Pecel of Heaven

The train came to a full stop at Stasiun Kroya. Oh, yes. I’m so fucking dead and gone to pecel heaven. As if on cue, some of the vendors clambered up to the wagon and began offering their wares. And how can I say no to this:

This, my friends, is pecel Stasiun Kroya. While not as reputable as its Gambringan counterparts, this concoction is your ticket to culinary bliss. In a banana leaf makeshift plate, chunks of lonthong and tofu are served with slivers of cooking papaya, kangkung, spinach, snakebeans, and klandingan seeds. And then generously topped with sweet-hot peanut dressing.

The vegetables are boiled into crisp-perfection while the peanuts are coarsely grated to give richer texture to the whole experience. While kangkung, spinach, and snakebeans offer familiar sweetness, the combination of klandingan seed and slivers of kecombrang (that's the pink stuff, in case you're wondering) would add exotic tanginess you won’t find anywhere else.

Also worthy of mention is the dressing. The peanut dressing puts forward a sweetness that lures you into a false sense of security, carefuly masking the fiery hotness that lurks behind. Not until after several mouthful later will you realize that you’re being ambushed by the honest-to-goodness Banyumasan I’ll-kick-your-fucking-arse-to-oblivion chilli. But by then, your senses have been happily paralysed anyway.

Oh, did I mention it’s only Rp. 4.000,- including the rempeyek udang?