Street Food Lover

           Talking about culinary habits is never ending, starting from street food to five stars hotel food. Focusing on street food, most countries have their own characteristics, both in terms of presentation and the food itself. Besides Hong Kong and Bangkok, I believe that Jakarta is one of the paradises for street food lovers. However, when I am in Chicago, I have to forget about street food because I miss the food cart vendors, food vendors on the sidewalks, and the ones in the traditional market. It is hard for me to find street food like in Jakarta. Therefore, I have to hold back my desire to enjoy street food for a while until I go back to Jakarta.

In Jakarta, during the day, there are many food cart vendors that approach customers to sell food. They use carts or bicycles to carry the food. They sell many kinds of food such as soto mie, ketoprak, siomay, fruits and many more. My favorite ones are chicken satay and meat ball soup. Every day, they usually move around in the same area and at almost the same time.

Therefore, I can estimate when they will come to my place. In Chicago, food trucks usually stay in a certain area, so I need to go there to get food. Food cart vendors also help me to get food if I do not have time to go out. When they are selling the food, they use various kinds of sounds to catch their customers’ attention. They usually use horns, play music, or they yell their jingle to customers. Even though most of the food that they sell tastes delicious, the price is cheaper than in the store. This is because they do not need to pay rent. Additionally, they usually work by themselves.

            Moreover, in Indonesia, when the night comes, it is easy for me to find food vendors along the sidewalks. Their operation time is more flexibe and most of them are open from the evening to midnight, but some of them stay open until morning. In Chicago, I saw only one or two booths that sell food on the sidewalks, and they only sell limited food such as crackers and fruits. They also only do their activities during the day. In Jakarta, these kind of food vendors are spread out through the city. The famous ones are at Pecenongan and around Gajahmada street, which are in the old city. I like their noodles because Indonesian noodles is different from other countries. I have tried many kinds of noodles from different countries, and I think Indonesian noodle is the best. They also sell some unique food that I cannot find in Chicago. They serve turtle soup, snake soup and crocodile satay. I have tried them all, and I like turtle soup the most. Some people believe that turtle soup is good for people’s health. In addition, some people like to eat snake’s bile and drink the blood. They believe that snake’s blood is good for your skin.

            Besides the two types of vendors above, Jakarta also has street food that is located inside buildings. One of them is in the traditional market. When I got there, various type of food caught my eyes, from Indonesian food to Chinese food. Indonesian food itself has many kinds depending on which area they come from. There is laksa from Medan, pempek from Palembang and gado-gado from Jakarta. They also sell various kinds of Indonesian cakes. Those are typical Indonesian cakes that I can only find in Indonesia. People call them kue basah. In Indonesia, I usually went there every weekend to have breakfast or lunch. Besides having noodles, I also like to go to kedai Ibu Jum. They display many kinds of Indonesian cuisine, and then I can choose what I want. Since they sell the food at the store, they are usually healthier than the ones that are sold on the street. Even though I have been living in Chicago for four years, I only found one place like that here in Chinatown. However, the stores there are not as many as in the traditional market in Jakarta, and most of them only sell Chinese food.

            Since I am studying in Chicago, I have to forget my street food for a while. I need to sacrifice my habit from buying street food. There are no more food cart vendors that come to me to offer food. Now, I need a little effort to reach the place where the food trucks are. It is also hard for me to find street food vendors along the sidewalks that stay open 24 hours. Consequently, I sometimes cook my meal myself late at night. Even though Chicago has Chinatown with many restaurants, I do not have many choices because most of them only sell Chinese food. I think, I should adjust my eating habits to where I live. I hope Chicago will have more food trucks and have more places like Chinatown and open 24 hours with various kinds of food.