experience the real Jogja...

If one day we go sightseeing to traditional markets in Yogyakarta, we will many times catch sight of a lot of traditional foods offered by the vendors in that market. Those traditional foods we often call jajan pasar. If you get a glimpse of the appearance, you might think that those traditional foods are not interesting, but if you have tasted their pleasant taste, you will get a feeling of surprise upon the taste. Their tastes which are produced by basic foodstuffs and spices are indeed unique. The most important thing is that jajan pasar doesn’t contain any artificial substance that will hazard our health.

We could find jajan pasar almost all over the traditional markets in Yogyakarta, particularly in Kecamatan Kraton. They could be found in a traditional market called Ngasem, or much more familiar called Pasar Ngasem. Even though Pasar Ngasem is well known as pasar burung (birds market), there is also an activity of buying and selling goods as we also find in traditional market where the vendors sell various things too, such as fishes vendors, foods vendors, furniture vendors, flowers vendors, etc.

The traditional foods in Ngasem are varied as well as the traditional foods found in other traditional markets. One of the traditional foods is Klepon. It’s made from glutinous rice. Its shape is round and little with brown sugar in it. Grater coconut is put in the top of it. Another traditional food which is also delicious is Gethuk. It’s made from boiled cassava which is then pounded. Gethuk has a sweet taste and there are two kinds of it depending on their colors; a brown Gethuk made from brown sugar and a yellowish white Gethuk made from sugar. While other tasty traditional foods which haven’t been mentioned are Onde-onde, Ongol-ongol, Hung Kwee, Rissoles, Lemper, Lopis, Tiwul, Rempeyek, Gandhos, Cemplon, Cenil, kue Cucur, kue Cara Bikan, kue Nagasari, dan Dhawet.