Surabaya: Food haven part 2

Ote-ote and prawn cakwe

While eating our ice cream, we walked to the back of Pasar Atom, and there's this crowded fried food stall. JJ recommended their prawn cakwe, a long golden brown fried strip of dough, fried with prawns, which usually eaten with porridge, and ote-ote, a traditional Indonesian style fried vegetable cake, with cabbage, beansprout, and other veggies inside. I love the prawn cakwe, it was salty, crunchy, yet too oily. I think it's best to eat that with sambal. About the ote-ote, if you don't know, I am not a big fan of veggies, thus just after one bite, the ote-ote was tossed back to JJ.

Bubur Madura or Maduranese porridge

I don't like porridge, I hate it. My opinion? Porridge is for sick people, even when I'm sick, I refused to eat that bowl of soft rice with soup. When first JJ told me to try Maduranese porridge, my first reaction is, quoting Ellen: ain't no way in hell I'm eating porridge. JJ kept trying to persuade me, and told me it's not the usual yucky porridge, it's sweet. What? Sweet porridge? That word triggered my interest, and then I realized Maduranese porridge is a dish of glutinous black rice and the other sweet ingredients, and later sauced with thick coconut milk sauce and melted palm sugar. Every dish that comes with melted palm sugar and coconut milk sauce, I love them all, and almost immediately I was in love with this kind of porridge. The dish is a bit sticky, but not too sweet, and the black rice is delicious. 

The famous Bakwan Kapasari

Bakso & Tofu? Yum
Fried intestines? Yuck

 Feeling quite full already, we decided to stop by in Bakwan Kapasari. Well apparently in Surabaya, bakwan is the same with bakso. The bakso is served along with fried tofu and also fried-intestines. The meatball texture is very smooth, unlike the usual bakso, and I usually don't eat intestines, yet JJ kept telling me try, and it was good actually. And I bet he was smiling and wearing his 'I told you so' face. Shut up, JJ.

Kartiko plus JJ making weird face

Last but not least, I wanted to bring something for my uncle and auntie back in the factory, and here we were, in Kartiko, a famous traditional cake stall plus cafe in Pasar Atom. The spekkoek or sometimes they call it kue spiku in Bahasa Indonesia, from this shop is very well-known, and I bought one for them.

Well, that's pretty summed up for a culinary day in Surabaya, though JJ said there's still a lot of food that he wanted me to taste, but there wasn't enough time. I had only one day to spend with him there. Maybe next time, eh, JJ? I was feeling quite dizzy and sleepy after all that superb dishes, and I bet I gained more weight. Thank goodness I don't live there.