Surabaya, Indonesia: Day 6

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Food

I haven’t been very good about photographing my meals thus far this trip, so this post won’t be very visual to start with, but I’ll try to add to that as I take some more photos.

Since this is a work trip, my dining options are a little bit circumscribed by my circumstances. I need to catch the bus to the factory from the hotel lobby each morning at 7:30 a.m. Breakfast is a really nice, wide-ranging buffet served in the hotel, with everything from donuts to omelettes to stir fries. I’ve settled into a pattern where I’ll have one plate of salad and some beans and stir fry veggies, and then another plate of samples of each of the four rotating dishes from the “traditional corner” of Indonesian food, as well as some fresh melon. Then if I’m still hungry, I’ll have some muesli.

Lunch is a more basic, but still very nice buffet served in the canteen in the factory (Indonesian for “canteen” = kantin, pronounced the same – see, languages are easy ;-) ).

 That’s a big crock pot-o’-white-rice to start, with usually some broiled chicken leg-thigh combos, maybe a soup, some fried fish, a pot of green beans or boiled greens, and a big ol’ plate of watermelon for dessert.

Today was the last day before the Eid al-Fitr holiday, though, and the kitchen staff must have all bailed, because there was KFC-looking fried chicken and some McDonald's cheeseburgers.

Dinner in one of the hotel restaurants is included in the room rate, and that’s a really nice option to have, but I’ve been trying to get out and explore in the evenings when I have the time and energy.

Food in Surabaya is good. It tastes good. I wouldn’t say that local food in East Java is anything totally different from food in other southeast Asian countries (if you’re familiar with Thai or Malaysian food, you won’t be disoriented), but there are some distinctions to be made, for sure.

For protein, it’s mostly chicken-, fish-, prawn- and soy-based. The chickens are longer-legged and leaner than what we’re used to in the U.S., which is different but not better or worse. I haven’t seen a lot of breast served on its own, but it seems like the white meat is used more in stir-fries or other slow-cooked preparations. Satay, or chicken served on skewers, is a common thing. Fried chicken skin is also offered on a lot of menus: I had it as part of a dish last night and it was served cold, which wasn’t the best thing I’ve eaten here. I saw some chicken feet available from some street vendors, but not so much in restaurants. Eggs are served in all forms, at all meals; a fried egg on top of fried rice seems to be a staple, and breaded, hard-boiled eggs in many different styles are a thing.

It’s unclear to me which fish are commonly eaten here. The translations on menus don’t differentiate one fish from another, so I’m not sure. Seems like they’re usually fried, often served whole head-on or in chunks, and often with plenty of bones. Prawns are also served fried for the most part, and also commonly on skewers. Seems like a Applebee’s-style coconut shrimp (you know what I mean) has been the usual, and it’s delicious.

Surabaya is just a few hours away from the town of Tempeh, so it’s not surprise that there are plenty of tofu, tempeh, and mock-duck-style veggie proteins available. They’re often prepared in a spicy stir-fry sauce, and are uniformly tasty.

Beef is around, certainly much more than pork, but not nearly as common as chicken or seafood. Seems like the most common red meat is oxtail, which I’ve only had in soup so far.

As far as fruits go, I’m assuming that this is more of a seasonal thing, but it seems like the variety available here is less than what I saw in Malaysia when I was there a couple of years ago. I’ve mostly seen melons (cantaloupe, honeydew, and watermelon primarily), and pears and apples. I guess that the durian and mango season has already ended for the year, which is kind of a bummer. I haven’t seen any kiwi or star fruit or anything somewhat weird like that, and citrus appears to be served much more commonly in juices than as whole fruits.

The vegetables available and grown here that I’ve seen so far are not too far outside of what’s available in the U.S.: green beans, cabbage, sweet potatoes, white potatoes, etc. Oh, and peppers, lots of peppers. I’m not a connoisseur, so I can’t tell you what kind of peppers are used specifically, but shit can get spicy in a big hurry.

Rice is the carbohydrate staple, served in steamed or fried form with pretty much every meal. Potatoes and vermicelli noodles aren’t uncommon, but rice is king, and even on the way to the factory we drive by a couple of miles of paddies right on the outskirts of the city. I haven’t seen any chopsticks around; as far as I can tell, locals eat with a fork and spoon.

U.S. chain restaurants that I’ve seen so far in Surabaya:

KFC (lots of locations)

Starbucks

McDonald’s

Carl’s Jr

Pizza Hut

Burger King

Wing Stop

A&W

Another (I’m assuming) foreign chain that exists is Pizza en Bier, which has the “Bier” portion of its signage blacked out. I’m assuming that you can get beer in their non-Indonesian locations, and I’m curious how they’re getting by here.

I’ve poked around a few grocery stores, and the most unusual thing that jumped out at me is that they purchase their cooking oil or shortening in plastic bags in the shape of a large Capri Sun. I’m going to bring back some bags of broad beans and prawn crackers, both of which are pretty decent.

Onward to Day 7