Found in Surabaya Only

I think this would be my last post about Surabaya haha.. I always thought of Surabaya as a city full of culinary experience.. you can go to every corner of it and find some unique dishes.. if I have to mark several dishes that has been Surabaya's trademark, it would be rujak cingur, tahu campur and kupang lontong.. 

well, here's the so-called best rujak cingur in Surabaya.. this restaurant is located in a corner of Delta Plaza, called Depot Rujak Cingur.. kinda hard to find, especially when you're a tourist haha.. my mom, my aunt and I ordered  a portion of rujak cingur and tahu campur to share.. 

let me remind you that rujak cingur is a mixed of fruits and vegetables with petis and peanut sauce, lastly added with cingur (cow's nose).. while tahu campur is a mix of yellow noodle, lettuce, sliced tofu and lentho (cassava patty, tasted chewy but soft) then served with broth mixed with petis.. I'm not a fan of petis actually, it's just too tasty for my tongue haha.. so I picked tahu campur as the winner.. the broth was just so delicious, though it was mixed with petis..

Rujak Cingur - Rp22,000

*sorry about the picture, we're quite hungry that my aunt directly stir the rujak cingur and I took it kinda blurry :(

Tahu Campur - Rp17,000

my aunt's house is located near Pakuwon Trade Center (PTC) in newly developed West Surabaya area.. so we spent one night having dinner at PTC food court.. as we're still looking for Surabaya's special dish, my aunt suggested to order a plate of kupang lontong to share.. she told me that it's delicious and is my uncle's favorite dish in Surabaya.. I've heard of this dish before and also read that some people find it quite disgusting..

well, kupang itself is a very small clams.. while kupang lontong is rice cake served with kupang and kupang broth.. so, I tasted a spoon of it and to be honest, it was not as bad as it looked haha.. we add lime juice to it and it turns out to be refreshing.. I actually like the broth and the whole meal.. my mom dislike it though, she thought that it was rather disgusting and unedible haha.. 

Kupang Lontong

Depot Rujak Cingur

Surabaya Plaza (Delta Plaza)

Jl. Pemuda 31-37, Surabaya

Ph.: 6231 - 531 5088

[Surabaya] Soto Ambengan Pak Sadi (Asli)

after a full hectic week in office, I managed to gain my work-life balance and be able to post a new entry.. my disc is quite full with unposted culinary journey haha.. okay, here's another review of my journey in Surabaya.. I think everyone will agree that Surabaya is a city full with unique and special dishes, mostly can't be found in other cities in Indonesia.. I would say that Soto Ambengan Pak Sadi (Asli) is one of them.. it's a very famous soto in Surabaya  and I heard that it was established since 1971.. wow, much older than me haha.. Ambengan is actually the street name of Soto Ambengan Pak Sadi (Asli)'s first stall.. 

the special thing about Soto Ambengan Pak Sadi is the turmeric they put generously in the broth making it a much thicker compared to other soto.. on each table, you can find a complete set of crackers, chili sauce, slices of lime and koya (mix of crushed shrimp crackers and garlic).. I love koya, since it brought a really unique taste to my tongue.. I ordered soto ayam ambengan campur which consisted of chicken slices, vermicelli, cabbage and mixed with rice with a price of only Rp13,000.. it's very cheap, in my opinion.. Soto Ambengan Pak Sadi (Asli) has also opened its branches in Jakarta, though I haven't tried those in Jakarta.. from my friends, I heard that the best place to taste soto ambengan is still at their central store, in Ambengan street..

Soto Ayam Ambengan Pak Sadi (Asli) - Rp13,000

Soto Ambengan Pak Sadi (Asli)
Jl. Ambengan 3A, Surabaya
Ph.: 6231 - 532 3998

[Surabaya] Pojok Tambak Bayan

in my humble opinion, I think this is the best dish I have ever eaten during my short Surabaya trip.. it may sound lebay, but I really fell in love with this food.. I ate it as a breakfast when my body was not too well, means low appetite.. but just a spoon of this dish made me finish the whole portion.. my body can be sick but greediness just can't be stop haha.. let me introduce you to Nasi Campur Pojok Tambak Bayan.. 

Nasi Campur Tambak Bayan + pork satay (Rp22,000)

it's a complete set of rice with fried vermicelli, semur tahu & daging (stewed meat and tofu), opor daging kuning  (meat cooked with coconut and various spices), half of telur pindang (boiled egg) with the special sambal and additional a piece of pork satay.. it's kinda hard to write in English due to many Indonesian term, do forgive me if I made a mistake in translation haha.. the best part is that they combine a whole different taste of Indonesian special dish in one plate.. appetizing.. and drooling, even I still want more just by looking at the picture haha.. all of the dishes tasted great and surprisingly completed each other.. it's been a while since I truly wants a specific dish..

Pojok Tambak Bayan

H.R Muhammad 96, Surabaya

Ph.: 6231-738 2050

[Surabaya] X.O Chinese Cuisine

in Surabaya, I had the chance to visit X.O Chinese Cuisine.. it's a well-known Chinese restaurant in Surabaya and is one group with X.O Suki.. actually X.O Suki & Cuisine has arrived in Jakarta, but I have only tried the X.O Suki here.. X.O Group was established on 2005 in Surabaya bringing three kinds of cuisine, including suki (steamboat), Chinese food and dim sum.. just a note, it's a treat from my aunt so I don't know the price of below menu or the exact name haha.. well, let the pictures parade :D

thousands year tofu

sauteed beans with minced beef

sweet & sour fish

i fu mie with mixed seafood

marinated pork ribs

chrysanthemum tea 

in Surabaya, it's quite common for restaurants serving non-halal food located in malls, unlike Jakarta.. in my opinion, the best menu of the night is marinated pork ribs.. the pork is juicy and tender.. I love the sauce which goes perfectly with the pork ribs.. below the pork would be sweet & sour fish and i fu mie.. the sweet & sour fish is rather different than those I used to find in Jakarta, the fish is crunchy and I just love the sesame.. the sweet & sour sauce was not overpowering, just gave a nice flavor to the already-delicious fish :) the i fu mie also gave another different experience, again, it's unlike those I find here in Jakarta, I think the bottom line is the sauce is not overpowering the main dishes, which makes it really nice in my tongue :) unfortunately, other menus were just ordinary and I've tasted many other restaurants serves better.. luckily we have a "buy-one-get-one" promo with BCA credit card which just makes our dinner perfect haha.. *price does matter*

X.O Chinese Cuisine

Plaza Tunjungan IV, LG 08-09

Jl. Basuki Rahmat 8-12, Surabaya

Ph.: 6231-548 0542

[Surabaya] Pasar Atom

last long week-end, my mom and I had a little vacation to Surabaya, where my aunt lives.. we took Lion Air on a 7 a.m flight and reached Surabaya around 9 a.m.. got picked by my aunt & uncle then headed right to their house in Pakuwon Area (West Surabaya).. after we finished unpacked our stuffs, my aunt directly took us to take a look at Surabaya.. 

our first stop was Pasar Atom, which was located in East Surabaya.. well, Pasar Atom is one of the oldest market in Surabaya which was opened around year 1972.. now, there's Pasar Atom and the newer Pasar Atom Mall.. in my opinion, it's similar to Jakarta's ITC and Pasar Pagi Mangga Dua, dominated by fashion stores and jewelry stores.. we had our lunch there and decided to try the food court..

Nasi Empal Udang Bu Rudy - Rp14,000

first, we ordered Nasi Empal Udang Bu Rudy (rice with fried beef chunks and shrimp a la Mrs. Rudy).. it was served with a piece of cucumber, grated coconut and their special chili.. I think the shrimp and chili a la Bu Rudy has been the most wanted culinary gift from Surabaya.. once I mentioned that I was going to Surabaya, then my friends started to order the shrimp and chili haha.. the meal is satisfying, with such an affordable price, you'll get a generous meat and shrimps.. on top of my list would be chili, it's spicy and appetizing haha.. the meat is tender and not bland, makes a perfect combination when eaten with chili and warm rice :) I guess the small stall of Bu Rudy has proved the reason of their popularity and I think they deserve it..

Lontong Mie (Rp15,000) & Sate Kerang (Rp1,000 each)

next, we ordered Lontong Mie with Sate Kerang.. Lontong Mie consisted of yellow noodle, rice cake, bean sprouts and poured with soybean broth and petis (shrimp paste).. I think it has an authentic taste that you may not find in other area.. I love it.. it's sweet enough and very fulfilling.. I, especially fell in love with sate kerang (clam satay) which was much more than I expected.. I thought it was gonna be fishy, but apparently it is not.. for Surabaya people, lontong mie is always best eaten with some sate kerang..

Rujak Cingur (Rp16,000)

our stomach still wants more, so we ordered Rujak Cingur.. it's one of Surabaya special cuisine.. "cingur" literally means cow's mouth.. rujak cingur usually consisted of cingur, cucumber, rice cake, fried tofu, soybean patty, bean sprouts and kangkung then served with peanut sauce and petis.. the taste of petis was just too strong for me.. I actually liked it, but can't eat too much of the peanut sauce.. I think this one is just okay, since Surabaya has a better place serving rujak cingur.. 

in Pasar Atom, you can have endless culinary journey.. our stomach were full after eating those three menus but Pasar Atom still have treasure which can't be missed.. it's the famous Cakue Peneleh (Peneleh fritters) for the price of Rp35,000 per 10 pieces.. the special thing about the Peneleh is the shrimp-chicken filled fritters.. I LOVE IT.. best food found in Pasar Atom :D it's crunchy and you can taste the shrimp, goes really well with the home-made tomato sauce.. it's a delightful snack and you just can't stop eating though your stomach is full haha.. we ended up bought four boxes of half-raw fritters to Jakarta..

Cakue Peneleh (Rp35,000)

Food Court Pasar Atom

Old Pasar Atom 4th Floor

Jl. Bunguran 45, Surabaya

Ph.: 6231-355 1995

www.pasaratom.com

Cakue Peneleh

Old Pasar Atom Ground Floor

Ph.: 6231-7099 1778