Pantai Lasiana. Just your normal, Indonesian beach
We're in Kupang for three weeks. As the capital of East Nusa Tenggara province (NTT), Kupang is by far the largest city and port on the entire island, but it's a big island and there's a lot of local culture to see elsewhere. Not sure we'll get to see much of it, but here's hoping.
After a few days of doing not much more than hanging around at the house with our Indonesian friend's family we went to Pantai Lasiana today. It took me a while to figure out that pantai is Indonesian for beach. One more word to add to my Indonesian vocabulary. Anyway, some locals had shops set up on the beach to offer their goods to beach-goers. Our friends shooed us off to the water and told us they would collect a few of the beach snacks that are typical for the region.
So off we went to the water, hoping to find some interesting sea life, because we had once had a saltwater aquarium with fish from the region. It was bathwater warm and calm but, aside from a few tiny generic fishies skitting about, we didn't see anything interesting. I remarked that it didn't seem as salty as the Atlantic, and Dan said I was right: Each ocean has a different salinity. Who knew?
Far down the beach we noticed some Muslim women in full garb, swimming fully clothed. I couldn't help but wonder how long their abayas (gowns) would take to dry and if they'd end up with salt rings around the hems. Or maybe it would be laundry time. It's funny what you think about when you're in a new place.
Grilled bananas
We'd barely gotten wet when Fonny and Vonce ( Fawn-cheh) called us back to shore to try some of the treats they had purchased from the beach vendors. One thing's for sure: this isn't what you get on American boardwalks.
Vonce had bought grilled bananas for us to try. The first plate of bananas were topped with a sugar syrup and a finely chopped peanuts. As usual, the syrup was far less sweet than what I'd get back home. Everything seems to be less sweet here. The peanuts were raw, so they had little of that distinctive, peanutty flavor that you get when you roast them. As for texture, the crunch combines well with the bananas' smoothness.
The second plate of bananas was slathered with chocolate syrup and a mild, white shredded cheese. I liked this one a lot; the cheese's tanginess was a nice contrast to the sweetness of the chocolate-banana mixture. I definitely would not have invented that flavor combination on my own, but it's a keeper.
Salak and arak
While we ate, we watched a man climb one of the palm trees on the beach. He had a basket on his back and harvested stalks that grew from the top of the palm. I asked our friend Fonny what they use it for. This tree is called pohon lontar, she told me, and it produces a rough, leathery-skinned fruit called salak.
Our friend Fonny brought some over for us to try. The texture is interesting: when I bit down on it, it initially created resistance, but then gave in to the pressure and squirted out its juice from every pore. Kind of fun, very unique.
The long palm stalks are peeled and pressed to produce a sweet liquid called tuak. Tuak is sweet like coconut milk is sweet, but don't let that fool you. Its flavor is pretty bland. Meh. Without the fun of biting into the fruit itself, in my opinion tuak is pretty unremarkable.
If you let tuak ferment, you'll get arak. I had tried arak before and it tasted pretty good, with just a hint of anise flavor. Of course, we were intrigued. Mental note: Must. Try. Indonesian. Arak.
Update: Many restaurants offer arak cocktails, made from the local brew, so when we saw it on the menu a few weeks later, we had to try it. Dan thought it was okay, but I didn't. Nope. Not a fan. I thought its taste is rather harsh. Reminiscent of kerosene. Yuck.Grilled corn
Corn is quite a popular beach food here, though it's nothing like the juicy, mouthwatering sweet corn I grew up with in New Jersey. For one thing, it's not as sweet. For another, the kernels are starchier and slightly tougher. It's quite good, but keep your dental floss handy.
You generally have two flavor options: choose between plain with a side dish of sambal, or sweet - that is, if you can call it sweet. It's a shame my tongue can't handle the searing pain of spicy sambal. Most sambals are homemade, so each has a slightly different flavor. I wish I could try them all.
Also seen at the beach: a kaki lima selling bakso from his cart. The literal translation of kaki lima is "five feet," because he has two feet and the cart has three.
Written by Linda
Linda is multilingual and has been to over 50 countries She has an insatiable love of travel, cuisine, and foreign languages. Her goal is to make travel easier for others and to offer a brief escape to another land.
