Just discovered on the show "Star Choice" on AFC channel at Yes TV, that there are some varieties of Indonesian cake sold there in our neighbouring country Singapore, just that the name had been modified a bit:

"Ongo-Ongo", is what we called "Ongol-Ongol", it is among one of my favourite "jajan pasar" or common traditional delicacies which are glutinous cake made from tapioca flour with palm sugar.

"Kue Dada", is what we called "Dadar Gulung"; a traditional pancake filled with shredded coconut in palm sugar syrup, everyone's favourite I guess.

This has got me thinking anyway, about a fellow epicurean's quest to catalogue the jajan pasar available in Jakarta traditional markets years ago... I wonder how that went off.

I'm thinking myself to put similar efforts for jajan pasar available in Bali, well not on a big scale just perhaps ones that available from the seller in front of the pasar near where I live at the moment. (byms)

Delicious crab at Depot Sari Laut pak Muktar,
Sanur, Bali

Our fellow good food hunter, Frank "Biawak" Yuwono was in Bali. We met for diner and was looking for something unique that is neither a Chinese nor European; there is plenty of those two where he lives now in Melbourne, Australia.

My first recommendation was Be Pasih, since it's a famous Balinese sea food restaurant that located near by where he stays in Renon; many choices to choose from with decent tastes, but nothing too challenging or unique, a safe choice I usually offers my out of Bali friends.

However since Frank is quite adventurous like myself, we decided to find something challenging enough; something different, something new. Nasi Ayam Betutu near by was also not an option since we both don't find super hot food a fancy, while there's no new venues near by either.

The other option is, a place that I've been eyeing for a while in Sanur that's recommended by my colleague buddy Andrey, who frequent this place even though he lives quite far south in Jimbaran. It's a small roadside eateries which is famous for its crab, and we do love crabs, right?

Frank agrees so we headed east to the by pass Ngurah Rai where the place is located; it's right beside the landmark ish Mc Donald Sanur, where car parking was quite rare at night due to the famous Arena restaurant near by.

The live crabs are displayed in the plastic containers right by the entrance, there are two choices available; male crab which suppose to have more meat, and the female egg crab with its reddish orange eggs.

We picked them both, and the cook slash owner bring our crabs to be cooked. No we weren't asked how we want it to be done since there's only one option available, "asam manis" said the owner. Ok, asam manis is cool, no problem with that.

So, fellow epicurean, can you guess what kind of meat is shown on the pictures?

Well it's not a kind of meat Andrew Zimmern would have sought after because of its extremity, though it's not something usually eaten either -- at least not in modern societies; as city dwellers are more inclined to display it (the living one surely) swimming around gracefully inside their precious aquarium than having them on a plate.

So, yes it's a fish, and yes it's a fish meant for display than for consumption; it has also become a rarity due to its high price on the market. It originated in Asia, and Indonesia has several species not found anywhere else in Asia. It's slender, long, and has either green, gold, or red color. Have found your answer yet?

Hainan Chicken Rice with Mapo Tofu Sche Zuan
and Mixed Mushroom with Chicken at Tan's Kitchen
Denpasar, Bali 

So far it's been a constant quality dining, and their fish soup with century egg bits in milk based stock continues to become our favorite, even to our two years old, who has even more picky food selection than his mom.

And we also noticed with each visit that more and more people are eating here, including from the Chinese ethnicity itself; meaning that business is growing, and its quality is above standard  -- since I'm among the believers that good food will be frequented by people from the food's ethnic/regional origin.

Which is a good news for us since it's really hard to find a Chinese food in Denpasar that's both affordable, delicious, and Halal. (byms)

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So we're trying out the Encore pizza delivery for dinner. Ordering The Godfather and beef bruschetta as part of their Eighties menu package. Last time their Encore Special was amazing, it caught us by surprise! Turned out it was their new GM personally prepared the pizza. This time it's a bit cold due to the distance and downpour, but enjoyable anyway.

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