When we were looking for houses in our Jakarta neighborhood in February 2020, we saw a street festival in progress down the street. However, the pandemic put a stop to all that, and we’d never seen one again before this past October. With the easing of the PPKM (measures to slow the spread of COVID-19), lots of things in Jakarta had been starting up, and this was one of them. It was really fun to walk down the street and see so much activity happening!
The street is pretty crowded, so there were a lot of people in a small space. There was a huge variety of food stalls, plus a stand selling goldfish from a kiddie pool, and various games and activities for kids in the area in front of the mosque. It was a great atmosphere, with families out having fun, enjoying the music, and hanging out with neighbors.
We were feeling a little adventurous, so we tried some of the food offerings. The first was dodol, an Indonesian sweet made from palm sugar. The vendors were making it in huge pans and offering tastes. It was like a kind of solid-ish caramel. We tried the plain kind and the durian flavor, and decided we liked the durian, so I bought some!
We also tried kerak telor for the first time. We had seen guys sitting behind little stoves with some eggs and toppings and were curious about it. So, when someone ordered one from a vendor, we watched as he made it. It seemed pretty safe, and we ordered one to share. First, in a shallow pan over a small charcoal burner, he cooked some rice that had been soaking in water. Then, he added egg to it, plus some toppings. We asked about the toppings, thinking maybe they were beef floss (a popular ingredient in Indonesia). We were happy to hear they were just fried shallots and coconut! After cooking the bottom, he turned the pan upside-down on the burner and cooked the top. The last step was to slide it out onto a piece of paper, add some more toppings, and roll it up. It was delicious! I would order it again another time.
The only other thing we tried is that Adam got a couple of the giant meatballs. They were grilled, so he thought they’d be pretty good, but they came covered in tons of sauce. That was unexpected. He ate one and said they aren’t his new favorite thing. 🙂
It was a fun festival, and we’ll look for it again to try out some more things!