If all were to go swimmingly…

With such healthy meals of fish rice, and dark green vegetables, you would think or at least I would think, that there are some sugary treats here in Indonesia as well.  I have taken it upon myself to do a broad investigation and testing of such treats.  Overall, the main thing that I have found is that all treats are very light (in richness, very light; and in actual weight, very light; nutritional value, probably quite light as well.)

One of the best treats that I have found is a little green fuzzy ball that explodes of palm sugar juice when you bit into it.  It just like a tropical island dessert should be… light, bizarre looking, filled with tropical goodness and good at any temperature (like extreme heat).  The fuzziness is likely some type of coconut, but it looks pretty strange, so you can’t really be sure.

The next best treat we have found is called a Beng-Beng.  This is a candy bar that is wafers, caramel, and a taste of coconut, covered in chocolate.  This may sound rich, but when you pick up a bar, it’s so light that you may think the wrapper is empty.  Not quite like the Belgian bonbons and truffles…

Matt’s very favorite treat, and I certainly don’t mind them either… are cigars.

Cigars… full of chocolate.

You may have to see it to believe it, but this is actually what they are called and how they are marketed.  I’m not sure if it would be legal in the U.S.  These are quite similar to the (Italian?) rolled crispy things that kind of taste like a waffle cone, but lighter.  I am searching for the name…but it is not coming to me.  Well, they usually come in a metal tin and sometimes people use them for fondue.   Anyway- these are the ‘cigar’ and then they are literally full of chocolate.  The chocolate isn’t too bad either, something in between fudge pudding and chocolate frosting.  If possible, a box of these will come back to Holland with us.  They are just too interesting to pass up.

Another thing that Indonesia inherited from the Dutch is their love of deep-fried snacks.  Unlike the late night Dutch snacks, which are filled with potato puree, meat, and cheese, Indonesian fried snacks are almost always breakfast food.  Deep fried dough balls (like misshapen doughnuts), actual donuts, deep fried bananas, and deep fried snakes (snakes of dough, that is) can all show up on the breakfast table in the morning.  I think this is when they make up for the lack of richness (or is it fat?) in the rest of their food.