Pasar Malam

There are so many cultural festivals in the Bay Area that we can't keep up.  But when I saw the post for Pasar Malam in San Jose, well, what can I say... wild horses couldn't keep us away.  "Pasar Malam" is a Malay and Indonesian word that literally means night market and is a street market usually set up in neighborhoods.  However, we discovered that the Pasar Malam in San Jose is a foodie affair!

We arrived around 4:30 pm and it was already crowded.  The smell of satay over charcoal fires was intoxicating and we started following our noses, but we spotted a man holding a cup of cendol and stopped in our tracks.  Then we stopped him and insisted that he told us where the cendol was :D

Cendol! Oh YUM!  3 glasses please.  It was really the best cendol we have had in the USA. There were bits of jackfruit mixed in the rich syrup - I've never had that in cendol before.  Why Oh Why Not??!  It is such an awesome addition!

Achar, kuih lapis and other types of desserts that you dip in a brown sugar and coconut syrup.  Of course we came home with them.

Are you hungry yet?

Onde-onde, kuih dadar, bika ambon.  We also sampled risoles and pandan cake

We bought beef rendang and gudeg ayam from GoldenMar catering.  M and K enjoyed Es Blewah, a refreshing cold drink with shaved cantalope

Mmmmmm...

More yummies, gado-gado, satay and ketupat...

Desserts galore

Tempeh (not our favorite food).  There was also spicy stinky tofu wrapped in banana leaf.  Smerry!

Batik shirts... very nice, but where's the Food?

Seconds.. yup, that would be Round No. TWO of cendol imbibing

This is your brain on cendol!

After a bit of poking around the internet for more Indonesian gatherings in the bay Area, we discovered Indonesian Day in San Francisco.  It's held in Union Square on July 31.  Don't miss it!