Bangka Island Food Trip - Martabak Acau, Seafood Mr. Asui, and Tung Tau

During a quarter break, I went to my Grandmother's hometown at the Island of Bangka. The Island of Bangka is SERIOUSLY HOT and they got REAL HOT FOOD (as in HOT FOOD) So.. you might wanna adjust your appetite or else you may miss the opportunity to try great foods available in the Island. Here's a list of the restaurants in which I find worth sharing when I was in the Island.

1. Martabak Acau

As one of the well known food that originates from this particular Island. You'd probably wanna try this one. But trust me, as you approach one of few martabak stalls in this Island, sooner or later, you may realize that you may find a Martabak seller from BEKASI! oh yeah.What a mood ruiner.

Is it any different from the Martabak they had in Jakarta? Not really. But this one has less grease on it.. and it has less sugar too (my tastebuds said so). Therefore, in my opinion, this Martabak tastes not as rich as the one in Jakarta, but of course, due to the less grease, this IS the healthier option!

They also had Martabak Telor in which... has the same problem as their sweet ones - their taste aren't just as rich as the ones I had in Jakarta and the meat inside is just too little. So.... those who had moved from Bangka to settle in the Urban areas must've add MORE grease to make it EVEN BETTER.

2. Seafood Mr. Asui

Ask one of the locals about Bangka's must eat and I believe that most of them will recommend you to this place: Mr. Asui's Seafood Restaurant. YES. THE RESTAURANT NAME IS "SEAFOOD MISTER ASUI". The long name: SEAFOOD KAMPUNG BINTANG MISTER ASUI.

As a seafood restaurant, it has a decent place - the floor's kinda slippery. For people like my mom who has a dog nose, you may find the place a bit fishy - and it may surely ruin your eating experience here at the establishment.

Apologies in advance for the picture quality. I was in a rush since these are shared food and at that time everyone is getting REAL hungry so I did not realize that I have set the ISO way too high. Forgive me.

Buntut Ikan Tenggiri / Baked Tenggiri Tail

Indonesians must've known this fish as it is mainly used in Bangkanese dishes, Palembang dishes, and in other areas too. At Asui's, their famous cut and menu is this. The fish itself is just baked only with salt. But in the end, it doesn't taste salty at all, and not fishy. The taste of the fish itself is just rich and tasty. Fresh!

Ikan Kerisi / Kerisi fish

The cooking method of this fish is the same as the Tenggiri's tail but this time, they bake you the whole small fish with a hint of lemon zest. My great grandmother used to love this fish - despite the amount of bones it has and she even ate it during her last days. Now I get it why she loves this fish. It's just rich like the tenggiri, but different in its own way. The lemon zest just made it better actually - because without it, it's not fishy at all.

Ikan Kerapu Tim / Steamed Garoupa

I probably talked too much about the freshness of the fish they served at Asui's so I'm not going to discuss it again. Visually, it may not look appetizing due to its white appearance (for me, an appetizing steamed fish must be cooked Hong Kong style a.k.a with black soy sauce). But never judge a book by its cover because the way they steam their fish is just DELICIOUS and UNIQUE because I never had anything like this back home! its garlicky!

Some of the other dishes we ordered at that time worth sharing as well:

Kepiting Saus Padang (Crabs cooked in Padang style sauce)

Cumi goreng Mentega (Sautéed squid in Butter sauce)

Gurame Tahu Tausi (Fried Gouramy with tofu cooked in Black bean Sauce)

If you are planning to visit Mr. Asui, just put one thing in your head: Everything's fresh so the taste shall be delicious enough for your tastebuds.

3. Tung Tau

For my daily snacking (well not literally everyday when I was there, but most of the time), we head to Tung Tau for our daily snacking, as well for breakfast. So, Tung Tau is basically a kopitiam or a Warung Kopi (you can say that!). It has been around since 1938. I ate Tung Tau at Jl. Muhidin, which is their first store ever and they serve roti panggang (toasts!) with a variety of fillings to choose:

Cheers to the hot weather with a serving of Marquisa and a glass of Milk Soda!

Here are their breads:

Yes. It looks appetizing. Unlike any ordinary kopitiams - they use a special cut that looks like this on their menu. (yes their fillings are PRESERVATIVE FREE!)

Ate their breads on a very hot sunny day and I wanted more despite the HOT breads. Their peanut butter toast and their kaya is a must try! The cheese one is also good though - I believe they don't make their own cheese - its gotta be kraft(r)!

You may have realized one thing is missing. Why is there no Mie Bangka?! Well I don't get the chance to eat em if you ask. Sorry.

It's the end of another post from me.
I'm currently in Boston, MA. and I miss most of the moments I had outside Java.

Raymond.