The ensemble of honking cars and clattering pans

I've been eating a lot lately, either voluntarily or involuntarily.

Why, just yesterday I chased an abang(Singapore's equivalent of uncle used in that informal tone when calling to peddlers) for 100 metres or so from the shop just to buy some food. What food? This abang sells gorengan, otherwise known as fried food. Fried bananas, fried tofus, fried tempes etc. Simply delicious~

In any case I was reminded of an article by an expat living in Jakarta criticising the peddlers for orchestrating traffic jams with their pans and bubbling boiling oil as instruments.

Although I have to agree that these roadside peddlers are a nuisance, I recognise their worth for setting the barrier that separates the developed and the developing. The sight of a road being choked by peddlers settling down with small bottles of oil lamps can never be found elsewhere and in fact the only other place where I've seen a similar scenery is in Bangkok. I am not supportive of their actions, especially when I am the one getting caught in a traffic jam(literally every few seconds) but considering their importance as progress markers, I am pleased to be part of the mess and raucousness created by the ensemble of honking cars and clattering pans.

Here in the still-developing Jakarta, people are ignorant and in their ignorance they find bliss. My childhood was spent consuming junk food of all sizes and shapes by the road side(small wonder I was overweight when I first set foot on Singapore) and I would have continued indulging myself with the oily food had I not known the words 'trans-fats', 'stroke', 'myocardiac infarction', or any other words that describes fats as evil substances for that matter. Me aside though, tell the general populace that they should cut down on fats and they would look at you as if you had two antennas hanging from your head. Tell the abang that recycling used oil is carcinogenic and you will hear him complain about the rising oil prices.

I am not inclined to become a junk-food addict yet again, but since its the way of life here, there is no point in me resisting it. I indulge in the road-side food as much as anyone else does but very much more in moderation in terms of frequency. Despite appearance, and of course health concerns, some of my favourite dishes find their roots by the road side behind the cart of some peddler. The juicy gorengan is definitely in the list. The spicy gado-gado. Then there is es campur(Singapore's equivalent of ice kacang although they are not in any way similar other than the ice shavings)and a number of other desserts for those with sweet tooth, cakes and martabaks(totally different from the Indian version) for the flour lovers and not to miss out my all-time favourite - the piquant barbecued corns dipped in chili(I often promise myself to try out making my own corn-with-chili whenever there is a barbecue session. But I am still waiting for the day it happens)! With the myriad varieties of food available for the hungry, these peddlers and the practice of binging are actually quite impressed and deep rooted in the Indonesian culture.

There are restaurants for the rich, but then again there are the peddlers who are always waiting for patrons by the road side for the poor. Their food may be cheap, ugly in appearance and unhealthy but in terms of taste, they are able to hold their own and are no less delicious than the restaurants.

Indonesians, you are special. Special not because you are developed but on the contrary, special because you are struggling to advance. Special not because you are 'cultured and well-bred' but because you are part of the ensemble of honking cars and clattering pans!