Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Fresh Fruit Salad on The Streets

Photo caption: A man selling rujak or fresh fruit salad on Cihampelas Street.

Rujak (or rojak in Malaysia and Singapore) is a popular dish here. It is made of an assortment of sliced fresh fruits you can see in the man's cart and a sweet, sour, hot dressing made of palm sugar, red chili paper, tamarind, shrimp paste, salt, and peanuts.

A rujak seller/vendor like him can usually be found traveling with his cart or putting his cart on a busy street waiting for customers.

If you can't stand the hot, sweet, sour taste of the dressing, you can also ask for the fresh fruits only.

Unlike in any other cultural traditions where salads are eaten before the main course as an appetizer, rujak is usually eaten as a stand-alone dish or an afternoon snack. It is very refreshing, particularly on a hot day. It can also be eaten after the meal as a dessert.

If you don't like the idea of eating foods sold on or bought from the street out of hygiene concerns, you can try them in restaurants and hotels. Yes, many of them serve it on their menu.

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