of the ham, scoop up the briny jelly and then put it in your mouth?

No?

Oh.

I have.

What about condensed milk straight off the spoon?

Milo sandwiches? 

Lettuce cups filled with sugar?

Jelly crystals straight from the packet?

Frozen meat pies?

Come on!  I know you can relate to at least some of these!

In the spirit of adventure, I think it’s time we all fessed up to those culinary indulgences we used to partake in (or perhaps still do) that really test the boundaries of what constitutes experimental eating (or, perhaps what constitutes food in general – I’m thinking of my brother’s penchant for Good-o here). 

It’s time to get interactive on yo’ asses!

Don’t be shy now.  I want to know.  Please put your comments below and feel free to dob in your friends.  I guarantee at least one moment of hilarity for all respondents.

Holy Crap! What’s that? #1

It’s a WATER APPLE

Locally known in Timor/Indonesia as Jambu.

What does it look like?

It looks really pretty, like this:

Water apples can be either bright pink or lime green.  They are about 3-4 cm in diameter.

How does it taste?

It’s freaking delicious and very refreshing.

Personally, I think it tastes like a nashi pear with a twist of lime.  The edible skin on the outside is quite waxy, but very thin and the flesh is really crisp and juicy and slightly spongy at the core.

How do you cook it?

You don’t.  You can pick it and eat it straight off the tree, which is one of its best qualities, but it also goes well in both fruit and vegetable salads.  Because it’s so pretty, it adds to the visual effect of anything you put it with.

A quick snack @ Lavalon Tourist Information Centre, Kupang

On our way home, we flew from Bali to Kupang in West Timor so that we could catch a bus back to the East Timor border.  We had one night in Kupang which I was pretty unimpressed about.  My previous two experiences of Kupang involved little more than a sense of bewilderment (at why on earth all the shops and restaurants had their backs to the beach) and annoyance (at the fact that there were no footpaths anywhere).

As it turns out, we were just in the wrong part of town.  Kupang actually does have a few places where you can have a beer and watch the sunset over the beach.  One of these is the Lavalon Tourist Information Centre.  It’s a cute little open-air hangout overlooking the water, where local men eat pisang goreng (fried bananas) and discuss local politics, dogs sleep, cats prowl and tourists resign themselves to the fact that they’re in Kupang and it probably won’t be too long before they’re out of there, so they might as well just have a beer and relax.  

We thought we’d get an afternoon snack to help wile the hours away.  And although the food took approximately 45 minutes to make, when it finally came it was surprisingly fresh and tasty.

Mie goreng – fried noodles, some choy sum and fried onions with your choice of tomato or chilli sauce.

Hot chips and fried eggs. 

The chips were reminiscent of the best homemade chips your mum ever made.  Topped off with a couple of cold Bintangs, we were very happy travellers by the time we walked out of there.

Kupang also has a really cool night market selling all sorts of foods out of very funky little carts.  We went for a walk through the market, still too full to eat anything else, but the visual display alone ended up being one of the highlights of the whole trip.

I won’t mind too much if I have to spend a night in Kupang next time.

A rest stop @ The Art Kafe Bar, Ubud

Walking up and down Monkey Forest Road, the decor of this cafe had caught our attention a few times with its boho-meets-nana-meets-shabby chic (or whatever) deco.  We thought it could be interesting, so we popped in for a juice one day.

Upon perusing the menu, I was delighted to find a little history of the owners and their story of how they came to open the cafe...

We did enjoy the artsy fatsy feelings.  And I’m sure you will too.

Omelette for brekkie @ Bar Luna, Ubud

“Chic and cheerful” is a phrase that comes to mind when I think about Bar Luna. It’s a place where the cool crowd hangs out, but it is still down to earth enough that you can feel at home, it’s not overly expensive and the food is excellent.  Wade and I were here for 2 meals in a row – dinner and brekkie the next day.

The dinner was a selection of mezze-style dishes – breads, olives, dips, grilled mushrooms, smoked marlin pâté as well as grilled fish and chips.  We may have over-ordered just a tad.  But it all tasted sensational, especially the mushrooms.

Brekkie started off on a high and then just got better.  The latte, although a bit strong for me, came with a little round of shortbread which I very much appreciate first thing in the morning.  It helped to offset the strength of the coffee, but it also helped to quiet my grumbling tummy until my brekkie arrived.

And I loved the tiny glass of iced water that came with it, too.

Wade had a strawberry lassie, bursting with fresh strawberry-ness...

... with scrambled eggs, mushrooms and tomato relish:



The only downside to this dish was the fact that the scrambled eggs were weeping, but they were otherwise excellent.  The mushies were spongy and full of flavour and the tomato relish had a good sweet/smoky balance. 

I had an omelette with tomatoes, spinach and fetta:



This brekkie made me smile and smile.  I loved the salty fetta with the eggs and the tomatoes didn’t make it too watery, which is often a consequence of tomatoes in omelettes.  The sourdough bread helped to tip the balance of what constitutes a reasonable amount of food to eat at any given time, but it was too good to pass up.  And the tomato relish was relishious!  In fact, the tomato relish at Bar Luna has inspired me to make my own at home – or at least have some sort of relish or chutney with my eggs on a regular basis.  It’s becoming my new thing.

Tofu and veggie curry @ Dili Beach Hotel

Deep fried tofu and coconut cream make this curry significantly more calorific than the name suggests, but it tastes pretty darn delicious.  You can fool yourself into thinking that it’s good for you and you can try to pick out all the fresh veggies and fill up on those first, but the temptation of the tofu soaking up all that awesome curried coconut fat will be just too strong and you WILL BE DEFEATED!!

Steamed Ginger Fish @ Dili Beach Hotel

This would have to be one of the healthiest options at the predominantly pizza- and burger-focussed Dili Beach Hotel.  The tom yum soup is another good option, as is the garden salad, if you’re happy to eat like a bird.

This dish, with its crunchy, shredded veggies (carrot, ginger, spring onions) atop a portion of steamed white fish bathing in a gingery, peppery broth was a saviour for me during a four-week stay in Dili earlier in the year when every meal I consumed was from a hotel or restaurant.  I could very well have come down with scurvy if it wasn’t for this burst of nourishment.  The white rice it is served with adds substance to the spoonfuls of the broth that you slurp up at the end.

Cleansing.