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'Kerak telor', grilled octopus spice up Cap Go Meh in Jakarta
The celebration of Cap Go Meh, which translates to "the fifteenth night", closes 15 days of Chinese New Year festivities.
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People sell grilled octopus at a festival celebrating Cap Go Meh on Jl. Pancoran in Pinangsia subdistrict, West Jakarta, on Saturday. (JP/Galih Gumelar)
F
orty-five food stalls serving a variety of delicacies were displayed at a culinary festival on Jl. Pancoran in Pinangsia subdistrict, West Jakarta, to celebrate Cap Go Meh on Saturday.
The celebration of Cap Go Meh, which translates to “the fifteenth night”, closes 15 days of Chinese New Year festivities.
The culinary festival will last during the weekend, offering food and beverages ranging from traditional favorites of Jakarta’s Betawi people, such as kerak telor (Betawi-style omelet made of duck eggs and rice) and dodol betawi (a traditional toffee-like sweets made of palm sugar) to Chinese staples like dumplings and fried meatballs.
One of the most-visited stalls at the festival, run by 37-year-old named Samsudin, offers grilled octopus. Grilled with a spicy sauce, the octopus is sold for Rp 35,000 (US$2.5) per portion.
“I opened my stall at 10 a.m., and after around two hours, I have served around 70 portions of the octopus,” Samsudin told The Jakarta Post on Saturday.
Many visitors also visit the dodol betawi stall owned by Satibi, with flavors ranging from original to durian flavor.
“So far, I have earned Rp 5 million from selling dodol,” he said, adding that he sold varieties of dodol from Rp 15,000 to Rp 140,000 per pack.
Aside from culinary delights, visitors to the festival can enjoy a barongsai (lion dance) performance, the liong dragon dance and a parade involving traditional Betawi art, such as ondel-ondel (giant Betawi effigies) and gambang kromong (traditional Betawi musical ensemble). (glh)
