A trip to Pecenongan is never complete without having the martabak (Indonesian pancake) for takeaway. Martabak is a favourite supper fodder for the locals, despite its jaw-dropping calorie-content, (no) thanks to the slab of butter, margarine & fillings used! That is why most of them (at least the famous ones) are only open for business after sunset, all the way until the wee hours of morning.
Having grown up only knowing one martabak stall in Pecenongan, I now realize how naive I was. Firstly, there are at least 4 martabak vendors on this street alone. Secondly, I've always thought that Martabak Pecenongan 65A Bandung Asli is the best martabak ever. But tonight, that conviction is being challenged after I've tasted No. 43...
Located on the same street as the 2 stalls in the previous posts, Martabak Pecenongan 43 is quite easy to find, which is just 2 stalls next to Sop Kaki & Sate Kambing "Krekot". I was intrigued when a friend told me that 43 is better than 65A, so I decided to test her statement.
The menu is quite basic, here's the summary:
v Martabak Manis (sweet pancake) - choose either
Ø Spesial - more Wijsman than Blue Band, hence more expensive.
Ø Tipis - crispy thin, dry pancake
Choice of filling: cheese / chocolate / cashew nut / peanut / sesame / banana
v Martabak Telor (savoury pancake)
Ø Biasa
Ø Spesial
Choice of filling: beef or chicken
In short, the differences between 43 and 65A are:
v 43's sweet pancake is not very sweet, because they pack less volume of fillings (aka: pelit), hence you won't feel sick quickly from eating more than a few slices. Plus, I personally believe that 43's is more doughy & tender.
v 43's savoury pancake is thicker, more fluffy and less salty, so you can eat more of it, without the need to guzzle lots of water to neutralize the salt in your mouth.
v 43 is slightly cheaper (only by about IDR 5,000 - 10,000)
v 65A has more combinations of fillings that 43 doesn't have such as: raisins, corned beef, mushrooms, tuna, etc.
If you ask me which one I'd prefer? maybe I'd say 43, because in my most biased opinion, the sweet pancake tasted better than 65A. But if I want the savoury pancake & I want out-of-the-ordinary fillings like mushroom + chicken, I'll go for 65A. So, suit yourselves folks! ;)
The Pecenongan culinary adventure to be continued...
*) No Tax & Service Charge. Only for takeaways.
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| If you see this leaning sign, then you're at the right place! |
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| Preparing several martabaks at a time... |
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| Recognize the box... |
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| Martabak Telor Spesial Daging Ayam IDR 55,000 |
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| Martabak Manis Special: 1/2 Choco-Cashew IDR 40,000 & 1/2 Cheese IDR 35,000 | Whole box = IDR 75,000 |
JL. Pecenongan Raya No. 43
Open Hours: 6 PM - 12 AM
OMG pure food porrrrnnn!!!! martabak (both telor and manis) holds a very special part in my heart...
ReplyDeleteoh my good, martabak is THE ultimate champion of sweet food. no matter how good a red velvet or cheesecake of whatever fancy cake out there, martabak is the winner
ReplyDeletetry martabak sinar bulan at Muara Karang in front of Eaton. That is the sneak peek of heaven
@irene: Same as you, martabak has a special spot in our hearts, why? because we are Indonesians! Hehe...Thank goodness for whoever invented martabak...manis and telor, it's simply too hard to resist! =)
ReplyDelete@Dr. B: Oh, martabak Sinar Bulan, heard of it, haven't got the chance to try it yet. Thanks for your tip, Dr. B! =) I WILL make a point to go to Muara Karang for this treat. And another friend also gave me a tip-off, there's this delicious Martabak Bangka in Teluk Gong area...I really can't wait to taste them! =)
Yeap, people said, Wait till you try the Martabak in front of Eaton.. To be honest, I've never tried as well, but the popularity is soooo.... U know what i mean right.. =D
ReplyDeleteCan't agree more with Dr. B!! No pancake in this world, taste better than martabak. Funny article here: http://agirlhastoeat.com/nasi-goreng-indonesian-pancakes-jakarta/ a female food blogger from UK finished one whole loyang herself when she came to Jkt and that wasn't even pecenongan ones.
ReplyDelete@eddy: maybe my next episode should be "Muara Karang Fodder" featuring all the legendary food & stalls around the area. =D
ReplyDelete@Bram: VIVA martabak!!!! hehehe
Biasa - more Blue Band than Wijsman
ReplyDeleteSpesial - more Wijsman than Blue Band, hence more expensive.
What do you mean by more X than Y?
This is how it should be:
Biasa - Blue Band only
Spesial - Wijsman only
It should not contain any margarine/butter in the pancake batter itself and the filling is either blue band margarine or wijsman butter but not both.
Most importantly, how do you know that one is INDEED better than the other, if you are not doing back-to-back comparison? Unless compared side-by-side, it's difficult to differentiate very similar products.
@Anonymous: Thanks for dropping by & left a comment here. I merely quoted what the vendor who explained to me what the difference was, verbatim, not more, not less. My cousin was there with me, he could vouch that I didn't make the theory up.
ReplyDeleteAnd actually, I HAVE tried the other one. In case you missed the click-able "Martabak Pecenongan 65A" above, do click it now, it'll directly take you the post I've done previously. It might have been quite an old post and my memory might have failed me. In any case, my conviction is shared by many, at least those that I know and have compared the two. Then again, taste and preference is a highly subjective matter. One man's trash is another's treasure, what I find tasty, might probably disgust you. =)
"oh my good, martabak is THE ultimate champion of sweet food. no matter how good a red velvet or cheesecake of whatever fancy cake out there, martabak is the winner"
ReplyDeleteIt's not fair to compare martabak to typical cakes, because cakes are mostly sweet, whereas martabak is a combination of sweet & salty. Two against one!
No one can make a proper red velvet here, because original recipes use buttermilk (which is not available here because buttermilk goes rancid very fast, just like you cannot find FRESH American or Australian milk here). Also, to make red velvet with very delicate texture, you need special pastry flour which is expensive and probably impossible to find here. Americans call this Wondra flour.
I don't think anyone actually make good cheesecakes here. The original New York cheesecake recipe uses Philadelphia brand cream cheese. A lot of people think this makes the best cream cheese (don't have to believe me, try it yourself). It is available here (rather difficult to find though) and very very expensive (it's the most expensive cream cheese here). Most people here use the local Yummy brand, I have reason to believe that Cheesecake Factory who claims to sell "best cheesecakes in town" use that.
@ Ellyna.
ReplyDeleteI know you've tried the other one. What I am saying is you should try them both side-by-side. You should have BOTH 65A and 43 in front of you. Take one bite of 65A, and then drink some water maybe, then take one of 43. Drink water and then repeat this as many times as you need before you make your final decision. This is how you compare very similar products.
@Anonymous:
ReplyDeleteYour objection upon Ellyna's comparison method would've been legitimate if she's paid for this job, which unfortunately she's not. For me, one of the quintessence of a food blog is the subjectivism of the writer, that of course would even be better if supported by adequate reasoning; but in this case, I think Ellyna already does an awesome job.
As for red velvet over here, it's supposed that red velvet here isn't as good as the one in the states accordingly to availability of ingredients. But I think Convivium's fell by narrow margin compared to Sweets, The Cheesecake Factory, or Magnolia bakery's. So I think what Aris's personal preference about martabak over red velvet is pretty legit. ps: I'm an advocate of red velvet > martabak.
LOL you have to try martabak sinar bulan yang di muara karang. Hands down, the best martabak in the city. Martabak kejunya enaknya parah :9
ReplyDeleteWow...so many recommendations about Sinar Bulan! I really gotta go and try it to compare ASAP!! Thanks for the tip btw =)
ReplyDeletenew martabak spotted..gonna try this martabak for sure..:D
ReplyDeleteHi Robbie! Indeed, it's worth trying ;)
ReplyDeleteya tuhan.. sumpah pas liat potonya, ini ludah di dalem mulut pada ngerembes smuanya.. AAAAAAAA... sore gym dhe, malem martabakan.. lol
ReplyDeleteHehe...indulge and revenge at the gym, all's well ;)
ReplyDeleteis it halal? do reply on my blog pls
ReplyDelete