Glowing Leaves

It was an unusually sunny November day today. And this morning, on the parking lot of my office at Indonesia University of Education (UPI Bandung), I saw the sun light streaming through the super-sized leaves of the Katapang tree (terminalia catappa), making them glow in beautiful hues of green.

Katapang is a native tree of the southeast asian regions (except in the islands of Sumatra and Kalimantan/Borneo where curiously the natural occurence is reportedly very rare).

The hot, tropical coastal areas are the natural habitat of the tree. However, it can also grow well in areas up to about 400 meters above sea level with rainfall of about 1,000–3,500 mm per year with 6 months dry season. Ketapang sheds its leaves twice a year.

Sate Maranggi

Here's another culinary specialty that you may want to try if you visit Bandung and its vicinities: Sate Maranggi.

Sate Maranggi is a kind of satay that is originally from the area of Purwakarta, a regency about 80 kilometers north-north west of Bandung. It is typically made from goat meat or beef.

What's special about this sate is its "chunky" and tender meat and the sauce with which it is served. This sauce is made of kecap manis (sweet soy sauce), sugar cane vinegar, and green chili pepper and hence tastes refreshingly sweet, sour, and hot. In addition to the sauce, it is also served with slices of pineapple, shallots, and crushed fresh tomatoes.

I took these photos at Cibungur sate maranggi restaurant near the Sadang exit of Cipularang Toll Road at Purwakarta.

How Do You Like Your Hot Dog?

How do you like your hot dog?

Do you like it big or small? With a lot ketchup, mayonnaise, or mustard? With pickle, coleslaw, sauerkraut, onion, lettuce, tomato, cheese or chili peppers? And the bun, how do you like it to be?

I am not usually a fast food eater. But at the Bandung World Jazz Fest last week, this hot dog looked so tempting and I couldn't help myself to try it. And with the jazzy atmosphere around, it tasted yummy!

The stall that sold this hot dog is called Lekker. I think it's a local franchise.