♨ GADO GADO ♨

 Sounds like a funky song? Its not. Its a wonderful flavoursome classic Indonesian dish!

Lately lifes been so hectic that lunch means having subway sandwiches at my desk. Today being Friday , (friday being my favourite day, not sat/sunday) I decided to treat my tummy with some indonesian cuisine. And so we(4 of us -an indian,a filipino, a malaysian and a singaporean!) headed to an indonesian restaurant . After a lot of contemplation and questioning (pestering ) the waitress auntie I found 2 veg dishes. I chose Gado Gado coz I liked the way it sounded.Gado Gado along with the Indonesian Jasmine tea! What a Combo!

Gado Gado  & Indonesian Jasmine Tea

Gado Gado is basically a salad . Salad of veggies like boiled potato, cabbage,green beans,lettuce,tofu, bean sprouts and rice cakes. ( usually  you have an option of eggs, but vegetarians like me have to specifically tell them not to serve any) . The dressing for this would be peanut sauce and coconut milk to make it thicker ! After probing a little more, I found that they use tobasco sauce to spice it up. Gado is garnished with potato or Tapioca crackers. (papad in india?) Care must be taken by vegetarians to check whether theres any shrimp paste added. Usually Indonesian and Malay(Its Malay food , not Malasian food - as corrected by a friend) food use a lot of shrimp paste.

Gado Gado can be an appetiser or a meal. What uppittu/Upma is for us, Gado gado is for the Indonesians. So filling and importantly healthy! What I noticed is food at this part of Asia is more to the sweeter side. Nothing is what we call' spicy'. My taste-buds have adapted to the food here so I quite enjoy myself more out of excitement. As every dish tried is a feather in my cap.

I have realised something in the past few months of exploring:
Why dwell on the miseries that surround you when you can find ways to make it a happy place? Look around! Theres so much more to learn and feel and see and taste!
Whats the use living in another country if you dont learn and understand the culture? The culture mainly being belief, art and food! Absorbing the good things and making life better.
People travel to learn not to show the stamps on their passports.  Knowledge is gained only by exploring and opening your mind to new horizons.
 After all we live only once.So have all the Gado Gados you want and be merry!