So I am going to a wedding next month.

It’s my cousin’s wedding out of town in Kupang. He’s my late aunt’s eldest and will be the first to get marry from her three children.

My mother had asked me to fly there with my other aunt and my uncle.

Followed by that was whirlwind of wedding prep craziness.

You see, for us Indonesians, weddings are huge. Literally! Granted, it will be big for everyone since it’s a lifetime of commitment bla bla bla. Let’s not go there, let’s stay within the wedding ceremony and reception.

My late Aunt and her husband was and still are one of the most respected pastors in Kupang. Her husband, my uncle, is the head of the churches organization for the whole island. With such status it is to be expected that the wedding of their son to be big with invitations as many as 600 invitations. Formally, one invitation is equal for two right? So roughly we’re talking about 1,200 guests here! *Faints and opted for a quicky Vegas chapel wedding*

Ok, you guys still breathing?

When my aunt told me about the size of this wedding I nearly rolled my eyes and willing to bet that there will be more than 1,200 people showing up at the venue.

The Dress Drama

The most common thing to do would be for all women from brides and the grooms families to dress in traditional dresses of Kebaya. I knew this. Yet, when my mother said “Ok, we’re going shopping for the fabrics this Saturday.” I felt suffocated!

Don’t get me wrong, Kebaya is really really pretty looking and I am so darn proud of them. But to get into one? Laces, heavy beads and sequins on the laces, plus a bustier? I.really.am.suffocating way before the tightness of the Kebaya wrap me up.

“Can’t I just modified mine to be a mini dress or something?” I pleaded to my aunt. Hey, at least my legs would be breathing!

“Are you crazy? The wedding is not in Jakarta! It will be in a small town.” She laughed and there goes my hopes of wearing a cute little mini dress of Kebaya.

I was actually thinking of something like this:

Saturday came and my aunt came armed with my two college fresh year teenage cousins. Off we went to the famous market of Tanah Abang to start fabric shopping.

The first shop we stopped by had this really pretty looking lacey Kebaya of black with intricate red tiny glittery things making the pattern very modern and young. It was glamorous and just gorgeous. One of my teenage cousin is the sister of the Groom. Normally she would be expected to wear something formal but one glance at her, I knew she would rather go all out hajaruku style than suffering wearing those pretty girly girl Kebaya.

Sure enough after going from one store to the hundreds more…she just couldn’t find one that she liked. She wanted to wear black!

After a tiring day – my mom and my aunt had successfully bagged God only knows how many fabrics and ready to wear Kebaya sets for the families to wear. I seriously had lost count!

With only 30 minutes before the shops are bounds to be closing down, I went back to the first shop we visited. I just had to give that black & red Kebaya a try. With my black polo shirt still on, the shop attendant strapped the tight bustier and pulled the straps tightly. The results? I looked amazing! – too bad in my excitement and between trying to figure out how to breath normally because boy, were they tight – I didn’t think of reaching into my purse and snap a picture or two. The Kebaya fit me like a second glove. My stomach had never looked so flat!

But then it dawned on me…

There is no way in the world I can go around taking pictures of the wedding wearing this tight bustier under albeit a very pretty Kebaya. I can’t even bent down for Pete’s sake! So, I half heartedly take them off.

My aunt had asked me to help out documenting the wedding using my camera so yeah, I think I’d go with something more comfortable instead.

Oh and against all odds, my little cousin had persuaded her aunts to let her got away with a black dress and after seeing her tormented face during the entire shopping day I sure can’t blamed her.

In the meantime…I’m still pretty much dress-less or Kebaya-less. Maybe I’ll just grab something simple on the last minutes.

Now that Christmas has passed and life resume to normal, our kids maybe still busy playing/enjoying their Christmas presents. But did you know that there are kids who are not as fortunate as ours? I’m talking about the orphanage children here in Indonesia.

I stumble on Give Jewelry and my heart melts, instantly.

BRACELETS WITH PURPOSE

Give Jewelry is a sustainable movement to provide food for children in orphanages throughout Indonesia. The vision is simple: every bracelet purchased directly benefits kids in need. So no matter what type of bracelet you choose: friendship bracelets, charm bracelet, leather bracelet, beaded bracelet, cuff bracelets  or any of their other bracelets, you’re really choosing to make a difference.

Knowing by purchasing one bracelet you can actually provide a one whole meal for a child is a tremendous feeling. You are giving them a better life. You can watch their full length documentary of the visit to Sumba and Bali Orphanage on YouTube.

Some of the areas that Give Jewelry are working on – the Indonesian orphanage – is located in the dry land of Sumba. This speaks volume to me as my late aunt who passed away from breast cancer last June was a pastor in Kupang. Her husband, a native son of Kupang and her has been doing a lot of humanitarian works in these small places to help the people. So now can you connect the dots why I feel this ‘calling’ to support Give Jewelry?

ONE PIECE –> ONE CHILD –> ONE WEEK OF FOOD

Give Jewelry is selling truly beautiful affordable handmade pieces. Do check out their products. These bracelets are helping children in Indonesia not only to feed them but also for medical treatments like you can see on this moving documentary. With every bracelet you purchase, Give Jewelry provides one week of nutritious food (that’s 21 meals!) for a child in need.

Below are some simple steps you can take to raise awareness of hunger, encourage activism and create lasting change.  With your help, we CAN end world hunger, one child at a time!

Would you like to get involve and support this cause that has become very near and dear to my heart? It’s so easy:

• Subscribe to the Give Jewelry blog
• “Like” Give Jewelry on Facebook
• Follow Give Jewelry on Twitter
• Subscribe to Give Jewelry YouTube channel

For Tatter Scoops readers, Give Jewelry is giving you guys’ special discounts! Woot woot! Easy as pie, if you decided that this is a cause worth supporting, please do buy a bracelet (or two or more!) and upon check out in the Comment Box please use this code: Tatterscoops to receive a FREE Survivor Purple Cancer Awareness Bracelet or Pink Breast Cancer Awareness bracelet as their thank you gift.

What are you waiting for? Valentine’s Day is just around the corner and their bracelets would make a perfect gift for your daughter, mother, girlfriend, etc.

If you do support this, please do let me know by leaving a comment below. Also please watch this 5 minutes video.

Somewhere in the north-east of South Sulawesi province, there’s a small mining town named Soroako (also spelled Sorowako).

A small mining town where nickel was its main source of life to the people surrounds the area, including my father for a little over 13 years.

It’s one of the places that feel like home.

I was only 3 or 4 months old when my mother wrapped me up and moved from Makassar, the city where I was born and where most of my families resided.

I still vividly remember the small details my first house was. That light grey wooden house with those red leaves plants surrounding front of our house into the graveled driveway. The sounds of our running  feet against the wooden floor in the hallways. The huge backyard with mangoes trees, cassava trees, green thick Japanese grass where I did so many cartwheels and other crazy gymnastic stunts, a backyard patio where we would be playing if it’s too hot outside. Unfortunately I have no picture of the house but this is what it looks like just different color and yard:

Pic: From Kakabiroe

From the trees in my neighbors’ houses where I spent a lot of my childhood times climbing and became one of my hiding spot away from my angry mother. I wasn’t exactly a very good little girl growing up. A total tomboy, I hated wearing those puffy ballooned dresses with their laces that made me itch. My hair was cut short, like a boy.

That precious little yellow bicycle that I used to peddled hard up a hill just to get the thrill of riding it down the hill super fast.  Wasn’t exactly the sweet girl that played tea with her imaginary friends, outdoorsy, I would rather climbed trees, fights with the boys, and came home with bruises and scars on my legs.

For a town surrounded by three lakes, swimming pool was so not popular growing up. Kids would be thrown into the lakes, well OK maybe not literally! And I was one of those many kids of Soroako who learned to swim and yes, swallowed some of the water.

Yellow school bus like they had back in the States? Hello, we got them too! Unfortunately, if you are in the 4^th grade and you happened to live nearby the school you can’t ride the yellow school bus no more. So , I remember the walks to and from school with my classmates who all lived not far from me. Mind you we wouldn’t be walking nicely by the side of the graveled road. We took short cuts, to and through someone’s houses and when someone shout we’d scram out little behinds off. A little adventure each and every day. Sometimes we would stop and picked up these fruits typical of the area, they are sour and honestly I can’t remember why we would even try suckling on it – I have never seen them anywhere since I left Soroako.

After school we often stopped by for a 10 cent frozen-square-looking-sweet- ice-tea popsicle on tooth picks that quench thirsty little heads.

Small town charm, everyone knows everyone because well, frankly everyone works for the same company.  Childhood freedom was there like no other place.

A little far from the main lake…there’s a smaller lake nearby from my house. The road was bad, it was empty mostly. Big tall grass prairie surrounded the area. We little children were scared out of our mind from the tales that there’s a ghost in one of the big tree there.  Some said there’s an unmarked Dutch soldier’s cemetery there. Looking back now, maybe it’s just to stop us kiddos from playing alone and get drown in the lake. Maybe. Can’t remember when exactly I dared myself to wonder there with my friends.

One of the distinct ‘tourists’ – and by tourists I meant the visiting relatives and families from out of town are the display of slag dump. Not sure what I’m talking about? Check out this picture:

Yeah, I remember my father borrowing company’s car, loaded up all of us and our guests to checked out the slag dump from a safe distance of course. It’s beautiful from a far at night time.

One more spot that to me felt like a hidden treasure was this small creek not far from my house. Tucked just right next to a quiet golf course, it was a pure small heaven. My friends or sometimes I would wondered there and just put our dirty little feet in the cold fresh running stream. Sadly, I don’t have pictures of it but the memories of relaxing under the shades of many tall trees there shall remain with me forever. Maybe it look like this, only smaller – it look similar but I’m not sure.

My family moved away when I got to 5^th grade so I was around 11 years old yet the memories will last forever.  One of these days I need to come ‘home’ and captured the beauty of this small town through my lenses.

Lately I’ve been having this itch to travel again, to explore…to soak up the beauty nature have to offer. It’s been awhile since I last travel so the itch is coming back full blown but this time I’m more interested in exploring more of Indonesia, considering my last trip was to Bangkok – which was super awesome.

With over 17,000 islands spreads across Indonesia, there are so many places that still holds its magical beauty untouched by commercial and greedy hands of developers trying to jack up the prices and pumped out as many dough as they can.

Here are some places that’s on my Bucket List to visit in Indonesia

1. Ambon: Not only because I’m half Ambonese and never set foot in the island where my father’s family originally came from, but it’s the fact that I grew up hearing so many songs about beautiful beaches of Ambon and stories about the Moluccas island that makes Ambon holds a near and dear spot in my heart. Seriously, Ambon have some magnificent beaches calling my name such as the famous Natsepa Beach with its white sands.
   
   Image from here
2. Wakatobi in Southeast Sulawesi: Now I don’t dive but looking at the underwater photos from this area makes me wish I can dive! You can enjoy the crystal clear water around the island, or go on dolphin watching expedition which sounds amazing. Wakatobi is situated at heart of coral triangle centers from what I read and these are protected marine areas. 
3. Ujung Kulon: Located on the southwestern of Java island – literally on the tip of Java, this area is within close proximity to the Krakatoa volcano again with beautiful beach surrounding it and small islands to explore. It’s a protected National Park, proclaimed as a national heritage by UNESCO, I’ve been dying to go to this place. To get there from Jakarta will take a pretty long drive in a car and depends on traffic. From what I read, it varies between 6 to 10 hours but I bet the views are well worth it.  
   photo credit: Bambang Suryobroto
4. Rote: Oh I’ve been dying with anticipation to visit this island in Nusa Tenggara Timur since last year. The trip was postponed due to the eruption of Mount Merapiand now it’s been rescheduled for early November 2011. Ever since I saw my mom’s friend’s photos from her trip there, I knew I MUST go too. Where the beaches are still very quiet…instead of loud tourists basking in the sun…you will see pig foot prints! Yeah, you read that right! Oh November can’t be here any sooner!
   

   Photo courtesy of Aunty Henny

5. Tobelo: Situated in North Halmahera, part of the Maluku providence. Secluded with so many beautiful spots, I dream of exploring more of the Maluku island. The picture below is just what my city-fed-up soul yearns for.
   

   Photo Courtesy: Rahwidodo

6. Raja Ampat: The area has been sky rocketing in tourism thanks to it’s vast publicity promotions and it really is a beautiful place. From what I’ve heard it’s a pricey US dollar tags tourist destination now – which is sad but I still wanna go there and climb up to see these views. One day I will get there!
   
7. Kalianda: Located in South Lampung  – Sumatra this is one hidden gem that has became more famous in the recent years, also it’s close proximity to the Krakatoa volcanic mountain gives a dose of magical touch. It offers pretty good beach from the photos I’ve seen and since I never been to Sumatra, this place is on my list.
   

   Image courtesy of Andre PD

8. Donggala: Somewhere in Central Sulawesi island there’s a really pristine beautiful place far from all the pollution of Jakarta. Tucked away with crystal clear water and white sand beach, I so plan to go there one day. Sulawesi does have some of the amazing beaches. In 2000, my family and I had a road trip to Manado and along the way we were surrounded by virgin beaches. So yes, Donggala, I will soak up your beauty soon.
   

   Image courtesy of Arya Sadhewa

9. Komodo Island: To see the rare nearly extinct dragon like creature? Yes! That’d be uber coolness, don’t you think? Aside from the komodo dragons, the island alone is a beautiful place.
   

   Image courtesy of Unearthing Asia

10. Tanjung Puting: Orangutans always have a soft spot in my heart and I would so love a trip down to see them at their natural environment in the deep jungle of Kalimantan. Will have to find out more about visiting this place but definitely on my list.
    

    Image courtesy of http://www.orangutan.org

Until then, I will keep on dreaming, keep on trying to save to afford these dream trips. There are too many beautiful wondrous places across Indonesia, I will end up with a long Bucket List for sure.

What’s on your destination Bucket List?

Image from CBC News

As I watch the local TV news last night, my blood boiled while fighting back tears.

It was a live interactive TV shows from TV One…

Saw bunch of young men singing the famous Abiet G Ade song…with their simple instruments

“Anak menjerit-jerit, asap panas membakar

Lahar dan badai menyapu bersih

Ini bukan hukuman, hanya satu isyarat

Bahwa kita mesti banyak berbenah

Memang, bila kita kaji lebih jauh

Dalam kekalutan, masih banyak tanganYang tega berbuat nista...”

(Smoke rising it’s burning, children crying

Lava and storms swipe away

This is only one sign, not punishment

We must make amends

Yes, when we look closer…

In confusions, there are plenty of dirty hands…)

These bunch of young people turned out to be street singers who plays on board of Jakarta trains. Their community had decided to spend 4 days hopping in and out of trains singing for their fellows Indonesians brothers and sisters who’s been hit by tsunami in Mentawai and Mount Merapi eruptions.

In a mere 4 days…these kids managed to collected 8,980,000 Rupiah (20 thousands shorts of 9 million! That’s nearly a thousand bucks!). Bunch of dirty-wrinkled-small changes neatly stacked together. Almost 9 million, people! Amazing would be an understatement for their acts among many others groups who tried so hard to help out.

They came to where the TV station has their live shows every night and while waiting what did they do? Sing! More money collected.  Them…street singers…who doesn’t even make that much money still have the hearts to share, the morality to thinks of others less fortunate. They think of their fellow Indonesians who had lost their house, their wives, their husbands, their childrens, their brothers, their sisters, their parents…

Their simple act shows that sometimes it is us the regular people who still have the hearts and soul!

While our beloved ‘representatives’ sneaked out of Jakarta for a visit to Italy, the West Sumatran Governor went to Germany while people in Mentawai barely have food to eat after tsunami wiped their villages, the Boyolali officials went to Bali while Mount Merapi is spewing hot ashes killing more. It is heartwarming yet ironic at the same time to see these bunch of young barely-educated-people still cares and singing their heart out just so they can do something to help.

Shame!

Our representatives need to learn some humility from these kids. Imagine what those money they blew for these so-called ‘business trips’ can do to help out the victims? Yes, it’s been planned and budgeted but I’m sure the number one person in Indonesia could lay down his fist and put a stop and allocate the budgets for a much more needed expense…to rebuild the lives of so many affected by these twin disasters! Did he put a halt to these nonsense? No!

It is truly heartbreaking and making me cursing these so called ‘peoples representative’ who clearly represent no one but their own big fat ego and selfishness!

Shame on you oh dear ‘peoples representatives’! Shame on you!

PS: As I’m writing this the volcanic ashes/dust – or whatever you calls it – had reached Puncak (about 2 hours away from Jakarta). Please keep Indonesia in your prayers.

In-case you missed the news…my beloved country has been hit by strings of disasters in such a short time.

We have flood and landslide in Wasior, a small village tucked in West of Papua on October 4th, 2010. Over 100 people died, the landslide wiped out almost the entire place. Deforestation seems to be the main caused but our Indonesian government strongly opposed the claimed.

Then a 7.2 magnitude earthquake rocked and caused a huge 7 meters waves of Tsunami wiping nearly all of Mentawai islands in western coast of Sumatra last Monday, October 25, 2010. Currently more than 400 people are still missing with death toll creeping around 400 lives.

Just a day later – the much monitored active volcanic mountain of Merapi in Central Java erupted on October 26, 2010. People has been evacuating but more eruptions are excepted according to experts. 29 people has been killed so far.

It’s been a really rough times for this country and my heart breaks wishing there’s more I can do. So many lives lost, so many children lost their parents, so many parents lost their children, lost everything they had. Their lives has been torned. They are in desperate need of helps, so I am asking you my friends to say some prayers – accordingly to your personal beliefs – or to monetarily do small donations. Every single cents counts in rebuilding these people’s lives.

You can do so online through Mercy Indonesia foundation who focuses on helping children, orphans. If you are in Jakarta, you can drop off much needed common items such as clean water, food, etc to Mommies Daily office.’

“Kulihat ibu pertiwi sedang bersusah hati

Airmatanya berlinang mas intan yang kau kenang

Hutan gunung sawah lautan, simpanan kekayaan

Kini Ibu sedang lara… merintih dan berdoa…”

(I see Mother Earth… she’s troubled. Her tears rolling down, thinking of gold and diamonds. Forests, mountains, rice paddies, and the ocean… our treasures. Now Mother Earth is sad… weeping and praying…)

Coming from non-Javanese background tradition, Batik wasn’t a big thing in my upbringing. It actually wasn’t until I was working when I started paying attention to them. Shame, I know because Batik really is one of Indonesia’s most unique heritages. Batik today is thought of as the most quintessentially Indonesian textile.

Batik has so many different unique styles, patterns that can distinct themselves and an expert would be able to tell you which part of Java it came from. That alone is truly something.

Some years ago Batik is typically looked at as an old fashion piece, worn by the elders on ceremonial events or formal occasions.

Luckily, in the past few years Batik has crawled its way back into many of Indonesians hearts. People proudly wear them in daily life not just for those special occasions. The design itself has evolved tremendously, now you can easily finds Batik clothing’s in all kinds of styles. From a mini skirt to a hip purse, you name it, you can find it here.

Now, I have several pieces of Batik clothing’s, Batik tablecloths, Batik handheld fan, Batik accessories that I love to pieces. Back when I was still living in America, these are the symbol of home. There’s a certain pride inside looking at them being displayed in a home that was thousands of miles away from Indonesia. There are indeed pride in wearing them and hear strangers commenting on how beautiful they look.

Batik also makes for perfect souvenirs to represent Indonesia. My in-laws had all loved their batik scarves that I gave them. I had mailed some to my American friends as well.

In one of the big department store in Jakarta that carries Indonesian handicraft they still showcase Batik being made and it really is a unique form of art. The lady would paint by hand on the piece of fabric using a small tool thus some batiks can worth a lot of money. The more intricate the patterns, usually they are pricier and if they have gold fabrics then you can guarantee they are more expensive.

Of course these days there are ‘quick ways’ to produce them but the authenticity of handmade Batik really is something amazing. Imagine the patience and times spent to make something this beautiful?

Having a son that is a dual citizen, I am hoping that he too will embrace and come to appreciate Batik for what it is…an Indonesian unique beautiful heritage. I had dressed him up with Batik shirts since he was a baby and that always caused some praised and wows from others.

I just love how some companies in Indonesia nowadays select Friday as Batik day and requires all their employees to wear Batik. This is an excellent way to promote Batik and to make us Indonesians, fall back in love with it.

Good thing Indonesian government has been working hard to preserve Batik as one of our heritage and have the United Nations recognized Indonesian batik as one of the world’s important cultural traditions. After that pretty public squabble between Indonesia and Malaysia over this, let’s not go there but it was pretty historic that Indonesia president declare October 2 as Batik Day.

Back to Batik clothing’s, due to its sometimes intricate design one would have to take extra care to wash them.

Wrong handling may cause your Batik to lose its magnificent colors. Some people will use baby soap or even shampoo or have them dry clean – which can be pricey in times. So it is pretty fantastic to know that today you can find a detergent specially made for Batik textile. Let me introduce you to Attack Batik. This brand new liquid detergent will surely make caring for your collection easier and effortless. To learn more about this product please visit Batik Cintaku.

Happy Batik Day, Indonesia…may Batik live forever in the hearts of us Indonesians and more generations to come.

Disclosure: This has been a paid post but opinion stated are purely my own.

Today Indonesia celebrates her 65th Independence Day after proclaiming its freedom from Japan (Japan took over Indonesia from Netherlands occupation in 1942) on August 17, 1945. Still young compare to some other countries but we’ve surely come a long way.

Unfortunately, because the day fall during the Ramadhan month, seems like there won’t be too much of traditional celebrations going on, sadly much like last year.

For fun, here are my top 10 reasons why I love my country:

1. My rich cultural background. Yes, I’m Indonesian but when people asks me where I’m from and I asked them to guessed they all failed miserably. My father is from Ambon one of the most beautiful island in Indonesia that I have sadly yet to visit, while my mother is originally came from Manadonese descents but I was born in Makassar. My family had hopped around quite awhile growing up which is something that I will forever treasure.
2. The foods – need I say more? With so many cultures there are too many delicious foods here.
3. The beaches and underwater wonders. Granted I haven’t visit all of Indonesia beaches but with over 17,000 islands you bet there are still a lot of virgins white sands beaches around. I don’t dive but I’ve heard and have seen so many breathtaking views from our underwater ecology like the ones in Manado and other islands. Diving is on my bucket list for sure and checking out these fantastic beaches. Can’t wait for my trip to Rote island this November!
   

   Flores beach - photo courtesy of Mauricio

   

   Sumba beach - photo courtesy of Mauricio

4. Living cost – depends on your chosen lifestyle – but moderately living cost in Indonesia is still considered much cheaper than in other countries.
5. The spas – oh how I love the spas here. From the fancy swanky ones to the ones that is dirt cheap.
6. Handicrafts and jewelries. Again, with so many different cultures Indonesia really have so much to offer when it comes to its traditional handicrafts. Some of my favorite necklaces are gems coming from Borneo.



7. Batik and other traditional weave textiles from all over Indonesia, not only beautiful but also timeless piece with rich historical culture stories behinds each patterns.
8. Habitat of some of the world’s endangered species such as the orangutans, komodo dragon, etc. I remember growing up in Borneo and seeing our little ‘neighbors’ the orangutans swinging from tree to tree. Those were precious moments that I will never forget.
   


Image from Greenpeace

9. Despite the glitz and glam of big city such as Jakarta there are still people who live and dress like this in Irian.  It shows cultural diversity. Traditions still plays important roles in plenty of Indonesian people lives.


Image from Incito Tour

10. The smiles – Indonesians are generally a very friendly people. Yes, of course there are bad apples everywhere but in general people here are friendly and smiles a lot.

Yes, as a developing country there are still so much work to be done to bring this country into a better future, there are still things that irked me to death but I still love this country with every ounce of my being.

Happy birthday, Indonesia!

The song above still brought tears to my eyes – try listening to it when you’re thousands miles away from home!

So it’s that time of the year again in Indonesia where you will see most restaurants either closed down during the day or spread a curtain on their usually cleared windows to cover the people eating inside. These veiled windows will be a very common sightings for a month.

It’s the holy month for the Muslim as they start their one month long fasting or known as Ramadhan. Being one of the largest Muslim populated country in the world, it means this whole month long event will affects everyone even from different religions.

When I was still working, the company’s canteen will be closed for lunch leaving us, non Muslim to find lunch somewhere else or just fast away and eat after 6PM where they will break the day’s fast – if they are on the second shift, etc.

Also because people who fast will be up before the crack of dawn, the ‘wake up call‘ can be really annoying for those who wish to sleep peacefully. On some parts of Jakarta, the kids will literally use firecrackers especially in the first few days. Imagine being woken up by them at around 3-4AM? But we put up with it as part of the custom.

Yes, it’s all about tolerance…

I do respect my Muslim neighbors and friends and growing up we are taught to do so.

But this one tweet I saw today got me thinking

“Fasting is about self control, not blindly forcing other people to conform to your standards or preventing others from going about as usual.” – Aulia

If it’s correct then why do we let FPI (Islamic Defender Front) still untouched by the laws when they go on a raid to ‘clean-up’ entertainment places such as bars, pubs, etc? Oh wait, I forgot our very own Jakarta’s governor Fauzi Bowo and the police chief himself had acknowledge these hard line Muslim group by attending their anniversary, right?

These entertainment places by law suppose to be close during the whole month, not all of them but around 400 nightspots will be shut down.

We – the non-Muslim – Indonesians are asked to respect our Muslim brothers and sisters in their holy month and we would love to do that but I personally don’t think it’s wise to force this into our throats by putting such tight controls.

And won’t it be nice to get the same respect and tolerance back for the non-Muslim? If there is such thing as balance interfaith tolerance then maybe just maybe there won’t be anymore church goers being attacked by FPI like on last Sunday. Maybe the government wouldn’t put such a tight stronghold on issuing church building permit.

Hats off to our brilliant smart Minister of Information, who decided to banned porn sites starting this month. Not that I’m pro porn sites but really, this mommy thinks blocking such sites solely won’t improve the mentality of this country. Morality of this country needs to fixed no doubt about that, but will blocking some websites help? I seriously don’t think so.

I dream of a peaceful country where there will be no more torching, attacks, burning, whatever against one another…until then Have a blessed Ramadhan to all my Muslim friends.

Being Indonesian, I love Indonesian foods and being a country of so many tribes and islands, you bet there are plenty of  different kinds of food here that Anthony Bourdain from No Reservations did an episode  in Jakarta and Bali. Andrew Zimmerman was here too but my favorite gotta be Anthony Bourdain – he’s just so cool like that.

With no particular order, here are my Top 10 Favorite Indonesian Cuisine

1. Mie Ti Ti (Makassar Fried Noodle) : This is a traditional fried noodle from Makassar – the place where I was born – What makes the noddle so special is the way they fried the noodle first it is super crunchy and crispy. Then you pour the vegetable mix on top of it, mix it and enjoy!

2. Nasi Campur Kenanga (Kenanga Mixed Rice): This pork laden feast is just heaven! The rice is cooked Hainan style so it does have a Chinese influence. Losely translated Nasi Campur means Mixed Rice. I had a really bad craving for this when I was pregnant but failed to make it because I can’t track down the recipe.

3. Sate Lilit (Wrapped Satay): This is a Balinese cuisine. Made out of minced fish (or fish paste) and shrimps also other ingredients then usually wrapped around a lemon grass to be grilled to perfection (usually by a charcoal grill) or you can use regular sticks. Recipe from my friend, Dhi can be found here.

4. Coto Makassar (Makassar Stew): This is another signature dish of Makassar. Traditionally it will include beef and some cow’s intestine parts – which I had avoid due to its cholesterol levels – and opted for the meat only. Eaten with ketupat (rice cakes), it really is delicious despite the intestine parts.

5. Seafoods: This is also famous because there are so many different kind of seafood cuisine from grilled fish to grilled shrimps in Indonesia. My favorite is anything that is charcoal grilled!

6. Rendang (Slow cooked spicy beef): Originated from Padang, Sumatra, this is a signature dish. It takes forever to cook and weirdly enough, the longer it is kept (in the fridge) the better they taste – after of course you reheated it. They almost looks like a beef curry.

7. Lontong Sayur (Vegetables in Coconut Milk with Rice Cake): Usually served as breakfast, this is quite a wholesome meal that’s delicious. It consist of tofu, chayotes, young jack-fruits, sometimes tempe cooked in coconut milk and served with cut up rice cakes.

8. Nasi Uduk (Scented Coconut Rice): This rice smells so fragrant and you eat it fried chickens, eggs, tempe and tofu or just about anything you wants with really.

9. Ayam Rica-Rica (Manadonese Spicy Chicken): This one is my husband’s favorite really. Coming from Manado, this cuisine is not only delicious but the spicy-ness will keeps you wanting more.

10. Tempe: I love tempe! Tempe is made from fermented soybeans and here in Indonesia, there are so many kinds varieties on how to cook them. From deep crispy fried to spicy chili loaded ones. Pepy have a recipe for the same picture below.

Curious to see Anthony Bourdain’s visit to Indonesia? I found the videos on Youtube and here’s one of them:

PS: Thanks Pepy from Indonesia Eat for allowing me to link to her recipe blog. Seriously check out her blog – I dare you not to drool

Thanks Dhi from Cooking Etcetera for her recipe and fantastic picture as well! Besides an awesome cook, a mad talent on photography, she’s also a web designer! She did my first blog design which I love so much I still use the Tatter Scoop header she created last year.