Hey guys!

For this year end holiday, we went to Malang, Jawa Timur! Yes, we have been here before but that was like ten years ago and my infantile memory sucks. So, it all feels very foreign to me. We went there by plane to Abd. Rahman Saleh Airport, which is so small and located in an army base (or is it the air force base?). It was just about twenty minutes outside of the city. We stayed at this posh hotel called Hotel Tugu. I say posh because our family rarely spends a lot of luxury hotel. Usually me and my brother stays in hostels, of course. Anyway, it's awesome to be posh for a few days right?

When we got there, it was on a Friday afternoon, so we had tea at the hotel. We don't get free breakfast but we get free afternoon tea. After that we went to one of the sought after restaurant in Malang, which is only a short walking distance from the hotel. It is called Rumah Makan Inggil.

Malang locals might not support this restaurant as their favorite place to eat, though. It is such a tourist trap (as my brother put it). It is advertised as a museum restaurant because apparently the owner must have loved history as there were countless artifacts, like old rotary phone, old records and cassettes, giant wall depicting Bung Karno's speech in the nearby Tugu Malang, and there was this huge stage which presumably is a performing stage if some special guests come around.

In terms of food, they serve Javanese dishes and their prime menu is gurame. We didn't order that, instead we went for sate ayam, ayam bakar, tempe penyet and sop buntut.  First of all, the satay is very similar to the satay served in Sate Khas Senayan. They use chicken breast (I assume) and a peanut butter-y sauce instead of the regular crushed peanut sauces. Was it delicious? Yes it was.

The second dish was Ayam Bakar which was my order. They offer half a chicken or a whole chicken but don't worry as this is ayam kampung the portion is just right. Their ayam bakar is a bit spicy and hot, which is perfect for me. I don't like that sweet ayam bakar we're so used to.

The third dish was tempe penyet which was a total surprise. Somehow, their tempet is made differently than what I am used to in Jakarta. My theory is that they don't ferment them too long, compared to regular tempe. You can see the soy beans clearly, so it's more granulated, in a way. Am I making sense? I loved this dish too.





So that wraps up my first night in Malang. You can skip Rumah Makan Inggil from your list if you're here but for you who like photography, I guess it is a good place to up your skills.


Rumah Makan Inggil
Jalan Gajah Mada No. 4 Malang