Indonesianese Cuisine and Spices??

When i was still in Indonesia, i always thought that if i'm in Melbourne i should adapt myself with Western food. Well, i must say that what i was thinking is wrong.

On the next day after i arrived in Melbourne, Fabian and mbak Desi (thanks a lot you all.. :D) kindly guided me and mbak Neni in city of Melbourne. I went with Fabian I tried to take the tram (a kind of busway transportation - electricity powered) for the first time, i went to my campus to look around a bit and afterwards we went to the Konsulat Jendral RI in Melbourne to report ourselves.

It was around 2 o'clock and we started to get hungry. That morning i only ate 2 slices of bread with peanut butter that Fabian gave me. That moment i started to think "hmm.. what kind of food what am i going to eat?" when suddenly Fabian suggested us to eat in Nelayan Restaurant. "Wait a minute ? Nelayan ? That doesn't seem an English word at all". Ow, it happened to be an Indonesian restaurant in the middle of Melbourne.

Nelayan - Indonesian Restaurant

Most of people that ate there were Indonesian (if i am not mistaken), but there were also other Asians and perhaps Australians. The food was varied but i had a roti cane and rendang (hmm, usually we eat roti cane with curry right ?) that day for lunch.

Roti Cane and Rendang

Fabian and I

Mbak Neni on the left, Mbak Desi on the right

Wow, okay, so now i know that there are also Indonesian food in Melbourne. No big deal, there are lots of Indonesian here, so someone should have thought that opening an Indonesian resto should be profitable right?

But the next one made me surprised more. I was taken to a supermarket called "Mix" that supplies Asian's products and of course Indonesian. Hehehe, feels like home. Mix was okay but yesterday Fabian brought me to this even bigger supermarket called "Laguna" that also supplies Asian's products. "What !? What the hell is bumbu nasi goreng Indofood doing here? Bumbu gulai Bamboe ? Pepsodent ? A Clear shampoo with Samuel Rizal picture on it ?" And the best thing about them is they are not expensive. Well, around the same price with the local products if i am not mistaken (CMIIW). Hmm, now i know how Seif (my house mate) made those gulai.

So, for you who will study in Melbourne. You shouldn't be worried. Eventhough this is Melbourne, you should feel like home. Nevertheless, perhaps sometimes i will try the local product as well. "Ngapain juga jauh-jauh sampe sini tapi ga make produk lokal ? Betul tidak...?"

Cheers..