CUPPA POO COFFEE

Today we go from the scatological to the sublime, so hold on to your coffee cups and join me for a look at the world of kopi luwak or loewak coffee.

Kopi luwak refers to Indonesian coffee (mostly Sumatra, Java and Sulawesi) beans which have been eaten, digested and excreted by an Asian Palm Civet (species Paradoxunus). The civet apparently chooses the ripest coffee berries for their juicy pulp. In its digestive tract, the coffee’s peptides shorten and create more amino acids, resulting in a tastier flavor profile. The “fermented” beans emerge from the digestive process fairly intact, and still wrapped in layers of the coffee fruit’s mucilage. I can tell you, it’s a sight to see. No, better yet, see for yourself:

Loewak coffee is the most expensive coffee in the world, and sells for $100-$600 per pound. Proponents and producers rave about smoothness and flavor.  Here is Tim Hayward’s blog from The Guardian:

"On first taste it's pretty fantastic with all of the higher notes you tend to get with a well-roasted bespoke coffee (regular civilian drinkers, myself included, seem to see coffee in terms of big, bassy low-end flavours and smells)... [T]he defining characteristic is a lovely, long, subtly nutty aftertaste that looks like it's going to carry on right through to the bacon sandwich I'm lining up as breakfast."

On the other hand, detractors "poo-poo” such comments as completely overblown. Tim Carman, food writer for the Washington Post reviewed kopi luwak available in the US and concluded "It tasted just like...Folgers. Stale. Lifeless. …I couldn’t finish it."

So what is the truth here? Your man in the field wanted to study the issue up close and personal.

My friend Pak Luna, Javan guide par excellence, took me out to his buddy Ali’s coffee company outside of Yogyakarta. Loewak Coffee Co. is a small scale, small production facility where the magic happens. On the day I visited, Japanese and Italian visitors sat around ooh-ing and aah-ing about Ali’s product and taking home bags of 100 and 200 grams at a price equivalent to $320. per pound.

Ali was affable and high energy (I guess I would be too if I drank coffee all day). He even offered his guests a chance to hold the civets, but I passed after I saw one lock onto an Italian girl’s breast. Apparently animal rights people have decried the use of loewak coffee because the civets are kept in cages and treated badly. But Ali’s critters seemed pretty sanguine about their conditions. The one who molested la signorina seemed to be smiling, in fact.

Then, “Would you like to try my coffee?” Yes, please.

While the coffee brewed, Ali explained that most of what passes for loewak coffee on the market is actually only 2-5% loewak mixed with other Arabica coffee. He showed me the "ingredients" panel on a bag of a competitor’s product to illustrate. His product is 100%, the real deal. Then he served me a cup, black with a little sugar.

How about the coffee? Delicious, but not incredible. It tasted like smooth Italian espresso, with a noticeable lack of acidity that might encourage a second cup. I convinced Ali to sell me 50 grams, which I keep with my most valuable possessions. John Mullin, this cup’s for you – if you dare!

Happy new year to all. Thanks for looking in!

INDO FRUIT RUJAK and A DECO JEWEL

One of the most delicious things about Indonesia is its fresh fruit, and one of the best ways to enjoy it is fruit rujak. This is essentially fruit salad made of tropical fruit with a few optional ingredients and served with a sweet and spicy-hot sauce called bumbu. The bumbu is made with palm sugar, tamarind, ground sautéed peanuts, and just a bit of shrimp paste and chilis.

Fruit rujak is the perfect food. It's healthy, and it tastes wonderful, with an explosion of tastes and flavors in every bite. 

Some of the staff in my office made a big batch of the ingredients for a holiday treat, and let us make our own individual bowls. There was mango, papaya, cucumber, tofu, pineapple, melon, and a white crunchy root, the name of which I did not retain. See the pic below. Note that the green plastic container had extra sambal for those who like things extra spicy. I'm a little sheepish to admit that I went back for thirds. But honestly, I could not help myself...

The sublime salad, ready for assembly.
Extra bumbu for me, please.

The Rujak Elves

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The Hotel Majapahit Surabaya www.hotel-majapahit.com is the place I would stay as a visitor to the city. Built in 1910, the interior is a stunning example of elegant Deco architecture, with colanades, a green courtyard with fountain, and what is reputed to be the best Chinese restaurant in the city. I stopped in at the bar/café to have an espresso while checking out guitars downtown. The friendly bartender told me that the Hotel is in its original condition, which makes it even cooler. My copy of Lonely Planet says that rooms here start at $110, an amazing value. Let me know if you're coming to visit!

Hotel sitting area; high tea served

Entrance decorated for holidays

Bar detail with carved wood and stained glass

Deco figures in paneled bar

BEING CLOSE WHEN FAR AWAY / TWO GOOD MEN

I have been meditating on the challenges of being close to people who matter to you when you’re half a world away from them. Even with all the incredible technology we have in telecom and internet, I find that physical distance is real and palpable. Skype is a modern miracle for which I am very grateful, but it is a far cry from relating in person, certainly not the same as sharing space with another. Making true, warm human contact with friends and family is a challenge here in Indo.  It may be the main downside of being away like this.

Before now, I have never spent the holidays away from my family and friends. So this year feels very weird. And while I have been called “Scrooge” because I think we have made Christmas so terribly commercialized and needlessly stressful, still I am missing loved ones a little more at the moment because I’m in no way “home for the holidays.”

One thing I can do is use this blog to tell you: I love and miss you all, and I wish you wonderful holidays, with many blessings for the coming year. Thank you for your support and being in touch while I’m away. I carry you all in my heart. And a special mistletoe kiss to my beautiful wife, who is excellent in every way :) (sorry, baby--- no bling this year…)

On a sad note, two relatives passed on very recently. In giving condolences to their family, I felt this same sense of insurmountable distance. Dropped cell phone calls and e-mails do not help when it comes to giving comfort or expressing sorrow. But I do want to acknowledge these two special men here.

My dad’s youngest brother, my Uncle Domenic or Mimi, was a good man, sweet and kind. He was a stone worker, I believe, and devoted to his family. I remember him mostly from childhood, when he spoke to us kids in soft and understanding tones. He was easy to be with, and always had a great smile on his face. My cousin Anthony e-mailed me first that Mimi was in hospice, then soon after that to say he had passed on. He enjoyed a good long life; he was 95 years old.

Cousin Ray has always been very close to our family. When I was a kid, Ray worked as a teenager at The Scoop, the local soda fountain and candy store near my house in Queens. I knew him for over 46 years. An incredibly warm and caring man, Ray looked in on anyone who was sick or needed him. He was straight, strong, real Old School Italian in the best sense, and completely dedicated to family. He battled pancreatic cancer for years, but never talked about it or complained. In fact, he made it clear that he didn’t "want to see puppy dog eyes;” that was his way of saying he refused to be pitied. Being with Ray was never about him; it was always about you. We all loved him, saw him often, and kept in close contact. As time went on, we watched with alarm as Ray got weaker and weaker from disease and treatment. Through it all,  he showed amazing strength and resilience. Most importantly, he continued to live his life on his own terms. The man had character with a capital “C.” I called Ray and Annette before I came out here. I am so glad I did. During our minutes on the phone, he was warm and easy-going and wished me a good adventure. I’m welling up now thinking about it. RIP Ray.

MONDO KOMODOS (at the zoo)

It seems unlikely that I’ll ever reach the isolated islands of Komodo and Rinca, home to  the world’s largest lizard, the Komodo dragon. Lucky for me, the zoo at Surabaya ---Kebun Binatang Surabaya --- has a fine collection of these bad boys. Over 30 hatched here in 2009.

The zoo itself is pretty tired, and in desperate need of a facelift.  But there is a good collection of animals with an aquarium of sorts, and the park has a nice layout with plenty of open space for both man and beast. On weekends, families converge for picnics and photo ops, and the kids often come dressed up in animal costumes (which look cute but uncomfortably warm).

Back to the Komodos. Locally known as ora, these fearsome creatures can be 9’ long. With powerful legs and jaws, sharp teeth, razor-like claws, and a tail that can deliver a knock-down blow, they are a dangerous enemy. Dragons can swallow a goat whole. To hunt larger animals like buffalo, they will use the potent and poisonous bacteria in their mouths to bite once and wait until their prey is weakened enough to finish off. The males will also try to eat the female’s eggs, leading to marital spats that make the legendary Elizabeth Taylor-Richard Burton smackdowns seem like a honeymoon.

Here are some pictures from the dragon dens. Note the free-for-all at feeding time (I think the meal was raw rack of lamb or goat), and the white forked tongue in the solo shot. Man, these are not warm and fuzzy creatures.

A few other pictures worth showing. This Sumatran tiger came up to the edge of his cage to look me right in the eye. His neighbor was getting fed with a chicken by means of a clothes line pulley; he leapt up to tear it down and make short work of devouring it. Beautiful cats.

The bird is a species of hornbill with an incredibly ornate and colorful bill and "eye shadow."

Mark's rujak cingur

Thanks to Mark Costello, my friend and mentor in all things Surabayan, for his comment on my last post.

Here is Wikipedia's description of the local specialty he mentions, rujak cingur:

Literally meaning mouth in Javanese, "cingur" (pronounced: ching-oor) is a variant of rujak from Surabaya. This specialty rujak from East Java has a "meaty" taste. It contains slices of cooked buffalo or cow lips, bangkuang (jicama), young raw mango, pineapple, cucumber, kangkung, lontong (rice cake), tofu and tempe, all served in a black sauce made from petis (black fermented shrimp paste, related to terasi), and ground peanuts. It is topped with a sprinkle of fried shallots andkerupuk (Indonesian shrimp crackers).



Not one to be left out of a good eating experience, I went out and tried this for dinner tonight. It is quite delicious. The thick black-brown sauce is spicy, savory and nutty. There is crunch in the veg, a little sweet from the pineapple, and the soy proteins are all good eating. I must admit, though, I chewed a bit of the beef lips and did not dig the rubbery texture. I assiduously picked those bits out. But they would not keep me from ordering cingur rujak again.

Thanks to the many who sent positive comments on the "Surabaya Snax" posting. I will continue to share new eating adventures as I find them.

SURABAYA SNAX

One of the great advantages of local living here is the food. It is plentiful, fresh, and very inexpensive by Western standards. Indonesian food has influences from Chinese, Portuguese and of course indigenous traditions. Meals and flavors are fairly simple. The flavors are not as complex or multi-dimensional as, say, Thai food, but as a trade-off the ingredients --- coriander, chilli, coconut, peanuts, soy sauce, palm sugar, and lemongrass --- retain their identifiable flavors. Tastes are a bit bolder, and more direct.

Your basic bowl of noodles

One of the staples is nasi goreng, which is essentially fried rice with bits of vegetable, meat, slice of lime and a hard boiled egg cut up on top. It is served with a small crock of sambal – a thick, fiery red chilli sauce. You can buy nasi goreng in almost any restaurant, at a warung (food stall), or from a cart on the street. The version appearing below came from a local restaurant and cost about $1.50. Note the "avocado juice" with chocolate syrup ( I don't know why, but all the restaurants serve it this way).

Nasi goreng

Two other staples must be mentioned. Gado-gado is tasty and fun to say. This is basically par-boiled vegetables with a heavy dollop of peanut sauce. More familiar to Westerners is sate (or satay), which is skewered meat, usually chicken or goat, cooked on a grill, served with a savory sauce, and lime, minced chillis, and maybe red onions on the side as condiments. Tasty! The dish of sate below came from my favorite local restaurant, and again, the price is very reasonable. Maybe $1.80.

Chicken sate, tofu puffs, greens with chilies

Vegetarians will be happy to know that tofu is very popular, and tempeh --- fermented soy beans pressed into blocks and sliced up --- apparently originated in Indonesia. Both are often fried or sautéed and provide non-meat protein alternatives. Those puffy fried cubes in the picture above are airy tofu that taste like baked bread. Great for sopping up that sate sauce!

I’ve saved the best for last. Most of the teachers where I work eat meals from warung, the local food stalls. Some have a seating area, others are just a stand. There may a makeshift kitchen in the back, or a day’s worth of food is brought from the cook’s home. My favorite warung has a three-tiered glass cabinet where the day’s offerings are displayed --- fish coconut curry with large pieces of white fish, corn fritters, fried chicken, roast chicken in barbeque sauce, fried tempeh squares, duck eggs, steamed spinach with tiny flecks of chillies, bean sprouts, tiny sauteed green beans, etc., etc. The owner uses some stiff waterproof brown paper I haven't seen before, gives me a scoop of coco rice as a bed, and then puts whatever I point to on top. Since I am taking my food "to go," she folds it neatly origami-style into a box shape and puts it in a plastic bag. It costs about $1.20, and it's very, very tasty.

Next door is the Juice Babe. Usually I have mango. Yesterday mango, carrot and pineapple. Sugar or no sugar? A little of the condensed milk. $.50. for plain, $.60 for a combo. It's a lot-- about 2 cups' worth, and she puts it in a plastic bag tied with a straw. 

$1.80 and I'm eating an incredible feast. Indo OK!

My favorite Warung. The third plate --- potato balls ---were great.

The Juice Babe

Recently I had dinner in one of my usual haunts. When the meal came, I noticed an extra plate I had not ordered.

“What’s this?” I asked the young server.

“Free,” she said.

Finally, some appreciation for my continued patronage. A dish of fried chicken feet! (Of course I tried them).