The Food We Eat
From left: Pak Kecil, Saiful, me and random pakcik at a warung in front of the Stasiun Tugu. Gemuk or not? And obviously I’m having fun being a tourist, what with that Same Same But Different tshirt and all.
No matter how cosmopolitan or diverse your taste buds are, some things are for certain: you are what you eat for breakfast, and the food you go running back to for comfort. Whether your favourite food is Italian, Japanese, French, Korean, Thai, as a general rule ‘breakfast food’ is what you’re about. I think nothing of eating noodles with various meats for breakfast; many others cringe at the thought. And no matter how much I proclaim to love South Asia and its food, I can never wrap my head around the idea of roti and dhal for breakfast (possible blasphemy: I can never wrap my head around dhal, at all).
Mine happens to be noodles. Asian noodles, to be specific, preferably with a clear broth.
You can’t go wrong with that. I will have them for every meal, and in any incarnation. Chicken feet noodles, wanton noodles, duck noodles, miso soup ramen, mee soto, niu rou mian (beef noodles, especially Taiwanese style), a Vietnamese pho bo (beef) or a Laotian feu ga (chicken), or Noodle House Ken’s stewed egg ramen in pork broth (my all time favourite)... noodles. I need noodles. I’m absolutely miserable without noodles, and even worse without a good Asian soup. Indian Chinese style ‘soups’, especially “egg drop soup!” and “vegeetayble hot sour soup!” don’t even come close, not even 10% close to the real stuff I love, but when in India for months at a stretch, even fake Chinese or Thai soup, Indian-style, works for me.
It poured in Jogja for most of last evening. Miserable, sick, grumpy, we walked around Malioboro annoyed by the silver/batik/painting commission scams we’d been lured into, having wasted so much of our afternoon. I usually get a good feel about restaurants/street stalls—if I get a good vibe, I know I’m bound to find good food there. Almost instinctively I sat down at a roadside warung outside the train station, needing. A bowl of hot, soupy noodles.
Indomie at a warung in the rain, Yogyakarta. Piping hot, steaming, soupy, in the company of friends, two hours’ worth of a stab at conversation. “Ini.. apa?” “Hari.. * counts* senin, selesa, rabu, kamis, jumat.. JUMAT! We leave hari jumat!” (Translated: “This.. what?” “Day.. monday tuesday wednesday thursday friday, we leave on friday!”)
Even though it was but a bowl of humble Indonesian instant noodles, Indomie at the warung in the rain is possibly one of my favourite culinary experiences. The sort of experience that doesn’t have to try at all, but that makes you think of good, happy times. Good, happy times like my father cooking me instant noodles at ungodly hours of night, adding the egg only when I come out of the shower, because that’s how I like it.
Food and experiences that make you think of home, in more ways than one; home that isn’t a place, but a state of mind, or several places and people all at once.
What’s yours?
- Posted by popagandhi at 03:43 pm
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I have to disagree, breakfast food is not what I’m about, my breakfasts are not for comfort, they’re just something to eat before I got to work.
Other people’s breakfasts are what interest me, it’s when I’m travelling that I enjoy breakfasts, croissants in Paris, cold meats and cheese in Germany, noodles in China or roti canai in Malaysia but the best breakfast is the Sri Lankan breakfast – hoppers, dhal, chilli something (meat, vegetables), roti, milk rice, it’s the best way to start the day
My two best experiences: wandering down some strange (and somewhat foul-smelling) alley in Krabi Town to find the best beef noodles EVER, by accident.
And in a stuffy warung in Batam with steaming hot rice cooked over coal served with a dozen dishes – nevermind the hookers lining the street outside for work.
I wanted to buy that T-shirt too! In HCMC earlier this year.
And I, too, despite my actual Indian blood, cannot wrap my head (or tongue) around dhal at any time of the day …
Aiyoh gemuk sekali LOL. Hey you’re wearing that same same but different Tee :)
Adri, you just made me very hungry. ;) I love noodles too… all sorts.
@Kirribilli i didn’t mean that one doesn’t like other food for breakfast :) just that you could potentially eat any other food at any other time of the day—like i do (i make it a point to eat from a different cuisine for every meal, even when i’m home :P) —but at the end of it all, breakfast possibly tells you a bit about who you are. sort of like if you were north indian, a southern indian breakfast would be quite ‘odd’; sort of like how i find roti canai, rice and noodles perfectly okay, but cannot wrap my head around jam and toast and cereal. can’t quite put my finger on it. but then i don’t have breakfast very often (considering how i often wake up way past lunch time).
@miss loi … really?
:(
@tym i koped my friend’s tshirt cos stupid me brought just one shirt with sleeves to indonesia.
I can eat almost anything for breakfast. Sausagges & bacon, (very) soft boiled eggs, ice cream, noodles, pains aux chocolate, yogurt, roti prata, pancakes. Never tried dahl but that’s just because I don’t like beans/lentis/legumes of any sort!
i keep hearing that phrase “same same but different” while on my trip to VN.