Let There Be Light!

Okay I know I started off this post with a dramatic title, and you're probably expecting me to follow up with an equally dramatic piece. Sorry, but this is going to be a rant about the problems regarding electricity in this part of Indonesia.

A few days ago, I was having a really good nap at about 5pm when the electricity shut down and I woke up in a really sweaty and shitty mood tangled up in my blankets. I'm a medical student. Nap times are a rare luxury. And yet the universe had the AUDACITY to play this trick on me. I thought of going back to sleep, but the heat evidently thought otherwise. It was then when I checked my phone and *insert dramatic gasp here* I had only about 30% battery left. And no way to charge it. That was when I realised I was doomed.

Since the sun was already going down and I didn't fancy taking a shower in the dark - too many horror movies, and I'm deathly afraid of creepy-crawlies - I decided to shower right then. And after a perilous shower involving a rogue insect and nearly falling and dying in the bathroom - I was wrong, the bathroom was already dark -  I was already thinking of an escape plan while waiting for the electricity to turn back on. Here's the thing. Firstly, the entire city was in blackout (street lamps, hospitals, office buildings, you name it) and normally my hostel has a generator as a backup plan. But as it turns out, the generator was out that day. Yay me.

I grabbed my phone and as if on cue, Ying sent me a message saying that her room was basically a sauna and could we please go somewhere where it didn't feel like we were sitting in hell. Vejitha, Jessica and I were equally desperate and sure enough, within half an hour we were all gathered downstairs waiting for the cab to spirit us away to Dunkin Donuts. By the way, Dunkin Donuts was also running on a generator and there was no air conditioning. That's Palembang for you.

There have been quite a number of times when I was in the mall or cinema and all of a sudden there would be a blackout and we would be sitting like jackasses in the dark waiting for it to turn back on. I remember this one time when we were sitting in a donut shop and there was a blackout, and a waiter frantically rushed to our table with a flashlight. No, not to make sure we were okay, but to make sure we remembered to pay the check. Because heaven forbid we made a dash for it in the dark. What do we look like, donut kidnappers?

There was also the time when we were watching American Sniper (great movie by the way, you should definitely see it if you haven't) and halfway throughout the movie the entire cinema went pitch black. And apparently people here are so used to these happenings (and I suspect some were a little dazed and figured the movie was over) that some started leaving the cinema and others began eating what appeared to be a full-course meal (like really rice and vegetables, I am NOT kidding). The movie resumed in about 5 minutes, but for someone who had never experienced such a thing, I was well and truly flabbergasted.

Less humorous moments would be times when we had urgent assignments to complete or we needed to wake up early for lectures and there wouldn't be electricity. Or worse, the electricity would fluctuate, causing a real-life Paranormal Activity situation with the lights flickering and the fan switching on and off. I've had times where I stayed awake til 5am and slept for an hour, waking up to go for class at 7.30am. Needless to say my puffy eyes rivaled Kermit the Frog and my skin pallor made me look like an Indian vampire. 

So future students, here's my advice. Palembang is hot, hot, hot and the heat can shrivel you up to a husk. Invest in a battery-operated fan and a good torchlight. And while we're on the subject of heat, really, think about an umbrella. I'm not a fan of umbrellas and people do mock you for carrying one, but honestly a little bit of mocking is better than melanoma. And if all else fails, I have no choice but to tell you to suck it up. Simply because that's all we can do. At least I've never experienced a water shortage before *knock on wood*. Now THAT would be the height of disaster.

Mie Terang Bulan, Palembang, Indonesia

I'm going to let you in on a little secret. The truth is, I love pork. I do. And since I came here it's been ridiculously difficult to obtain any pork dishes. I suppose the good people of Palembang don't really consume pork as it's a Muslim-dominated city. But I do. I hail from Ipoh, Malaysia, which is practically the BEST place for food in the country - Penang Island, you lose - and pork noodles and dumplings are common fare (any Malaysians familiar with wantan mee?) So when I found out about this pork place in Palembang, I made it my personal mission to try it out, no matter the cost (figuratively of course, I live on a strict student budget!)

Mie Terang Bulan - I guess a loose translation would be 'glowing moon noodles' ?? HAHAHA - is basically a small hole in the wall located in an area known as Sayangan. We did a whole lot of research about the place so that we knew what were getting ourselves into. Apparently we were not supposed to go at rush hour (6.00 - 7.00 pm) because the boss would get really cranky and yell at customers, and rumour has it that if you don't bring your own container for takeaways, at least bring some tissues to wipe away your tears after being yelled at by the shop proprietor. At least that's what we heard.

So we put on our game faces on and made our way to Mie Terang Bulan for dinner after church (yes, we are holy people. Haha!) The cab driver didn't have much difficulty finding the place and contrary to what we had heard, there wasn't a long queue that required a tent and a donkey with provisions while waiting for your turn. The shop is basically a classic kopitiam (Chinese coffeeshop), with plastic stools and Formica tables. 

Kuah Pangsit

Mie Pangsit - Rp 24,000

Pangsit Goreng - Rp 29,000

Since there were three of us, we shared a plate of pangsit goreng (fried pork dumplings) which came in a set of 10 per portion. All I can say is WOW. The dumplings were fried to perfection, with the pork juicy and tender within the crispy golden brown wanton skin. The sweet plum sauce (at least that's what I think it was) was the perfect accompaniment. Good start.

Next was mie pangsit (pork dumpling noodles). Now this came in a pretty huge portion, but I was hungry as hell and scarfed the whole thing down. The noodles were slightly chewy, with pork slices. Pretty good, but it was a little lacking in the sauce department. I tried adding a little soy sauce, but the saltiness was too much for me. Eurgh. The noodles came with a side of kuah pangsit (pork dumpling soup). Now here was the true winner. The dumplings were so-so, as I found the filling to be a little too soft, but the soup was seasoned to perfection, with crunchy slices of Chinese cabbage and a slight peppery flavour.

The shop doesn't really have a variety of drinks.. In fact, that's an understatement. There's only sweet tea, unsweetened tea and lime juice. I had the iced lime juice (Rp 10,000) and it was amazingly refreshing, with the tangy lime giving a slight zing to the drink. 

All in all the service was pretty good, there was a friendly young woman who was serving us and she didn't give me the look of disgust when I requested a fork instead of chopsticks  (I just can't get the hang of chopsticks) . However we were apologetically but firmly ushered out as soon as we were finished as there was another family who didn't have a seat in the restaurant. I guess I should be thankful we weren't yelled at for any reason, bad vibes upset my digestion. (I don't know why I was so prepared to be yelled at).

The verdict ? I'd definitely go back for more. The mie goreng (fried noodles) was recommended, and we'd be sure to try it the next time. However if you're not a heavy eater you may want to ask them to reduce the amount of noodles. And if you're a foreigner, get ready to be a mini celebrity. Wanna know why? EVERYBODY stares at you like you're the Chosen One or something. Seriously it never gets old. 

Oh yeah, the shop opens at 4pm and closes around 8, so try not to go too late or they would have run out of noodles and you're gonna have to go home and cry yourself to sleep. Haha.

MIE TERANG BULAN

Jln. Mesjid Lama No. 144B

Palembang

Liberica Coffee Rajawali Village, Palembang, Indonesia

It all started when Ying decided to karate chop her printer. Well actually she had kicked it by accident and there was a slight malfunction. Anyway I received a frantic Whatsapp message in the morning requesting an urgent trip to the mall to fix up the printer and I thought, hey, what about lunch?

And so it happened that Ying, Jess, Veji and I went out for lunch in Liberica Coffee after dropping off the printer at the mall. Much to our intense annoyance, our cab driver decided that he would compete for Slow Driver of the Year and practically crawled all the way to Rajawali Village. We attempted to plead for him to go a little faster but he almost immediately sent the car through a pedestrian ( might I add, at 40km/h ) as though he was proving a point. Therefore we figured that he'd probably do better sending us safely at 20 km/h than banging his way through town with a zillion casualties.

Here I must tell you, I'm not exactly a native Palembangian (Palembanganese? Palembangan? oh, whatever ) and a trip to Rajawali Village will result in you burning through your ears as you try to (unsuccessfully) explain to the poor cab driver where it is in broken Indonesian. Especially if you're a foreigner it seems like they deliberately misunderstand you just to piss you off. I've had my fair share of idiotic cab drivers, but that's a story for another day.

To direct a lost cabbie. basically all you do is go to the Grand Zuri Hotel down Jalan Rajawali and you'll spot a building complex with a My Kopi-O cafe out front. Just pay the cab driver and bid him adieu. This building complex is actually a mall which is still under construction. Liberica Coffee is located on the ground floor. Don't worry, it's open and functioning. It might interest you to know there is a proposed Liberica Coffee branch soon to be opened in the Palembang Icon mall.

Liberica is divided into two partitions; smoking and non-smoking. Our seats in the non-smoking area were soft armchairs and were just perfect for a quiet ladies day out.

Hot Chocolate : Rp 38,000

I am a real hot chocolate enthusiast, but though it looked really good, it was a little too sweet for my taste and well, I REALLY need my kidneys. And would it kill to add a marshmallow?

Fettucine Alfredo : Rp 38,000

Spaghetti Bolognese : Rp 44,000

The pasta comes with a choice of either fettucine or spaghetti. I really have a thing for fettucine, so I got the alfredo whereas Ying decided on the bolognese. The alfredo was probably one of the best I've had here. The first time I visited Liberica the mushrooms in the alfredo had this odd canned preservative taste, but today the button mushrooms were pretty good (though still most probably canned), the sauce was thick and creamy, the red and green bell peppers were crunchy and there were substantial slices of rotisserie chicken. The bolognese had this great tangy tomato base with minced beef in it. Both the pastas were topped with garlic bread and a sprinkling of Parmesan. I enjoyed the garlic bread but Ying claimed hers was a little on the burnt side.

Cream of Mushroom : Rp 25,000 (Yes, it's half-eaten)

Barbeque Chicken Wings : Rp 34,000

Vejitha, our resident vegetarian decided to go with cream of mushroom which came topped with garlic bread. The soup itself was thick and creamy and most satisfyingly packed with mushrooms. Jessica decided to go with the barbeque chicken wings. I do have to point out that the management didn't really get the anatomy right and there were no wings but just little chicken drumsticks - warning; in Palembang, chickens are a little diminished in size. Literally chickens here look like they went through a shrink ray. You can eat a whole thigh in just one chomp. Regardless the barbeque wings were fantastic, with the chicken melting right off the bone and the sweet smoky taste of barbeque sauce to accompany it. I'm not a fan of barbeque sauce, but those glistening drumsticks were more than I could handle.

French Cheesecake : Rp 32,000

Bailey's Tiramisu : Rp 35,000

After lunch we were itching for dessert and ordered a cheesecake and the tiramisu. The cheesecake was pretty good, baked with a perfectly even brown top, smooth-tasting with just a hint of lemon. Truly the envy of rookie bakers like me. However the tiramisu definitely won out. The layers of mascarpone and coffee sponge soaked in Irish cream and topped with a sprinkling of cocoa really made my day. In fact it makes me emotional. Or maybe that's just the liqueur talking?

I digress. I ordered a vanilla rooibos tea (Rp 21,000) after lunch and it came served in a dainty French press. The scent of vanilla in the tea was really delightful,  but maybe next time I'll stick to green tea as I'm not much into scented teas in general. We also ordered a blended hazelnut (Rp 37,000) which I think is a milkshake blended with a couple of hazelnut shots. It was pretty good too, not too sweet with just the right amount of hazelnut.

I'm not much of an epicure and describing food is really not my forte, but I truly enjoyed our lunch session. The general ambience is quiet, and Liberica has a classic teashop atmosphere about it. The price of the food is reasonable and I'd definitely recommend it. However I must say that they should really improve on food presentation and general customer service as the waiters were in Dreamland most of the time.

For the more alcohol-inclined, Liberica offers a variety of beers and coffee cocktails, along with wines and other alcoholic beverages.

P/S :- Don't be shocked about the tax and service charge. You know what I mean.

LIBERICA COFFEE
Rajawali Village
GF Floor, Blok BF-BI
(0711) 5630130

www.libericacoffee.com

A First.

So I've just started blogging. There. I said it. I mean, I've been wanting to do this for a while now but my good friend procrastination has always put his foot down. But now, I'm doing this. Right now.

This being my first post, I guess I should explain what I'm doing here instead of watching the latest episode of The Big Bang Theory - I'm still wondering how the producers are gonna handle Sheldon coping over the death of Leonard Nimoy - or performing the favourite activity known to medical students worldwide; sleeping, or even enjoying my Friday night out. Or watching Walk the Line for the umpteenth time (okay so I think that Joaquin Phoenix did a great job, don't judge me).

Well to explain that, I should first clarify how last August I moved to a little place called Palembang ( which is in South Sumatra, Indonesia) to pursue a medical degree. Now I am a born and bred citizen of that food haven called Malaysia, and in my haste to research medical degrees and to plan my path to being a doctor I neglected to consider how I would adjust to a whole new cuisine. Neither did my batch-mates.

In retrospect nobody in their right mind who's serious about pursuing a medical degree would give it up for food, but hey, I'm a Malaysian, and good food is just no laughing matter. Seriously. Which is why I left my beautiful home country with loads of ammo in the form of Maggi Instant Noodles and enough Milo to feed a battalion.

I remember the first time I stepped into a local Pizza Hut, I was thirsty for something that would remind me of home ( cause they have Pizza Huts in Malaysia too, duh ). I had been living off nothing but bread and instant noodles and crackers for days, and I was sick and tired of it. A Pizza Hut seemed like the Parthenon, where the gods gathered for the great feast ( right so I'm exaggerating, but at that time it was as sincere as could be, really!)  But as I ran through the menu my initial excitement slowly turned into a feeling I can only describe as horror. No kidding here. I shit you not; the local Pizza Hut has the craziest assortment of toppings you've ever seen. I was exposed to the atrocity of having potatoes, corn, fish fingers, POTATO CHIPS and worse of all, SPAGHETTI on a freaking PIZZA. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry as I regarded the picture of a pizza with curly spaghetti on it. For real. And that was before I discovered that locals eat compressed rice like a burger in KFC. When I say compressed rice I mean plain white rice neatly compressed into wax papers, and you see people peeling off the papers, smothering it with garlic chilli sauce and munching into it like a burger. Just that. And thus I knew I was in trouble.

Within months I realised that finding food in this place was going to be no mean feat. Indonesian local cuisine is basically different methods to burn your ass off. I actually do enjoy some of their local dishes, but being one of the few Indians who can't tolerate a chilli without being blasted into outer space, I quickly learnt not to push my luck.

 Apart from that, the golden rule of RICE EVERYWHERE is unspoken gospel. It doesn't matter where you go , there's not a place where you can't find rice. And for someone who isn't that into rice, it's tough life. And woe betide if you're a ketchup person. Be prepared for people to stare at you like you're a zoo escapee if you dare ask for a bottle of ketchup. They don't usually say anything, but I spot the derision in their eyes - yeah I'm talking to you, that girl behind the KFC counter!

Anyhoo, life here isn't without perks though. I've had the opportunity to sample some pretty good food in Palembang and at the encouragement of my close buds, I've decided to record down my experiences with food in this place so that future medical students in Palembang will not be lost sheep like I was. Frankly when I found out I would be coming here, long and frantic Google searches about Universitas Sriwijaya gave me zilch. Well actually there were a couple of blogs which were in Indonesian, and the language gave me a sense that I was drowning before the storm even started. So in the interest of future students who might wanna know what they're in for, and also for me to spend time without going insane, here's my blog.

And I'd like to credit my good friend Ying for making the idiotic holy biscuit comment that gave me the idea for this blog's domain name. And Jessica and Vejitha for providing inspiration. You guys are great :*