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A week in Komodo (Indonesia) - Take 1

KennethT

By KennethT
in Elsewhere in Asia/Pacific: Dining

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weinoo

weinoo

Posted
Posted
On 1/6/2026 at 10:48 AM, KennethT said:

Bee Cheng Hiang is a well known purveyor of bakkwa (started in 1933 in Singapore and have grown to over 300 locations in 11 countries) - a Malaysian/Singaporean barbequed jerky, typically made from pork, but they had a LOT of options.  Here's just a few:

 

First, thanks for the blog...my stomach would be a freakin' mess.  Second, does this place satisfy your itch here in NYC?

 

I know they have pork and chicken, as well as beef, and that it is grilled. @donbert was adamant that it wasn't true jerky!

 

ling.thumb.jpeg.662717faca1ca99c4c2a65fd2ba18769.jpeg

 

It is, as you say, addictive.

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Mitch Weinstein aka "weinoo"

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liuzhou

liuzhou

Posted
Posted (edited)

@KennethT

"non-cake bread is my little joke.  Much of the bread in SE Asia has a texture that resembles cake.  It's rare to find bread that has actual bread-like texture and crust."

 

And in China, where it's also cake sweet. I keep telling them but they don't believe me.

 

Edited by liuzhou (log)
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...your dancing child with his Chinese suit.

 

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KennethT

KennethT

Posted
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Posted
50 minutes ago, weinoo said:

 

First, thanks for the blog...my stomach would be a freakin' mess.  Second, does this place satisfy your itch here in NYC?

 

I know they have pork and chicken, as well as beef, and that it is grilled. @donbert was adamant that it wasn't true jerky!

 

ling.thumb.jpeg.662717faca1ca99c4c2a65fd2ba18769.jpeg

 

It is, as you say, addictive.

@ShelbyThis is the place I've passed by a million times but never tried. That will have to change soon!

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KennethT

KennethT

Posted
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Posted
49 minutes ago, liuzhou said:

@KennethT

"non-cake bread is my little joke.  Much of the bread in SE Asia has a texture that resembles cake.  It's rare to find bread that has actual bread-like texture and crust."

 

And in China, where it's also cake sweet. I keep telling them but they don't believe me.

 

I thought you'd get it....

Shelby

Shelby

Posted
Posted
20 minutes ago, KennethT said:

@ShelbyThis is the place I've passed by a million times but never tried. That will have to change soon!

I hope they ship to Kansas lol.  But seriously I hope somewhere near you has that delicious looking treat.

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KennethT

KennethT

Posted
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Posted
12 hours ago, Shelby said:

I hope they ship to Kansas lol.  But seriously I hope somewhere near you has that delicious looking treat.

They may not, but I can! Especially while it's still cold outside but I imagine this stuff to be pretty temperature tolerant, bacteria-wise.

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liamsaunt

liamsaunt

Posted
Posted

Thanks for sharing your trip! The reef looks very healthy. That is a serious current going on in a couple of the videos!

 

I have to say that I am impressed that you can travel so far and then stay for what seems to be a relatively short trip. I don’t think I could do that. 

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KennethT

KennethT

Posted
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Posted

After lunch, we were debating what to do for the rest of our last day.  Unfortunately, they still weren't allowed to take us out to either Komodo or Rinca islands to see the dragons or to Padar for hiking and amazing views.  We weren't thinking of snorkeling since our wetsuits were still drying and we wanted them to be dry in time for the flight the next morning, otherwise they add a LOT of weight to the suitcase!  It then occurred to us that we could rent wetsuits from the hotel rather than using our own for one last snorkel - so after getting fitted, back into the drink we went!

 

Most of the coral gardens were basically the same as I've shown already, but we did see a huge school of trevally just before getting out of the water...

 

 

 

So happy we decided to go one last time - it was pretty cool to feel surrounded by these rather large fish - each one was maybe 1.5 - 2 feet long.

 

For dinner, I risked another tuna tataki (with no bad effects later)

 

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And another round of prawn spring rolls

 

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And we split the Thai-ish red curry and nasi campur

 

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Fruit and a last tiramisu....

 

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We went to bed early since we had to wake up at 5AM to pack before meeting our boat at 6:15 to get to the airport.  The next morning, the hotel offered us a takeaway box with breakfast, which was very nice of them since they just opened, but we declined, thinking we'd get something to eat in the airport - we should have plenty of time there as we were leaving early on purpose just to make sure we made that flight - if we missed it, it would cause a huge host of problems...

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KennethT

KennethT

Posted
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Posted (edited)
22 minutes ago, liamsaunt said:

Thanks for sharing your trip! The reef looks very healthy. That is a serious current going on in a couple of the videos!

 

I have to say that I am impressed that you can travel so far and then stay for what seems to be a relatively short trip. I don’t think I could do that. 

We were really impressed by the reefs that we saw - they were all in great shape and yes, the area is known for currents - you can see why!  Those currents are actually nothing compared to certain dive sites.  One site, called shotgun, is known for so much current that you need to use a reef hook and rope to hang on for dear life while watching sharks and other pelagics cavorting in the nutrient rich water.  Then, you let go and get swept away.  Many thrill seeking people come to Komodo just for that type of experience, but we wouldn't do that dive, even if we were allowed to go there - we feel like we don't have nearly enough experience to deal with that and it's just too risky.  To paraphrase Donald Glover.... we're getting too old for this sh*t....

 

Honestly, we love traveling to this part of the world - yes, the jetlag is a pain, but it's definitely manageable.  Plus, usually there is at least something extremely compelling to come here.  This trip should have had tons of mantas, black and white tip reef sharks, possible whale shark sightings and more so that definitely would have made the travel worth it.  We wouldn't have come all this way just for the house reef, but you make the best of what you have, right?

 

Plus, there's a reason I named this report "take 1".....

Edited by KennethT (log)
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KennethT

KennethT

Posted
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Posted

We got to the airport about 20 minutes before the desk opened to check our bags, so we waited around a while.  Once done, we moved through the essentially empty airport (our flight may have been the first of the day) not really finding anything to eat for breakfast, and to be honest, we weren't really hungry anyway.  Most of what was available was coffee and pastries like croissants, etc, nothing local.  But Batik Air gave us the same sweet roll with chocolate on the flight to Bali - 

 

Once in the Bali airport, we went to the other Made's Warung as it seemed like the best local option:

 

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This place was packed - we had to wait a few minutes for a table...  the setting also wasn't nearly as nice looking as the one in the other terminal.  But the food was still good, despite how crowded they were....

 

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A very good ayam (chicken) betutu.  I had been planning to make this at home, but now I definitely have to.

 

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Fried chicken with sambal matah and a sambal goreng, plus lawar (mixed vegetable with shredded coconut) and peanuts.

 

Next up, a flight on Garuda Airlines (Indonesia's national carrier) to Singapore:

 

Once we got to Singapore, we went through immigration (painless and fast using the autogates) since we had to check our bags in on our Singapore Airlines flight.  While we were in the public area, we decided to go the Jewel for dinner and wander around a bit since we had several hours before our 11:30PM flight home.

 

 

PXL_20260103_110858493.thumb.jpg.f1daafbc49218d94969ab96958f4f605.jpg

 

After taking all we could of the crowds, we made our way into the Jewel's basement to try a Nyonya restaurant new to us.  Unfortunately, Violet Oon closed her restaurant in the Jewel a few months ago and moved it to the Dempsey Hill neighborhood... great for Dempsey Hill, bad for us - we loved that place!

 

Here's where we went:

PXL_20260103_111630143.thumb.jpg.26c4b13359a68f890a1df3700f9a506a.jpg

 

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Some menu shots - it was set up to look like an old newspaper, but you ordered through a QR code you scanned on your phone.

 

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PXL_20260103_112618417.thumb.jpg.91f0b71f14f41b59174cf2944465ce07.jpg

 

I had wanted to try their mee siam - we had it at a Nyonya restaurant in Penang and wanted to see how it differed...

 

PXL_20260103_114321111.thumb.jpg.122ebcbcfefa74abf6ea4e8208205e16.jpg

Berempah chicekn with mee siam.  Their version was really dry and tasted more of dried spices rather than the penang version.  In the spoon is a calamansi which is quite acidic and very different from a lime.  Now I need to grow a calamansi tree.... sigh.... ;)

 

PXL_20260103_114147833.thumb.jpg.f611e51bc0f1ec28d8968a263e3e9087.jpg

This is the curry sliced fish.  I don't know what the fish was, but it was a white fish that was really meaty and had no bones.  There was so much fish lurking in here, and the broth was fantastic - coconut milk and dried spices....  One of the best parts about it was the tofu skin floating on top which absorbed the curry like a sponge....

 

PXL_20260103_114221501.thumb.jpg.08e96bf3c464ed0d6b91bbe610514dca.jpg

I also got a teh tarik (pulled tea made with sweetened condensed milk).  I was a bit disappointed that it wasn't very frothy by the time it was delivered.  Behind it was the "tingkat" which are bowls to accompany the curry.  The top is rice and the bottom is

 

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Sambal potato leaves, made with tons of shrimp paste (it IS Nyonya after all!)

 

They had some desserts but also had a serve yourself cendol stand:

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Cendol is basically shaved ice with coconut cream and palm sugar syrup with little squiggles of pandan flavored agar.  We were so full though, we didn't partake....

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Smithy

Smithy

Posted
Posted

I love the look of the food (and the scenery) but the thing that continually astonishes me is the dragonfruit. Its color is so vivid! The time or two I tried it here, it had vivid color but not enough flavor to make those seeds worthwhile. Now I wonder if it's simply too unripe here to be any good...rather like quince. Northern Minnesota stores simply may not have access to the good stuff. Does that sound possible?

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Nancy Smith, aka "Smithy"
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KennethT

KennethT

Posted
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Posted
3 minutes ago, Smithy said:

I love the look of the food (and the scenery) but the thing that continually astonishes me is the dragonfruit. Its color is so vivid! The time or two I tried it here, it had vivid color but not enough flavor to make those seed worthwhile. Now I wonder if it's simply too unripe here to be any good...rather like quince. Northern Minnesota stores simply may not have access to the good stuff. Does that sound possible?

Dragonfruit doesn't really have much flavor in the best of times.  Most places serve it with a slice of lime to squeeze on top.  In Saigon, they served it with a dish of salt and chilli with lime juice so it made a paste for dipping.  I like it because it is full of water - it is super hydrating, plus it's refreshing, especially with the squeeze of lime.  BTW, the color is just as vivid on the way out!  Something to be aware of so you don't worry thinking that you have intestinal bleeding....

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Smithy

Smithy

Posted
Posted
6 minutes ago, KennethT said:

in the spoon is a calamansi which is quite acidic and very different from a lime.  Now I need to grow a calamansi tree.... sigh.... ;)

 

You may not need to, unless you simply want the pride of growing it yourself. I grew up (in California) knowing them as calamondin, so remember to use that search term at home if you come up dry on calamansi.

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Nancy Smith, aka "Smithy"
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KennethT

KennethT

Posted
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Posted
Just now, Smithy said:

 

You may not need to, unless you simply want the pride of growing it yourself. I grew up (in California) knowing them as calamondin, so remember to use that search term at home if you come up dry on calamansi.

Right, but I can't find it in NYC anywhere!!

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KennethT

KennethT

Posted
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Posted
3 minutes ago, Shelby said:

And this is where you'd find me dead on the floor from starvation --I have no clue how to do this 🤣

It took me a while to figure it out also - the QR code leads you to a website on your phone, but ordering through it was not very intuitive...  plus, after a while, one of the servers came around and asked if I needed help!!

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Smithy

Smithy

Posted
Posted
18 minutes ago, KennethT said:

In the spoon is a calamansi which is quite acidic and very different from a lime.  Now I need to grow a calamansi tree.... sigh.... ;)

 

 

Further to this point: I'm a bit surprised that the peel is so green, and I wonder if that means the fruit is unripe -- which would contribute to its acidity. The photos of the fruit I'm finding show them as orange, along the lines of a mandarin. Am I getting a bum steer on the color, or do they favor the unripe fruit?

Nancy Smith, aka "Smithy"
Host, eG Forums - nsmith@egstaff.org

Follow us on social media! Facebook; instagram.com/egulletx

"Every day should be filled with something delicious, because life is too short not to spoil yourself. " -- Ling (with permission)
"There comes a time in every project when you have to shoot the engineer and start production." -- author unknown

KennethT

KennethT

Posted
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Posted

After dinner, we waddled around for a while before heading into the transit area and to our terminal.  We had Gold status with Singapore Airlines because of our points, which allowed us entry into their Gold lounge which is quite nice.  There is a lot of nice seating that's not too crowded, a shower room you can use, plus a huge amount of food.  They have a manned laksa station which I would have loved to have tried, but I was way too full.  They also had lots of Indian food, some dim sum, western choices, a help yourself bar with gin/vodka/mixers plus a staffed bar, wine, and desserts.

 

One thing I was happy about was that they also had a nice selection of TWG teas - which is a high end Singapore tea brand.  Since we had a few hours to go while waiting for our flight and I was already getting exhausted, I figured some caffeine wouldn't hurt....

 

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And, of course, you need something to go along with the tea....

 

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Cream puff, chocolate muffin and mango cake.  All were quite good.

 

Unfortunately, all tales come to an end, so we eventually had to leave our super comfy seats and make our way to the gate and then hour 18 hour long flight home....  food on that flight can be found here, here and here.

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KennethT

KennethT

Posted
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Posted

Thanks for following along and (hopefully) I'll be back in July for Komodo, Take 2, new and improved!!

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KennethT

KennethT

Posted
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Posted
9 minutes ago, Smithy said:

 

Further to this point: I'm a bit surprised that the peel is so green, and I wonder if that means the fruit is unripe -- which would contribute to its acidity. The photos of the fruit I'm finding show them as orange, along the lines of a mandarin. Am I getting a bum steer on the color, or do they favor the unripe fruit?

This is the way it's always used here - the skin is green like a lime, but the flesh is orange.  It is very acidic, like a lime but different.

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Shelby

Shelby

Posted
Posted
5 minutes ago, KennethT said:

Thanks for following along and (hopefully) I'll be back in July for Komodo, Take 2, new and improved!!

Well I think you guys did great turning lemons into lemonade!  I really appreciate you showing us your trip--I love that you take us along :)  Also very much looking forward to seeing Komodo Dragons next time :) 

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Second eG Blog-Summer 2015

 

Third eG Blog-Hunting season Birds and Deer 2016, 2017,2018,2019, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024

rotuts

rotuts

Posted
Posted

@KennethT

 

thank you for putting so much effort into sharing with us your trip.

 

Mostly ice and snow here while you were scuba-ing away.

 

Just Saying.

 

and I thought you might enjoy a Special far Side :

 

pp.thumb.jpg.00b651c2687199013777766721c47fd1.jpg

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ElsieD

ElsieD

Posted
Posted

Thank you for taking us along for the ride.  Looking forward to the next one.  Do they use kecap manis there?

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KennethT

KennethT

Posted
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Posted
6 minutes ago, ElsieD said:

Thank you for taking us along for the ride.  Looking forward to the next one.  Do they use kecap manis there?

Yes, that's what I was calling "sweet soy sauce" from time to time.

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