Bakmi literally means meat noodles and despite the Muslim majority capital of Indonesia, there are shops which caters for people who wants a dose of porcine goodness. One of these is located in Mangga Besar – a quirky name which means “big mango” (a tropical variant of the Big Apple ;)).
Bakmi Ahau claims to have been around since 1962 – that’s a good 50 years (!!!) of operation. It’s still situated in a dingy stall right by the roadside but that’s part of the appeal. If the claims are true (or if the date is based on the Muslim calendar, which produces its peculiar brand of irony) it means that they must serve a really good bowl of bakmi babi (pork noodles)…
…and I can attest to that!
It has been around for a couple of years at least, a friend of mine brought me here to eat a very late supper when I was in Jakarta. The place was packed even though it was way past midnight.
The bakso (that’s meatballs) accompanying the bakmi here is made with pork and it’s deep fried before being served, producing a crunchiness that goes very well with the juicy pork meatballs. They don’t skimp on the meat – there’s just a thin coating of batter on top. I reckon it’s the deep fried bakso that makes this stall stand out.
The noodles are also tossed with lard and there’s bit of char siew (barbecued pork) and deep fried pork skin to go with it. It’s also not fully “dry” – almost a quarter of the dish is filled with the seasoning gravy (or bumbu) which is a mixture of lard, soy sauce, and other things the workers are reluctant to divulge.
However, it is 100% goodness! I have had a lot of pork noodle dishes and this is one of the times where it stood out in my mind. The bakmi in Mangga Besar is just one stall in a long chain but you can find it from the distinctive t-shirts that they wear.
A large bowl of pork bakmi with extra bakso with a glass of iced jeruk (local Mandarin orange juice) from the stall beside just cost under 20,000 rupiah (about RM 6) – a nice break if you want something other than chicken in Jakarta. A mean and delicious dish of authentic roadside bakmi at a price that’s hard to beat.
bad hb. posting something like this in the middle of the nite when i’m on a diet. :ppp
Haha! Sorry about that. 🙂
I just had an urge to write something from my Jakarta trip and came across this. 🙂
It’s really good bakmi – the best I’ve had in Indonesia so far.
Cheers Kellie!
wow looks yummy……the person selling, are they muslim by the way?
Hello Stiven!
Good question that one…
You can’t tell in Indonesia coz they’re allowed to change their religion from the default Muslim. 🙂
Thus, you can be ethnic Indonesian and born a Muslin but still can switch your religion to something else, unlike over here in Malaysia.
…and yup, that’s the best bakmi I had in Indonesia. 😀
In which part of Jakarta is this? Am pretty much surprised that our Indonesian acquaintance had mysteriously forgotten to bring us to taste the bakmi.
I’m sure Jakarta City has changed a lot. Man, it has to be a good decade since I was last there…
Hello Ciana! 🙂
It’s at Mangga Besar, we went specially to eat this pork bakmi.
Yeah, a friend of mine who used to work there and came back for a year said the same thing too – Jakarta changes very rapidly.
I would love to go again though, got to know a local who promised to bring me to the real local places. 🙂
That looks so good…and it’s cheap too! Bakmi sounds Chinese – bak mee…meat noodles.
Yeah, it does sound Chinese eh? 🙂
Bakso for that matter too!
I wonder about the etymology of the words sometimes…
It certainly is an interesting place – I’ll love to go again, this time with a local! 😀
Cheers buddy!
this is the first time I heard about Bakmi. Ok the next time around when i am in Jakarta, I will give it at try. Are you there for holiday?
Yup, there’s a lot of it around Jakarta, most of it isn’t made out of pork though…
…this is one of the more delicious exceptions. 🙂
Caters to a lot of people though and the stall seems to be operating for 50 years!
Yeah, I was there for a holiday, planning to go again coz someone offered to be a local tour guide. 😀
Have fun Eiling!