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Text : Athina Ibrahim | Photos : Azanaya
| In the past, food was a means of survival, as a fuel to energize your body. Moving forward to the current times, food with its boundless of choices has become if not part of a lifestyle, it is part of a culture, the common ‘understanding’ that transcends over all level of society.
Being a self-proclaimed food enthusiast, my common day of leisure and ‘free time’ revolve around the act of eating. My plans of trying a new restaurant/coffee shop/food stall are always the first to be realized over any of my travel plans. So having heard about the Underground Secret Dining about a year ago, the concept of dining in secrecy was unfamiliar, but anything with the theme of food I thought should not be passed with a rejection. With a direct invitation from a friend, an aspiring chef who has been involved in the past Underground Secret Dining project, I finally fed both my curiosity and my hungry stomach.
So how does this Underground Secret Dining work? First of all, Underground Secret Dining is a food cultural experience dissecting the pleasures of Indonesian cuisine. As the name imply, it is a secret event limited to the first 50 people who are quick in making their reservation. The secret is not in the event itself, especially with the recent exposures from the media, but more on where you will eat and what you will eat. And that is where excitement lies, the gastronomy delight will only be revealed on site. As if being assigned on a treasure hunt, the invitation by email includes hints and riddles on the specific cuisine and a final reveal of the location address one day before the event. With high hopes in reaching an exotic location, I was surprised to find out that my first experience of Underground Secret Dining was held at a restaurant near my office – a place that happens to be one my office’s regular lunch joint – luckily I was quick to realize that the food served would be custom-made, without being disheartened, my friend and I arrived on site welcomed by an interesting choice of Ternate cuisine. Ternate; a city in the Maluku Island. (Moluccas) |
As explained by the host of the event Lisa Virgiano, since the city of Ternate is part of the Spice Island (Moluccas) their food incorporates a lot of spices and is also the source of sago. With the menu including 7 types of Sambal (chilli-paste) as Sambal Jantung Pisang, Sambal Kenari, Sambal Terasi to name a few. And a chewy bread made completely of sago. Most of the meal left a warm sensation both in your throat and at the pit of your stomach, including the last serving of Air Guraka; coffee mixed with ginger topped with moist canary seeds that has been soaked overnight in warm water.
My interest was ultimately piqued by the crowd itself as I gather in a conversation of my friend and a guest who were discussing their recent culinary trip in Vietnam; they were in deep conversation over the delicious crisp of bread in Vietnam in
comparison to the ones available here. This seriousness over bread I thought defined what the whole event was about; it is simply passion, an amazing passion for food. Having enjoyed the ambiance of the people, the food and the love for it, I invited my fellow food enthusiast friend for a second round of the gastronomy tour, which this time took more effort to reach the location. Passing by a lot of alleys and narrow street to finally arrive to an outdoors setting by the side of a Bali temple in Jakarta with the food being no other but a Balinese food platter from Singaraja. The whole concept is a thrill and quite addictive, no one can deny that food is the perfect medium for anyone to bond over with. In the present times, food is no longer a tool to fill your empty stomach, it is an exploration of culture and a means of communication. With the diversity of Indonesia’s culture hides so many layers of food ’stories’ to be uncovered and devoured. |
