With the exception of the hugest shopping malls, one of the most surprising things about the average Indonesian supermarket is the lack of food on the shelves. Various kinds of unappetising snacks and biscuits abound but nothing much you would call real food. Sardines are popular, usually in a mildly spicy sauce, tinned tuna can be had and so can corned beef. The corned beef is a disappointment it is more of the texture of cheap British cat food.- Does anyone remember Kitty Kat ? That texture without the pungent aroma of fish. - and not good for the corned beef and tomato sandwiches I’d had in mind.
Eggs can be bought usually loose in a plastic bag, sometimes you can get free range kampung eggs in an egg box.. A little fruit perhaps, melons and oranges and that is about it. If the shop has a freezer you may find chips and meatballs the rest being taken up with ice-cream. If you want to cook at home - another mad thing that bule do. - it can be quite difficult. The best thing is to go to a market but usually if I go to a market I come away carrying far more than I need and my fridge is tiny. Besides sometimes the average Westerner wants neither to cook for himself or to eat out. Thus the ‘ready meal’, the TV dinner and the good old pizza were invented. (The pizza may have actually existed some time before but it was taken to perfection in the TV age.) Add fish and chips to the list. You may be able to get take always, other than bakso from a street seller, but they are not advertised and they seem to be more at the unhygienic end of the market. I may think this because I am new here and have not yet grasped how to work the system, but I would argue that any visitor to the UK would have no trouble finding food to cook and eat at home but may have a problem finding a place where he could afford to eat out. I was told before I left that it would be difficult to cook for myself and it was true, here everyone seems to eat at warungs and restaurants. That explains why although I have a three bedroom house I have a tiny kitchen with just a sink and a tiny one ring gas stove to boil a kettle, and all the other houses I’ve seen have been the same. Cookery here seems to hobby for the very rich.
I’m having trouble with my home internet connection. It may improve in October if I pay for another month, but it is quite expensive and the cafes and university are free. It is nice to be able to read and make Skype calls at anytime so I will probably renew.
Meanwhile I am struggling to write and essay in a noisy café. Please keep the emails and comments coming. I will try to write something more interesting soon.