Back in my Jakarta dwelling days when I'm still in the mid 20s, one of the special treat I always look forward to, beside of a sushi dinner at Tengoku, is the "Konro Bakar", or roasted rib in Makassar style at Daeng Tata.

Roasted over the coconut husk charcoal, and poured over with the creamy sweet peanut sauce, the gigantic meat on the gigantic rib bone commands respect from those who eats them.

Though some of my peers favours Karebosi in Kelapa Gading for taste concerns, I found Daeng Tata is still very much enjoyable, and the Kasablanka street, the by pass road which name are made up by mixing words from "Karet, Saharjo, Tebet, Lapangan Ros, Kampung Melayu"; the major areas the street passes, is within short reach from both my office and my home, making Daeng Tata my first preference.

However come to think of it, I realize then that beside of the taste, there is also another unique factor that I don't find anywhere else on eateries alike thus making this eatery unique; the free flow of red syrup and sweet condensed milk to accompany your dessert! Contained in humble plastic bottles, they are simply put on each tables, waiting for the action to happen. Now if you're an Indonesian like me, the "Susu Kental Manis", or sweet condensed milk is something of a treat we've been having since the early childhood; we mixed it with the iced water to create a soothing cold drink on the hot days, or with warm water to create a hot drink to help you recover from flu, pour it on a toast for simple breakfast, or simply just take them as it is; the super sweet thick sticky liquid that makes your brain goes "sweet freeze" upon consuming.

Growing old, the sweet condensed milk is also accompanying us in our everyday life, ranging from the milk coffee in the morning, to the sweet martabak filling for late snack, or poured over the "Pisang Keju" dessert which consisted of chopped roasted banana, topped with crusted roasted peanuts, a thick layer of shredded cheddar cheese, sprinkled with chocolate rice, and bathed with the sweet condensed milk.

There's also a place in Kemayoran area that is famous for serving ll day breakfast of hot sticky rice sprinkled with the steamed coconut grate, and poured over with the sweet condensed milk; a wonderful match.

And seeing its versatility, it's not a surprise then that the sweet condensed milk is also goes well with the famous dessert from the same region of Konro; the Pisang Ijo and Pallu Butung. And to me, the presence of the two free condiments on the table is a sure sign of invitation to the desserts. In fact, most of the times because of those two condiments I ordered the desserts; now that's a clever marketing tactic, for the sweet toothed customers like me.

Sadly now in Bali, and before that in Bandung, from several visits to the local eateries which are serving similar foods, I never found either the red syrup or the sweet condensed milk on the table. Though that the Pisang Ijo and Pallu Butung probably tastes the same, it feels like there's still something missing; its the liberty you have to adds those extra condiments, even though you might feel that is not necessary any more.

So before it becomes a widely practice, those two plastic bottles will always makes Daeng Tata a special place, and the main destination to have Konro Bakar and Sup Konro for me. (byms)

My wife Nade and I visited them by chance, it was in the night after we visited nearby shopping centre. Since she was expecting satay for dinner, so on the way home we're looking around curiously for the signature smoke. Not long while, suddenly we spot a place right beside the traffic light that sells Iga Bakar (Ribs BBQ) and my fave staple food the Nasi Gudeg. To Nade, ribs is a welcomed alternative to satay, and there was also a Serabi Bandung stall which she got interested in so we decided to stop by.

Nade settled herself and Zayan in the outdoor table, while I ordered my Nasi Gudeg Complete which already includes gudeg, krecek (gelatinous cow's skin), and a chuck of opor ayam (chicken in white curry). Upon inspecting the Iga Bakar menus, first I was quite turned down by the price; 35K for a BBQed ribs. Not very expensive but with that price they better be as good as Maranu's in Bandung at least.

Will this be an equal? Though was a bit hesitant I was impressed by the good looking grill they're using, and assuming the cost is at least around 3 - 5 million rupiah at Ace Hardware. So if they're serious about the tools then they're serious in the business, why don't I give it a try?


The Iga Bakar came a bit while after my Nasi Gudeg was served, and it almost popped my eyes out! Man, that thing is sure HUGE! I haven't tried Tony Roma's or Sizzler's so could not make an international comparison, but compared to Daeng Tata's in Tebet Jakarta, or Maranu in Kelapa Gading Jakarta, this Iga Bakar easily outrun them! Almost double the size, with lesser annoying fats blanket that's becoming common in Daeng Tata's. It was a thick steak. It looks really tempting. It was beautiful.


Fist cut was appointed to me, and so I eagerly awaits the sensation awaits... And lo and behold, not only looking good, it tasted great also! With taste resembles Q Smokehouse' beef brisket -- half the price -- this is practically one of the best ribs we ever had.

Well there are some concerns though, like the beef is still a bit hard, the seasoning did not penetrates well all the way deep inside, and before we even finish working through the gigantic size, the wax film begun to form, and Nade thinks the default carbo should be french fries instead of steamed rice. But the texture is great, the meaty character is strong in a good way (even Nade likes it), the hardness I think is still acceptable, portion is great, the BBQ sauce they uses is also good, cooking is good, good PTQ (price to quality) ratio, so on overall the pros heavily outcome the cons.

Iga Bakar BaNa (Belum ada Nama)
Jl. Jendral Sudirman No.3
Denpasar
Bali

Recommended? Heavily! (bay)

Rating:	★★★★★
Category:	Restaurants
Cuisine:	BBQ / Ribs
Location:	Jl. Cipaganti, Bandung

Hujan rintik-rintik, perut laper karena berangkat dari Jakarta jam 1 siang tadi dengan jumawanya kami nggak makan siang dulu... secara belum ngerasa lapar akibat sarapan kesiangan. Apa daya udara Bandung yang dingin ditimpali pula hujan rintik membuat suasana tidak kondusif lagi buat menahan lapar. Jadilah gw dan isteri (dan anak) berkeliaran di sekitar Pasteur, mencari apa gerangan yang bisa dijadikan tempat berlabuhnya lidah di sore hari itu.

Pukul 4 sore, setelah sekitar setengah jam muter-muter Setiabudi - Ciumbuleuit - Cihampelas tanpa hasil, akhirnya kami masuk ke Jl. Cipaganti bermaksud nyari Nasi Padang saja, siapa tau di deket martabak Sakura situ ada... Namun bukan Nasi Padang yang kami temui, malah satu tenda biru-hijau khas Kecap Bango dengan nama "Iga Bakar si Jangkung". Wah, berarti salahsatu unggulan Wisata Kulinernya Mr. Bond nih... trus teringet juga pernah baca somewhere kalau IBSJ ini style-nya bukan seperti Konro Bakar nya Makassar, tapi lebih tradisional Jawa, soalnya disajikannya aja diatas cobek.

Iga, Jawa, Cobek... maka yang terbayang tadinya adalah sejenis pecel iga, variasi dari pecel lele yang biasa dijajakan di pinggir jalan itu. Tak apa-apa, kebetulan sedang lapar daging-dagingan. Gwpun kemudian memesan satu porsi Iga Sapi Bakar (15K), sedangkan isteri penasaran dengan Sate Potong Ayam Gorengnya (15K); yang dibilang sate tapi nggak pake tusuk, nggak pake bumbu kacang pula, dan digoreng pula... kayak apa jadinya ya? Ah yang penting ayam, gitu pikir isteriku yang rada picky eaters ini.

Sungguh diluar dugaan, kalau apa yang tersaji ternyata bukanlah pecel-pecelan seperti yang gw kira, tapi lebih mirip daging bakar bersaus semur! Dengan kuah yang masih meletup-letup panas dan asap yang tebal, gara-gara disajikan lengkap dengan "cobek" panasnya, dengan penampilan cobek dan makanannya yang sama-sama hitam legam nan aduhai! Haha! Nggak salah kalau Bango jadi sponsor mereka, secara hidangan yang satu ini tak bisa lepas dari kecap kental manis!

Gimana soal rasanya? Wah edan! Rasa manis pekat dari kecap berpadu dengan asiknya dengan aneka bumbu yang dipakai, dan sekilas rasa pedas dari potongan cabai rawit. So sweet yet so rich! Potongan dagingnya besar-besar dan empuk, dengan lemak-lemak iga yang melt in your mouth. Ditimpali pula dengan irisan-irisan tomat dan bawang yang segar, serta kerak bumbu dengan karakter rasa kecap yang caramelized, super nendang buat para penggemar makanan berkarakter manis!

Sate Ayam Goreng nya sendiri sangatlah tidak mengecewakan; dengan saus yang juga manis (tapi tidak se-pekat iga bakarnya), karakter rasa ayam gorengnya yang gurih agak asin masih bisa stands-out dengan baik diantara saus kecapnya yang juga manis pedas. Tadinya penasaran juga dengan Krengsengan dan Tongsengnya tapi apa boleh buat, yang makan cuma berdua, dah lumayan kenyang pula. Apalagi sebelumnya dah "diganjel" dengan es Kelapa + Alpukat (7K) dan Jus Dragon Fruit (7K), yang juga ada disana.

Soal tempat sih yang tahan diri aja ya, soalnya di cabang Jl. Cipaganti ini tempatnya rada-rada kusam dan terlihat kurang higienis. Tapi dengan kualitas makanan (dan harga) sedemikian, it's one very hard place to resist. Will be back? Definitely!

Iga Bakar Si Jangkung
Jl. Cipaganti No. 75B, Bandung
Buka 18.00 - 23.00 WIB
Phone: 022 7005 1615 (Delivery Service)