16.280 Buntut Goreng

Cycle 16 – Item 280

Post 5,759

12 (Sun) October 2025

Buntut Goreng

1.5

at Swiss-Café

(Swiss Belhotel)

-Kota Ambon, Indonesia-

solo

Living Aboard the Mola Mola: Day -1 of 7

In Indonesia.  Here for a 7-day liveaboard scuba diving trip: sailing across the Banda Sea on board the MSY Mola Mola, while diving, eating, drinking, sleeping (i.e., “living aboard”) the boat.  The Banda Sea is one of four seas surrounding the archipelago of Maluku Islands aka the Spice Islands (where European powers fought wars during the 16th-17th centuries to gain control of the islands’ abundant spices, such as nutmeg, cloves, and mace).  Primary objective: sighting schools of hammerhead sharks.  (Two prior liveaboard trips were both to the Maldives aboard the MV Adora (see previously 14.062 Sautéed Sword Lettuce (Three Times) (2023) (9.191 Grilled Beef Tenderloin (2018).)  My first time ever in Indonesia – who knows if I’ll ever return? – I arrived a few days early to maximize the visit and hang out in Jakarta.

BREAKFAST

Flew from Jakarta to the small city of Kota Ambon, where I’ll board the boat tomorrow morning.

As seen from the terminal.

Thoroughly unimpressed with the Garuda Executive Lounge.  No booze, only a handful of food options.  Then again, it was only 8am.  And on the domestic side of the terminal.

Didn’t bother to take a photo of the food/beverage spread – not much to see.

LUNCH

– GA 646 –

First time flying Garuda Indonesia.

Beef Soup (1.5): just ate the rice (scrapped off the garlic), with spoonfuls of the broth (no beef).

Wasn’t very hungry.

SIGHTSEEING

Upon arriving at the airport in Ambon, we (a few fellow divers and I) took a 1-hour taxi ride into Ambon “downtown,” taking us over the Merah Putih Bridge.

Merah Putih Bridge

HOTEL

Staying 1 night at the Swiss-Belhotel in “downtown” Ambon.

Located next door to a McDonald’s – a (welcome?) surprise.

Unknown why we didn’t stay in a hotel near the airport, where we’ll be boarding the boat tomorrow.

Not too bad, except the outlets didn’t work.

SNACK

After checking in, around 3p, I was a bit peckish but not quite ready for a full-on meal, so I strolled over to McDonald’s for an afternoon snack.

This feast cost IDR 103,500 (about KRW 9,000)!

My first trip abroad (beyond Korea or America) was to Malaysia, during 10th grade, as a member of the MUN (Model United Nations) team for SIS (representing Romania), the General Assembly meeting for Asia hosted that year at International School of Kuala Lumpur (ISKL).

Tickled to find that Indonesians also eat fried chicken with rice, as they do in the Philippines.  However, rather than using utensils, Indonesians hold the chicken in one hand and rice in the other, alternating bites – Filipinos need utensils because of the gravy (see for example 5.247 Original Recipe Fried Chicken).

On one of our extracurricular excursions, we went to a local McDonald’s, where I learned that hamburgers were listed on the menu as “beef burgers,” presumably to avoid association with pork, being a Muslim country – a small but significant and seminal discovery about the semantic geopolitical nuances of food names.

DINNER

Swiss-Café is a restaurant.  Part of the Swiss Belhotel, serves buffet breakfast in the morning and offers à la carte lunch/dinner throughout the day, both local and western options.

Located adjacent to the hotel lobby.

The oxtail (buntut) was disappointing.  Though deep-fried (goreng), the meat was dry and flavorless.  The supporting nasi goreng was competent but unremarkable.  Nevertheless, I’m inspired to try deep-frying oxtail next time that I make a batch.

Skimpy, just a few bits hanging from the bones.

(See RESTAURANTS IN INDONESIA)

(See GLOBAL FOOD GLOSSARY)

(See FAST FOOD)

(See BOOZE)

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