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Nasi Timbel Komplit

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Taken at a restaurant in Cipanas (I think... It maybe past Cipanas).

Taken with Lumix, a little retouched in Photoshop (Contrast, Hue, framing). Again, not the best picture ever, but the subject's what's important.

Please read below :)

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Nasi Timbel Komplit.

A Sundanese meal containing
Nasi Timbel (steamed rice wrapped in banana leaf. The word 'komplit' comes from 'complete' and it just means 'plus all the other stuff' :))

Ayam Goreng Kuning (literally means Yellow Fried Chicken, the yellow referring to the spices it was marinated in. The best kind of fried chicken you could ever wish for!)

Tahu Goreng (fried tofu, the yellow triangular thing, it's a little different than the kind of tofu you'd find in Chinese food)

Tempe Goreng (fried tempe, one of the healthiest food in the world, made of fermented soya beans. Ironically, it's often considered as 'poor people' food in Indonesia when it is priced very highly in health-conscious western societies. It's just behind the rice, see the lil' soya beans peeking out? More obvious in the background dish :))

Ikan Asin Jambal (literally means Jambal Salty Fish, it's fried salted fish. It's between the Tempe and Tahu. Jambal refers to the name of the fish.)

Sambel (Sambel (or sambal) generally refers to crushed chilli with spices. There are different types of sambel depending on the spices and the region it is from. There may be a specific name for this one, but I'm not too sure. Definately much, much better than chilli sauce and not necessarilly more hot either!)

Lalap (This refers to the vegetables served with the dish, which differs depending on the restaurants but the main ones are cucumbers, lettuce and tomatoes. Notice how they forgot to give me a slice of tomato? My brother got one though.)

Sayur Asem (Literally means 'sour vegetable' but it is actually a sort of vegetable soup dish that tastes only a tad sour. I don't know the English names for the ingredients but there's peanuts, corn, some other sort of nut, beans etc as well as the green vegetable. This is served in a small side bowl (sort of like how Miso Soup is served) and you can't see it in this picture because I forgot to put it in. You can see it in [link])

Kerupuk (It's fried, crunchy and made of flour plus other stuff. This one, if I remember correctly, was Kerupuk Udang aka Shrimp Kerupuk. It's the one in it's own private plastic bag. I don't really know how to describe this particular item, but there are different types of kerupuk. It's basically something to chew on before/after/with your meal. It could range in taste from tasteless to salty. As is the nature of kerupuk, it isn't exactly essential, it just sort of makes a meal taste that much better and therefore you may not always find it with this meal.)

Teh Tawar Panas (Unsweetened hot tea. In most traditional Javanese restaurants, meaning out of the big cities, such as Jakarta and Surabaya, hot tea is served free, the way water is in developed western countries. This is most probably due to the fact that water is drinkable if it has been boiled or if it is mineral water bought by the galon. Or maybe just the way custom happened to be. The amount of sugar you'd get, however, ranges from none to WAY too much depending on which part of Java you're in.)

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Just a little lesson in Indonesian food :) One thing to note is that I am not actually Sundanese myself and have only eaten this meal in restaurants and not home-cooked. Although the individual items of the meal other than the 'nasi timbel' itself are food you'd find in most households in Jakarta/Java (including my own). Therefore, all of the above is based on my own limited knowledge, which I'd say is approximately accurate.

This is one of my favorite meal in the whole world. As a Sundanese guy once said, it tastes better when you eat it with your hands. Believe it or not, it really does!

This is why a little metal bowl (also unseen in this picture, but it's [link] here) containing water and some lime/lemon would be served to clean your hands before and after eating. This is a Sundanese custom, I believe, and so is the tradition of eating 'lesehan' or eating while sitting on the floor with tikar and a short table for the food. Most Sundanese restaurants would have both 'normal' tables and a lesehan area.

Also another thing to note, is that Indonesia is a multi-cultural country. This is only one meal from one culture out of the many hundreds.
Image size
866x670px 167.18 KB
Make
Panasonic
Model
DMC-FX8
Shutter Speed
10/150 second
Aperture
F/2.8
Focal Length
6 mm
ISO Speed
100
Date Taken
Dec 23, 2006, 2:14:22 PM
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Comments4
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SilverOceanAlchemist's avatar
deuh bikin lapar ini gan fotonya P:
jadi pengen makan nasi timbel hehe