SHIBISHU NOODLES - When Bisu Noodle Makes You Lost Your Words

If you're one of noodle fans. During your stay in Jogja, you should come to Bakmi Shibishu eatery located on Bantul raya street No 106. This location is just only 5 minutes stroll from Malioboro, 500 meter southern side of Beteng Kulon. Don't be puzzled by its japanese name, this place is owned by purely a Jogja person and it has been being operated since 25 years ago. This place is more often visited compared to the surrounding eater.

Beside the crowd of this place, at first, i was quite confused with what i would discover in this place. This place is well-known as "mute noodle". Some fad thoughts came up concerning that name. At first, i thought it's due to the delish noodles provided there so that we'll not speak any words. Second thought, the seller is mute. However, when i ordered a portion of noodle to an old lady there, the second guess was somehow incorrect because the lady could speak. But eventually, i discovered that one of my guess was right, here is the complete story.

After ordering fried noodle, i also ordered hot tea as the complementer of my meal. During the time of waiting,i began to understand the reason why this place is called mute noodle. The fact is revealed, waiteress delivering the foods is mute and also one more person who blend the ingredients of noodle and the cooker are also mute during the course of cooking.

It' quite a long time until finally my food arrived. It' accepted though bearing in mind that this eatery only using a brazier with carbons to cook all the orders. During your time of waiting, hot tea would come earlier to accompany you. There, you're also given a tea pot to refill your glass. Beside different method of serving, the teaste of tea is very different compared to other tea. The first drink will give its own sensation.

After 20 minutes of waiting, finally my fried noodle delivered by the mute lady. The appearance of this fried noodle is pretty similar to other noodles. However, the color is a bit lighter. Most probably, it doesn’t use much soy souce. The noodle comprises two kinds of main noodle. First, is yellow noodle and bihun (thin rice noodles). After that, it's complemented by small pieces of chicken and celery. The first bite made me lost my words. The ingredients included in this noodle so tasteful. At a glance, it's a bit too much but the next bites make it better.

On the dining table, we can also find chilies which are so delish once we plump it to the noodle. One of The most unforgettable parts of eating this noodle is the hot tea part. These Two indispensable parts are completing each others to make an unforgettable culinary tourism for you. In the end, I was quite happy that one of my two guess was right. Shibishu noodles truly made me lost my words for its great taste.

BAKMI SHIBISHU
Jalan Raya Bantul No. 106 Yogyakarta

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Eating Turi Flower Pecel by Mbah Warno "Anderson"

At first, I was confused by the name of Baywatch pecel owned by Mbah Warno eatery. Passing in my mind, a naughty imagination of a naughty waitress wearing bikini like what Pamela Anderson wore on Baywatch serials or at least it's located on seashore area.

Mbah Warno eatery is located at Kasongan, at the street heading to Sempu Mountain. This place was established 35 years ago and it has a very simple interior. The banner has 30 cm long and 20 cm width which can be easily skipped for those who don't pay attention to it. The interior is totally equipped by simple functional equipments. Only tables and wooden chairs. Behind the table, there're some braziers which always produce smokes. A peculiar position which accidentally designed like that because kitchen in javanese concept is always put at the back of the house but Mbah Warno put his kitchen in front of his eatery after the earthquake accident and he simply said due to the financial constraint he did it.

Mbah Warno serves main menu which is pecel accompanied by some meals starting from fried ell, bacem tofu, lele and mangut ell (ell with coconut milk and chili) and fried noodles. Yogyes ordered everything to taste all Mbah warno culinaries.


During the time of waiting, my mind flew to track down the origin of pecel which is as little known as soto. Many regions in Java have their own pecel with their own characteristic such as Madiun, Blitar, Madura, Slawi and etc. But for at least, a dutch historian enlighted with the fact when Ki Ageng Pamenahan undertook Sultan Hadiwijaya's instruction to proceed to a jungle named Alas Mentaok (now, Kota gede), his groups were welcomed by the opak river-side inhabitants and then they're given some foods including pecel.

My reverie was suddenly cut by the arrival of my pecel and some other meals on the table. A portion of pecel, fried lele and bacem tofu somehow challenged me to eat them as soon as possible. There are four kinds of vegetables which are spinach, papaya leaves, Turi flower (Sesbania grandiflora) and poured by nut sauce which is so yummy. We’ll have sweet flavor from nut sauce and bitter flavor from Turi flower making an unexplainable delicious mixture.

Pecel with Turi flower is the symbol of Ndeso pecel. In this age, it's hardly ever seen a pecel seller packages a kind of it. It's deemed that Turi flower has the benefits of alleviating high body temperature and headache. No wonder, some javanese, indian and Suriname (their ancestor is still javanese though, LOL) still consume young Turi flower as their vegetable.

Pecel will be more delicious by adding with fried lele or Bacem tofu. This lele is fried until very dry so that it's really crispy when you have a bite. And bacem tofu is quite big so you can eat it by combining with some small chilies. Apart from it, you can also have fried ell that has two different sizes and also you can have fried noodles and mangut ell for those who think that spicy is the best one. Smoke from brazier also adds more sensation to this place.

I don't know whether it's caused by my full stomach or effect of Turi flower, after eating, my head was way much smartier than usual. During the small conversation with Mbah Wartno and his assistant, i suddenly understood why pecel at this place is called Baywatch pecel. Apparently, Mbah Warno and his assistants always wear clothes called Kutang. These clothes are really comfortable to wear in the hot and dry weather of Kasongan village, Bantul.

Even though, many people sell pecel everywhere, Baywatch pecel still offers something new for you. A great combination of delish foods, strong village ambiance and hospitality of Mbah Warno "Anderson".

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Beringharjo Rice Fried Yogyakarta (Indonesia)

Beringharjo Fried Rice, can now be found on Jalan Mataram, right of the third T-junction on the left side of the street leading to the historical market in Yogyakarta. Before the end of the year 2004, when the food stalls were still open in the area, the fried rice was found on the T-junction leading to Shopping area that now is changed into Taman Pintar, Taman Budaya Yogyakarta and the center of book shops.

This fried rice is worth trying because many people acknowledge its deliciousness since the owner started its business in 1960s. You do not have to wait for the menu to be served since the seller has cooked them in big portion. It starts open from 06:00p.m to 11:00p.m. with cross-legged and chairs seating arrangement.

Eating this fried rice, you feel like listening to a plate of story about Javanese-Chinese acculturation. Fried rice itself actually originated from China and immigrated to Indonesia. Initially, fried rice existed from Chinese tradition that prohibit throwing uneaten rice, so that the rice was processed using available ingredients such as onion, garlic, and ketchup. When Chinese people came to Indonesia, such a cuisine was known by Indonesians as well and started to mix with Indonesian cuisine.

The acculturation can be seen from the variation of fried rice, from chicken fried rice, seafood fried rice, mutton fried rice, and even pete (beans with pungent odor) fried rice as Indonesian special ingredient. The taste also varies; some accentuate the taste of garlic and some accentuate the taste of additional material such as chicken. Beringharjo Fried Rice chooses to cook chicken and pork fried rice.

Speaking of ketchup as one of the ingredients, it also keeps story about acculturation of Chinese people living in Java. Ketchup, actually was named kie tjap, is made of fermented fish concentrate. When Chinese people living in Java found that soybeans were cheaper than fish, the raw material of ketchup making was changed to soybeans. Consequently, it did not have fish taste; it only tasted sweet for sweet ketchup that is used to cook fried rice. Strong taste of garlic also becomes characteristic of Chinese cuisine.

Although there are many fried rice sellers, Beringharjo Fried Rice is still special. The process of cooking, for example, is in big portions. As much rice as half of a big rice basket can be cooked at once in a very big pan. The ingredients are very special since they have been mixed at home and ready to use.

Chicken or pork is added when the fried rice is on the plate. Besides, slices of fresh tomato, cabbage, celery, omelet or pickle are additional. A plate of fried rice costs IDR 5,000 for chicken and IDR 6,000 for pork. Some customers even order one and a half or even two portions at once because of its deliciousness.

The taste is just right, not too sweet nor too salty. The aroma of garlic is not too strong yet tasty. Are you interested in tasting? You can have other menus such as fried noodle and pork cooked with ketchup that are not less delicious.

source : yogyayes

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