CHINESE NEW YEAR !

Olaaaa~

It been 7 years since I celebrated Chinese New Year in Asia. It's been MORE than 10 years since I went back to Dad's hometown -> Sukabumi. Sukabumi is about 80 kilometers away from Jakarta. However, driving there will take us about 4-8 hours depending on the traffic.

TRAIN RIDE

We decided to try out the train from Bogor to Sukabumi. It takes about 2 hours and costs only 50,000 IDR/person for the executive seat. It is my first time ever taking a train in Indonesia. Bogor train station was tiny -> it's probably 15 meters in length and 10 meters wide. I was surprised that the train leaves and arrives on time. That doesnt happen often in our culture. The only downside would be that the entire train ride was shaky. You dont really feel safe traveling in it. But thankfully, we arrived in Sukabumi in one piece. 

Bogor Train Station

The train from Bogor to Sukabumi 

Inside the train - executive seating is clean and big. There's enough space at the top to place your hand carry luggage. 

Inside the train

Much to my surprise, Sukabumi train station is better than Bogor's - bigger and there are plenty of seats available.  

Sukabumi Train Station 

Sukabumi Train Station 

Sukabumi Train Station 

LATE LUNCH @ BUBUR AYAM BUNUT

Our first stop in Sukabumi is at "BUBUR AYAM BUNUT". Sukabumi is a small town and it will take you less than 15 min to go everywhere and anywhere. 

I remembered eating this porridge 10 years back and it still taste so yummy. Indonesian porridge is different from others. Indonesian porridge is very thick (not watery like Hong Kong congee) and flavorful. You will have shredded chicken, fried shallots and prawn crackers as toppings. Dark soy sauce will be available if you want the porridge to taste sweeter. Mix it altogether and baaam -> Indonesian yummiest chicken porridge. :)

Indonesian Chicken Porridge

Indonesian Chicken Porridge

HOTEL @ MAXONE

This is where we stayed for the night. As you can see from the pictures below, it is a decent hotel. The employees provide exceptional service. Hotel rooms are clean and bigger than I imagined. This will be our go to hotel whenever we are back in Sukabumi.

Hotel Lobby

Family room

Shower Room

Swimming pool in the hotel lobby

Hotel Lobby

 CHINESE NEW YEAR EVE DINNER

It is a Chinese tradition to have a family/reunion dinner the day before Chinese New Year. That said, we went to gramps house to have dinner with them and our uncle's family. It was an extremely filling dinner because there's just that many good food and I cant stop eating. 

In our Indonesian Chinese culture, noodles & fish is a MUST have for reunion dinner. The long noodle strips is a symbol of longevity. The mandarin word for 'fish' (yú) 鱼 and the word 余 (yú), meaning 'extra' or 'surplus' are identical and this have made fish an indispensable component for CNY eve.

Lastly, we need to have leftovers on our plates so that we will have "slightly more than what we need and will never experience shortage in financial matters, but also in other aspects, such as health, friendship, etc." 

Noodles that represent longetivity

Pine-seed with coconut meat and juice as one of our desserts! 

These are traditional indonesia cakes. We called them 'kueh basah'  aka 'wet cakes' because you will have to eat them within few days otherwise it will go bad. These are moist/sticky cakes. 

 CHINESE NEW YEAR

The day of Chinese New Year - we were to wear new set of clothes and visit relatives to wish them for good fortune in the new year. Married couples will have to give red packets to singles as a symbol of sending good wishes and luck. 

We started our day with eating chicken soup with vermicelli, mushroom and egg for good luck and longevity. You will need to brew the chicken to make the stock really flavorful and this usually takes hours. Yummmm~

This is my grandma's homemade Kueh Lapis - layered cake. SO YUMMY~~ Kueh lapis is one of my favorite indonesian cakes. It is easy to make but takes a long time since you can to make it per layer. 

Our last meal of the day before heading back to Jakarta is "SOTO MIE AGIH". It is a pork sparerib noodle soup topped tripes, fried pork fats & fried green onions (it is the black stutfs at the top). Extremely fatty, high in cholesterol and yet so goooood. However, I remembered it tasting much better 10 years ago than now. The one we had is salty and you can taste the MSG. but it's still GOOOOD~

That marked the end of my Chinese New Year trip to Sukabumi. 1 night is enough because there's nothing much you can do in the small town. 

Have a wonderful CHINESE NEW YEAR !

With Lots of Love,

Claraaaa <3