Sengkang - Malino

Breakfast at the Sermani Hotel in Sengkang is very much a traditional Indonesian affair, with some interesting local dishes.

I try a few of them.

The round ball is filled with chocolate, the flat oval is like a thick pancake, and the round oval is an unfilled doughnut.

Sengkang

Acho, our driver, takes us to a viewpoint over the city, which happens to be the front drive of some VIP's private mansion, and we have to be quick before the security guard discovers us.

Paddupa Suspension Bridge

In the town itself, we stop at a park, and I am fascinated by this pedestrian suspension bridge that is also used by motorcycles.

Sengkang Market

I constantly stop Nadja, our guide, for him to explain about the various goods on sale. Knowing what I am looking at, makes the visit to the market much more interesting for me.

Duck eggs preserved with salt and rice flour

Palm sugar

Cooked coconut rice in banana leaves

Tapioca

Dried shrimp

Galangal powder

Parcels filled with cooked rice

Tamarind

Tapioca leaves - used as a vegetable

Their aubergines are very different to ones we get at home

Kalu’ak fruit

The fruit from the pangium tree contains hydrogen cyanide when fresh and as such is deadly poisonous. The seeds are first boiled and then buried in ash, banana leaves, and earth for forty days, during which time the poison is released, and the fruit turns from a creamy white colour to dark brown, and edible.

The seeds are used in powdered form to make a thick black gravy, such as the one we had with pork in Toraja.

Buroncong

Nadja points out how they make the oval doughnut-type dish we enjoyed at breakfast.

We make our way further south, stopping several times at rice fields along the way, for me to take photos of the people working.

Threshing machine on the road

Egrets

Black kite

Lunch in Sinjai

Love the sign on the tissue container on the table

Rempeyek Kacang – a traditional crispy peanut snack made from rice flour, coconut milk, fennel, cumin, and peanuts.

Coto Ayam – shredded chicken, compacted lumps of rice, boiled egg, crispy fried onion, and vermicelli noodles.

Rice terraces appear, with mountains in the background.

Cloves are also grown in this area, and we see the flower buds from the Syzygium aromaticum tree (that turn into the spice as we know it) drying on the road.

Malino Highland Resort

Built on a fairly steep incline, the hotel’s reception is up a number of steps, so while David goes with Nadja to check in, Acho drives me and our luggage up the slope to our room.

The Japanese-inspired room offers little in the way of comfort, with a hard bed and a minimalistic approach to furnishings and decorations.

Japanese-style screen by the front door, with the main part of the room located on a 'platform'.

The rock hard bed

While their website advertises that there is a restaurant on site, we are asked to order room service this evening from a menu featuring 16 different items.

As with the simplistic design of the room, there is no telephone, so David pops down to reception to order his choice of Nasi Goreng Marina Highlands and Pisang Goreng which is what I fancy.

A few minutes after he returns to the room, a young lady arrives at the door, to let us know that the Pisang Goreng is unavailable. I suggest a Tapai Roll instead. She phones the restaurant with our new order, but it seems the Tapai Roll is off too. “How about Ubi Goreng?” I suggest. Another phone call to the restaurant confirms that they cannot make that either. The spring roll is my next choice. Not available. “What about Ramen?” She asks the restaurant, but it is not possible. At this stage, I suggest it might be easier if they let us know the dishes they can make, rather than the ones that are off the menu. Apparently, they have Ayam Goreng, Nasi Goreng, and Mie Goreng. I choose the Ayam Goreng to go with David’s Nasi Goreng.

All this could have been made so much simpler if the right hand had been talking to the left hand and letting us know at the outset that they only have three different dishes available.

The food arrives reasonably quickly and comes with a plate of chips

My Ayam Goreng is very plain, and I am not at all sure about the ‘smashed fried chicken’.

This amazing Grand Tour of South East Asia was organised by Undiscovered Destinations.