Rembang’s Special Dishes, on the hunt for Central Javanese local delicacies

By: Labodali Sembiring

Rembang is the name of one of Central Java’s northern districts, as well as its capital. Getting here from Central Java’s capital of Semarang normally takes a 2.5 hours on a motored vehicle. Visiting Rembang for the first time, I let my local friend take me to some of the town’s simple eateries serving the district’s distinct delicacies.

Nasi Tahu and Srepeh Satay

Among the town’s must-try food is nasi tahu, which literally translates as rice and tofu, and is usually enjoyed with srepeh satay. There are two only two warung, or eateries, in Rembang Town where the two are served: Warung Pak No and Warung Bu Slamet.

The first is tucked at a shaded corner next to a Chinese temple in front of an old swallow house in Rembang’s pecinan, or Chinatown. Open in the morning and at night, Pak No and his wife dish up a sweeter kind of nasi tahu than the one at Bu Slamet’s, which is situated on Jalan Wahidin. The tofu in nasi tahu is moderately ground in a mortal vessel together with cayenne pepper, tamarind, and salt. This mixture is then poured on top of warm rice served on a piece of teak leaf. The final touches to the dish are a sprinkle of beansprouts and a dash of lodeh dressing made from boiled vegetables.

Reintroducing Lasem’s Brilliant Batik

By: Labodalih Sembiring

Batik is a cloth with distinct local and traditional patterns, created by a manual wax-resist dyeing technique. UNESCO designated Indonesian batik as a Masterpiece of Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity on October 2, 2009. As part of the acknowledgment, UNESCO insisted that Indonesia preserve their heritage. Then why would batik need reintroduction? This article talks about a kind of batik you don’t typically see: Lasem batik.

The Javanese batik can generally be divided into two kinds: kraton (court) batik and pesisir (coastal) batik. The kind of batik motifs you are probably familiar with are the ones from Yogyakarta and Solo—the kraton type. Out of all kinds of coastal batik, generally the batik from Pekalongan gets into the limelight most often, even though batik from Lasem is just as fascinating, if not more.

Photography in Indonesia – What’s Going On Now

By: Dalih Sembiring

In this third part of our series on photography in Indonesia, we turn to the present. We interviewed two professional photographers to see what makes them click. Please don’t forget to join our photography contest and show us your perspective on Southeast Asia!

Between Techniques and Emotions

In 2003, hoping to become a graphic designer, Ikbal Hidayat enrolled into Yogyakarta’s Modern School of Design (MSD), where he took photography class for two semesters.

“I hadn’t known I had to learn about photography. I thought, ‘This is cool!’,” the 27-year-old said. “I have always loved art since I was little. As a kid, I saw a calendar photo with a blurred background and I said to myself that I would make something similar one day.”

He did more. As a teenager, he would chip in money with his school friends just to buy a film roll so they could take photos of themselves on the beaches. He held a single-lens reflex (SLR) camera for the first time at MSD. Having graduated from the school of design in 2006, the following year he returned to his hometown in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, and opened a photo studio there. Coming back to Yogyakarta a year later, he became involved in photo exhibitions during Q! Film Festivals and AIDS Day commemorations.

“To me photography is more about the emotions, although techniques are also important,” he said. “I read somewhere that a photo that leaves out technicalities is irritating, but a photo that doesn’t have a sense of art is boring.”

Photography in Indonesia – Modern Times

By: Dalih Sembiring

This is the second installment of our photography in Indonesia series. In this series, we look at photography in Indonesia, a phenomenon that has in recent years skyrocketed to one of the nation’s favorite hobbies. Before, photography was only a pass time for the rich and/or the colonial.

Many young people (say 20-25 years old) have hardly any images of their childhood, simply because the family didn’t own a camera. As we’ve seen photography played a huge part in documenting Indonesia’s history and raising  national awareness. In the first part we looked at the early history of photography in Indonesia. Now we will turn to photography in modern Indonesia.

Photography in Indonesia – History in the Making

By: Dalih Sembiring

Photography is as capricious as life itself. From the mere concept of a pinhole camera to the invention of the Daguerreotype; from black-and-white to color; from stacks of old photo albums to posting photos on Facebook and finding a location on Google Earth; too many things have happened in the reproduction of images from nature to a medium.

In this series, we will take a look at photography in Indonesia, a phenomenon that has in recent years skyrocketed to one of the nation's favorite hobbies. Before, photography was only a pass time for the rich and/or the colonial. Many young people (say 20-25 years old) have hardly any images of their childhood, simply because the family didn't own a camera. As we will see photography played a huge part in documenting Indonesia's history and raising  national awareness.

A Small Encyclopedia of Indonesia’s Scary Beings

By: Dalih Sembiring

In Indonesia, a long enough chat sometimes entertains the topic of the supernatural. This writing helps you join in the fun and introduces you to some of Indonesia's most scary beings (that most Indonesians to a certain degree do believe in).

You may hear something like: “Friend of a friend said he saw a female specter sporting a white robe and long hair.” Or: “You may believe this or not, but a giant, hairy ghoul haunts an abandoned house in my neighborhood.”

True or false, wild imagination or public truth? Read on and meet an eclectic cast of ghosts in Indonesia!

Hush, Little Baby, Lullabies from Indonesia

By: Dalih Sembiring

When I was a little boy, before I went to sleep, I would lie on my grandmother’s big belly while she chanted me a lullaby. It was a two-line song in the Karonese language of the Batak Karo people of North Sumatera: Uwi kola kati/ipenna karat menci. She never told me what the first line meant, but together this lullaby implies: “Go to sleep, otherwise the mice will munch at your teeth.”

East Timor: Dili Insider Tips, Savor Dili’s Laidback Charm

By: Dalih Sembiring

Many East Timorese may not know the exact size of their country, but they can tell you that it stretches from Oecussi, an exclave bordering with East Nusa Tengara, Indonesia in the west, to Jaco Island in the east, and from Tasi Feto or the Female Sea in the north to Tasi Mane or the Male Sea in the south.

Timor-Leste’s capital city of Dili faces the Female Sea, which has calmer waves. Having paid a USD30 on-arrival visa and passed the immigration and customs officers at Presidente Nicolau Lobato International Airport in Comoro area, foreign visitors will usually head the east —downtown, if you like — where nearly all of the big hotels are located.

Read these insider tips to see what to do next!

Introduction to East Timor

By: Dalih Sembiring

After approximately 200 years of Portuguese colonialization and more than 20 years of Indonesian rule, the world’s second-youngest state was born on May 20, 2002: República Democrática de Timor-Leste.

Today, Timor-Leste’s economy heavily relies on the export of its horticultural commodities such as coffee, spices and copra, as well as on the development of tourism in Dili, Baucau and Lospalos, all of which boasts spectacular beaches. The waters around Atauro Island on the north and Jaco island on the eastern tip are known as great diving spots. Charming Portuguese colonial architecture and remains can still be found throughout the country. Breathtaking mountain ranges line the whole land, with the highest summit being Mount Ramelau in the district of Ainaro.

Porktastic: A (Forbidden) Taste of Kupang’s Se’i

By: Dalih Sembiring

Se’i babi is East Nusa Tenggara province’s local delicacy that uses pork as its main ingredient. “Se’i” means smoked meat, while “babi” is Indonesian for both pig and pork.

Having landed and checked into our hotel in the province’s capital of Kupang, my friend and I simply could not miss the opportunity to try some local food. The hotel suggested we go to Bambu Kuning restaurant in the Oepupu area.

Sinfully delicious

I had never tried pork before. Waiting for my se’i babi to arrive felt like preparing myself for my first rabbit satay a few years ago. I prayed for the cute bunny’s soul the same way I now prayed my parents never come across this article — they’re pious Moslems, you understand.