Around Yogyakarta - Jalan Malioboro, meals and more, Indonesia

While I was staying at the Royal Malioboro Hotel for a work trip in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, I was able to wander around nearby and take a couple of trips out of the city.  Yogyakarta is both a city and a special region.  It is referred to fondly by locals as Jogja.  While a lot of my meals were in the hotel, I had some interesting food from further afield, mainly in Jalan Malioboro.

 

We had some time at Jakarta Airport before a domestic flight to Yogyakarta.  Sylvia had asked me to check out the crisps so I took this photo of the display.  I saw some truffle chips that I planned to buy later but never saw them again.  One of my colleagues pointed out a drink of milk, coffee and avocado.  Another colleague and I went in search of a vegetarian meal.  After three refusals, we finally found a place that did a tasty fried rice.  Meanwhile our travelling companions sampled the Indonesian Ketucky Fried Chicken which they said was so much better than what we get in Australia.  Already I could tell we weren't at home any more and we hadn't even got to Yogyokarta yet! 

We arrived at Yogyakarta in the dark and walked from the train station to our hotel wheeling our suitcases.  I noticed the red pottery tiles rooves on older buildings, motor bikes everywhere, and I followed our Indonesian colleagues we had met up with who were now walking along the road rather than on the footpath.  We passed quite a few sleepy drivers on their rickshaws called becak (pedal powered) or helicak (half motorcycle, half passenger seat).  I never got a ride on them.  We almost did on one walk but mostly I was just too busy.

On the first day of the workshop, one of the local guys brought in a box of Bakpia Kukus Tugu Jogja.  This is a modern take on a older snack.  Traditionally bakpia are made of pastry wrapped around bean paste and baked.  The Bakpia kukus are steamed and often have more modern fillings such as chocolate, cheese and green tea.  Once you are aware of bakpia, you see it everywhere.  Many people at the airport carry boxes of it to take home.  The above photo is an example of one of the many bakpia shops.  I am quite a modern gal and prefer a chocolate filled steamed bun than a bean paste in pastry one, which I also was given to taste.

Jalan Malioboro (aka Malioboro Street) is a popular tourist street that was very near our hotel.  I went there a few times at night for leisure and a few times during the day for more practical needs.  At night it comes alive and I went down a few times with Indonesian colleagues.  It is lively with street food, musicians and lots of visitors, though not lots of Westerners.  A few times I went walking and was stopped by friendly local youths who were studying English and wanted to try speaking with us.

One well known shop on Jalan Malioboror is the Hamzah Batik.  I link here to an Indonesian article which can be translated with interesting information about Hamzah Sulaeman who is the owner.  He is a fashion designer and artist who has a character in his shows called Raminten, a traditional old Javanese woman.  There are a few statues of her in the shop and you can see a picture of her above in a museum type display.  As an aside, I was highly recommended the historic exhibits at the Museum Ullen Sentalu (with English interpreters) an hour out of town, but also notice there is a Jogja National Museum close by in the city which seems to be more about visual art.  Sadly I didn't get to either.

You could also check out the TripAdvisor reviews that are more about the shopping. Hamzah Batik is a huge shop over a few floors with lots of beautiful batik sarongs and clothes, traditional handmade furniture and kitchenware and lots of modern homeware items as well as lots of little souvenirs such as keyrings.  After walking along the street of people wanting to sell to you in the street, it is very nice to go somewhere to look around without anyone trying to sell to you and there is no bartering either.

 

 

I went with a group of colleagues and we ate upstairs on the 3rd floor.  It was fairly quiet but I think there are sometimes performances up there.  The food was quite traditional I think, and very cheap ($50 Australian dollars for meals and drinks for 8 people).  We sat on the floor at one of the low tables.  I was interested to try a gado gado in Indonesia as I have always liked a platter with satay sauce.  I was quite surprised that my meal came drowned in a satay sauce that was quite different to any I have had.  It made it harder to eat the vegetables when they were difficult to identify and I was not a huge fan, though I was able to eat it.  The crackers on top were quite nice and I really loved the battered and fried tempeh that I ordered to have with it.  

 

I also asked for a sparkling water as this was early in the week when I did not realise that sparkling drinks are not much of a thing there.  They found a little bottle of sparkling water that is usually used for cocktails.  To have sparkling drinks usually meant having coke, fanta or lemonade, which are not my favourite fizzy drinks as they are so sweet.

On another evening I wandered along Jalan Malioboro with some colleagues and looked around a bit more beyond the shops and markets.  The Indonesian colleagues were very helpful in pointing out some of the buildings.  The post office was a really beautiful building and we also had an old Dutch building pointed out.  Above was a Muslim temple just off the main street which we were told was unusual because it was not a tome but had a more traditional Indonesian roof.  We stood for a bit watching barefoot kids kick a soccer ball about with great enthusiasm.

This is not a great photo but I was quite fascinated by this memorial to the Indonesian National Revolution after World Wat II (1945-49).  Our colleagues explained it a bit with a story that went something like that the Indonesians wanted independence from the Dutch after being invaded by the Japanese in World War II and the British occupied for some of this period.  They did not sound impressed by the British occupation.  I have read about it online and it is quite complicated but sounds like a lot of turmoil.  Yogyakarta had an important role as capital city for some of this time and afterwards was rewarded with autonomy as a "Special region" and is the only region in Indonesia headed by a recognised monarchy.  As someone who loves history but had not been aware of Indonesia's history, I would love to learn more.

As we strolled we chatted.  Colleagues from both Jakarta and Bail told me that Yogyakarta was cheaper than in their home towns.  Another told me how nice Javanese people were but that those from his home island of Sumatra were more blunt in their communications.  When talking about how common motorbikes are in Indonesia, I was surprised when the petite woman asked me why more people didn't ride motorbikes in Australia.

But you only had to look at the roads to see the answer.  No only were the motorbikes smaller and less powerful, they were better behaved than many motorcycle riders in Australia.  It was not unusual to see couples with a child, young women in hijabs, or drivers carrying a lot - even a ladder - on the back of the bike.  I was more surprised not to see more pushbikes.

The reason you will see lots of becak and helicak (pedicabs) in the above photo is that the fence at the far right is of the palace (kraton) grounds.  We were there too late to go into the palace and could not see much but we did veer down a side lane to see batik paintings made and sold by the palace servants.  The servant told us about how they made them with wax and one of my colleagues did an excellent job of translating.  She even had a chat about the royal family and gossip about the heir to the throne.  Apparently there were gardens we could visit and two trees we could walk between with our eyes closed to make our wish come true but we were too tired to be out long.

It took a few busy days until I finally walked along Jalan Malioboro by myself to buy cold and flu medicine for one of the group (who spent days in his hotel room) or to buy souvenirs.  Alone, I was stopped by quite a few people - mostly to ask me to go and see their batik paintings but there were also students who were learning English and a teacher who had travelled 3 days by bus (and boat) with a group of high school students from the next island.

We also went by bus for a fancy workshop dinner to Abhayagiri Restaurant in the village of Sambirejo outside Jogja before seeing a ballet (more about that later).  The restaurant had plenty of seating among the gardens, water features and twinkling lights.  It was very pleasant sitting outside in the evenings that were so warm I never had need of a cardigan.  Our tables were set very elegantly with menus, flowers and fancy green napkins.  The menu was Indonesian and catered to different diets.

We were given a (mostly) English menu so I could understand what we were eating.  The starters were a lovely refreshing stacked Apple and Orange Salad with a Clear Vegetable Soup.  It was a treat to have a soup as it can be difficult to find a vegetarian soup in Indonesia.

For our main course we had  Nasi Goreng Curry, Sapo Tofu Vegetarian, Sate Jamur and Tahi Tempe Goreng.  It was very good, albeit a bit beige.  The Jamur is mushrooms (though Google Translate told me it was mold).  And the tofu ad tempeh were very welcome. You might also spot my carrot cut in the shape of the Batman signal!

Lastly the dessert was listed as a Fruit Platter - I think it was fried banana, sliced fruit and a wobbly cold pudding of some sort.  It wasn't really my sort of thing but that was fine.  I nibbled bits of it but was more focused on checking everyone wasn't lingering over their desserts because our time was tight to get the bus to the ballet.

Regular readers will know that I enjoy seeing street art.  While on the bus to Abhayagiri and on a tour of temples on my sightseeing day, I loved looking out at the passing sights including this street art on the pylon under the bridge.  I wondered if it is an actual person.

There is lots more I could say but I will post about the temples soon.  Meanwhile it was a great experience both professionally and personally.  I will tell you just a few more things.  It was very easy to be a millionaire in Indonesia with a million rupia equivalent to about $100 Australian dollars.  I managed to get sunburnt where I missed putting on sun tan lotion but it wasn't too hot there - about 32-33 C most days.  Our flight there was a long one because there were a few delays so I was pretty tired when I arrived.  This might be why I slept through an earthquake.  At least it wasn't related to the nearby volcano.  Jogja is near one of the world's most active volcanos, Mount Merapi, that had last spewed lava a week or two before we arrived.

Finally I was back at the airport, glad to be heading home but quite sad to leave Yogyakarta.  It made me hope I would be back in Indonesia one day.  And my foodie adventures continued at the airport.  I regret to inform you I did not feel brave enough to try the Fried durian balls at the Jogja airport nor to try the durian chocolate I saw at Denpasar airport.  I felt a bit better about avoiding the stinky fruit when I spoke to an Indonesian guy in the shop about the durian chocolate who said he didn't like it either.

I was however curious to try the vegetarian burger with chips and fries at the All American Foods in Jogja airport.  It was quite a small airport where you could buy a lot of bakpia and batik but not lots of food options.  It amused me that after I finished my burger, fries and coke that I had a warm tingle in my mouth from the spice.  It was quite pleasant but it wasn't proper Western food.

Above is my last proper meal in Indonesia at Denpasar airport.  I decided after the spring roll debacle in the hotel that I would have some to make me feel better about them.  I think I asked if they were "vegetarian, no meat, no fish" quite a few times.  They were nice but not so different to what we could buy back home in Melbourne.  The kiwi juice was a bit more unusual.  The only place I saw kombucha in Indonesia was at Denpasar airport but only just before I went to my boarding gate.  Denpasar airport (Bali) was a lot more Western than the lovely Yogyakarta.

More posts about my trip to Yogyakarta, Indonesia:

• Royal Malioboro Hotel and meals, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
• Borobudur and Prambaran Temples, Yogyakarta, Indonesia
  
• Bali transit visit to GWK Culture Park, Indonesia
• Indonesia airport art (and a plane meal)
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