Adrianna Tan
Some things I miss a lot.
1. Nasi padang
When I lived in Indonesia the Padang food was, obviously, wondrous. You’d sit down at a table and they bring a ton of dishes. All fresh, huge turnover, everything top notch.
You haven’t had rendang until you’ve had rendang at a Padang restaurant. Preferably in Indonesia. This was from the 24/7 restaurant near where I lived in Jakarta. Ayam pop is my fave
Adrianna Tan
2. Coconuts. Literally everywhere.
Adrianna Tan
3. I will commit crimes for Bu Rudy.
It’s my favorite restaurant in Surabaya. Which is my favorite food city in Indonesia.
People used to have a laugh that my palate for Indonesian food was for ‘gurih’: super savory and intense flavors, so the food of Surabaya and East Java and Madura was basically my preference, over the lighter food of West Java.
Adrianna Tan
4. Surabaya also has the best tempeh I’ve had anywhere.
I brought blocks of these back to Singapore every time and always felt like a celebrity among my Indonesian friends there, who always wanted a block. You can’t get that quality in Singapore
Tempeh in American supermarkets is basically cardboard in comparison
Adrianna Tan
5. Avocado is a drink!
Adrianna Tan
6. Last time I was in Surabaya my best friend asked me ‘what do you want to eat?’ I gave her a list of 20 items
When I got to her house, 15 of them were on the table. I was like oh I didn’t mean.. at the same time.
Anyway, because each dish had its own sambal that also meant she had to give me 15 different little bowls of sambal..
Adrianna Tan
7. Nasi rawon is my favorite dish, possibly ever.
Adrianna Tan
8. Satay. I.. would never order satay in California because every time I’ve had it here, it’s been.. chicken.. white meat.. dry.. unspiced. Very bizarre.
This is ‘sate klopo’, or East Java style satay marinated in coconut AND spices. I am also partial to sate padang
Adrianna Tan
9. I know I’m very stupid lucky that my in-laws’ family catering looks like this.
My mother-in-law was like ‘wanna go to a durian farm? My friend is cooking’ and we were like sure and then lunch was served
Adrianna Tan
10. I sincerely believe that some of the best Chinese food in the world is in northern Malaysia, specifically in Ipoh, Taiping and Penang.
I’m partial to Taiping. But frankly an average stall in any of those places is world class. And the best places there are.. masterful.
Adrianna Tan
11. TFW you go to someone’s home for a visit and they’re like ‘we’ve got snacks’ and the snacks are tasty and homemade
jan-erik
@skinnylatte I'm hungry now
Adrianna Tan
12. Malaysia is home to some of the most delicious fusion foods
We went to a Indian- Pakistani- Malay- Arab restaurant, one of the few of its kind anywhere. While Peranakan Chinese food is well known, Jawi Peranakan (Straits Muslim) food is just as historical. And tasty.
I got the book of course
Adrianna Tan
13. Forgot to post my Padang food pic actually from Padang.
We got to visit Padang and Medan around this time a few years ago. On the way to Rimba island.
What a magical part of the world.
Adrianna Tan
I saved this infographic because it’s the only infographic I care about.
The many many types of ‘Soto’ dishes and their influence
Adrianna Tan
14. Too many things to list for Indian street food. It is nothing like ‘Indian food in Indian restaurants abrosd’ (which feels like it’s own genre)
I loved my roadside chai and coffee, curries inside whole coconut, breads above biryani bowls, etc
Adrianna Tan
15. Oh man my India / Thailand photos are on a different device. Another time.
Moving on to Singapore
My favorite laksa stall in Singapore. Not the one tourists go to. My mother refuses to eat anywhere else. Open at 5 in the morning. Sold out by 10ish. :) this is where I developed my ‘curry noodles before 10am is real breakfast’ preference
Adrianna Tan
16. Singapore has one of the largest Burmese diaspora population in the world. For obvious reasons.
The food is stellar of course. My favorite is Mandalay Style in a basement somewhere. The chickpea tofu is just as good as in, well, Mandalay
Adrianna Tan
17. Whenever I eat with my immediate family tends to go out for a family style meal like this. Places like these are available in every neighborhood. But we have our preferences. This one at a place my mum remembers going to as a little girl. It’s pretty normal to go out and eat meals like this with friends and family quite regularly as they do a mix of home style and restaurant Chinese food and can be very affordable
Adrianna Tan
18. Singapore’s Little India is a smorgasbord of local Indian (mostly Tamil and Mallu food), and ‘new’ Indian cuisines from more recent immigrants.
I loved counting (1) the chains I recognize from South India (MTR, Murugan, Ponnusamy, Courtallam Border Kadai) and also (2) trying all the ones I don’t know.
your auntifa liza 🇵🇷 🦛 🦦
@skinnylatte the #1 food i miss from Puerto Rico: roadside coconuts. and i had my guys i’d go to, cuz i knew where they harvested them and weren’t as salty as the coconuts right at the beach ―although, if the beach happens to by a river then the coconuts definitely end up sweeter.
Adrianna Tan
@blogdiva yes!! When I got here and met people who said they don’t like coconuts I was like wut?? Then I had the fake coconut flavor things here and I got it. Poor things
your auntifa liza 🇵🇷 🦛 🦦
@skinnylatte NO 😡
Adrianna Tan
@blogdiva just like beans are dessert for us (red bean). We don’t really have any other beans
Adrianna Tan
@vwdasher heh
Frank
@skinnylatte this is very mean considering we're getting closer to dinner time here 🤣
Adrianna Tan
19. I have many distant relatives who run hawker stalls of great renown! My mum’s cousin finally won a Michelin bib recently for her wanton noodles. Just years of slinging $2 noodles. What a life. We got here often for breakfast, and of course we don’t need to join the line :) after breakfast we pop round to the wet market to get the soy sauce I insist on bringing back with me to SF
Adrianna Tan
@blogdiva the thing I like most about Chinese food culture everywhere is, there are no rules. Eat anything. Any time. As long as you make it tasty.
your auntifa liza 🇵🇷 🦛 🦦
@skinnylatte it’s funny to me indigenous american foods like aguacates and corn are treated like fruits in Asia. across the street from my grade school was an ice cream shop ran by a Chinese-Puerto Rican family and they would make ice cream with aguacate, corn, beans, beside the “traditional” ones. to me it was heresy but that was part of the fun to so many. last time i went, the kids were running it and were making lobster flavored ice-cream. they own their heretic label now, LMAO
Adrianna Tan
@grumpasaurus @blogdiva I really love Burmese chickpea tofu. Fried. Ideally.
In Singapore / Malaysia we make tofu out of fish, too. In that case it’s kind of just a fish cake in the shape of a tofu. But has some soy as well.
your auntifa liza 🇵🇷 🦛 🦦
@skinnylatte OH! there’s a YT channel i started following, Mary’s Kitchen Lab, it think it’s called. she has a series called “will it tofu?” and it’s fascinating because i had no idea legumes varied so wildly in the starch department. TBH had no idea most are super starchy. no wonder soy is so versatile. it has the right mix of starches and proteins.
i totally rambled: my point was, i get why it would be used for sweets; they being so starchy, compared to soy.
Allan Chow
@blogdiva @skinnylatte I've been making soy mung bean smoothies with arbitrary frozen fruit and tea as a meal replacement once every couple days. Same steps to making soy milk but not filtering.
Adrianna Tan
@blogdiva @grumpasaurus keto folks also ‘discovered’ monk fruit sugar. I was so excited to try it then I realized it was just a Chinese thing I’ve had forever lol
Allan Chow
@blogdiva @skinnylatte helado aguacate is a thing now!
your auntifa liza 🇵🇷 🦛 🦦
@grumpasaurus @skinnylatte the whole keto craze brought us aguacate based chocolate pudding and, quite frankly, am still shocked, startled and enraged. sugar and aguacate should never go together.
Allan Chow
@blogdiva @skinnylatte search your heart. Sweetened condensed milk makes everything a dessert.
your auntifa liza 🇵🇷 🦛 🦦
@grumpasaurus @skinnylatte 😡 😡 😡
Allan Chow
your auntifa liza 🇵🇷 🦛 🦦
@skinnylatte @grumpasaurus FISH TOFU?!?!?! HAS MY LIFE BEEN A LIE?!?!?! i need to sit down, cuz i did not think that was possible. wow. TIL.
Adrianna Tan
@blogdiva @grumpasaurus there is even fish AND cheese tofu. That you can buy frozen at most Chinese markets here. They use it for hotpot. Homemade is obv better. But rarely available unless you go to the home of a serious master chef or a good restaurant in that part of the world
Adrianna Tan
@sandycorzeta probably missing at least 20 other types too
?? sandy ?
@skinnylatte@hachyderm.io still disappointed with this infograph because they didnt put Rujak Soto in most East side of East Java.
your auntifa liza 🇵🇷 🦛 🦦
@grumpasaurus @skinnylatte NEGL between the pandemic and cancer, it’s been longer than a while since i’ve been to Chinatown. 2025 is my year to rediscover nyc
Adrianna Tan
@blogdiva @grumpasaurus I should be in nyc in the fall. I want to do a birthday trip. Have some fam there
your auntifa liza 🇵🇷 🦛 🦦
@skinnylatte @grumpasaurus 🤯 🤯 🤯
Allan Chow
@blogdiva @skinnylatte I don't know if you've heard, but new York's got a lot of stuff
Keira (She/Her)
@skinnylatte yeah, now I'm hungry too.ight need to change my dinner plan.
I was thinking rice paper rolls because it's hot, but now I want rendang, or tempeh.
Adrianna Tan
@keira_reckons I’m guessing you have more of that over there than I do!
Adrianna Tan
@serpentroots yay! i really like machan's kitchen, and tekka centre has such great hawker food as well
Adrianna Tan
@serpentroots the back of the place is a really good market. Follow the sound of smooth jazz and you’ll see the stall where many chefs buy their produce. Enjoy!
Adrianna Tan
@serpentroots also, here’s a food list I wrote. There’s a link to a map too
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