happy tummy

A happy tummy simply can be measured by the smile of the tummy's owner.

On Friday, 23 November, I met my girls in Pejaten Village. My plan was perfect; go out from the office at around 5.30, take TransJakarta, and arrive at Pejaten Village at 6.30. But, Jakarta with its wonderful surprises always manages to ruin people's plan. When I went down to the lobby, at 5.40, the rain suddenly poured, and it was heavy. I must wait for like 10 minutes before the rain (and not to mention the wind which pretty much is almost like a mini-scale gale) started to go. Then, I went to the TransJakarta shelter and got in the line which actually seems normal during such rush hour. I waited patiently, and then suddenly, the rain came down all over again. And this one was even heavier than before. Hence, I should bear to wait the bus longer since every person who has been living long enough in Jakarta knows that rain during rush hour means more horrible traffic. After an hour, finally I could get into the bus. And it was raining more heavily. At 7, I was actually about to arrive at my destination as I saw the Pejaten Village building, but then I realized "Damn, I missed the shelter." Okay, this one was completely my fault. Because I was busy enjoying the game I was playing on my mobile, I forgot that the shelter to Pejaten Village comes before the Pejaten Village. Thus, I should get off the bus at the next shelter. My next plan was getting a cab so it would be much easier for me to get into the mall because I don't need to cross the road, and the cab could get into the lobby. But, another commonly popular circumstance in Jakarta: getting a cab during rainy rush hour is as hard as looking for your life-time soul mate. And, so I had to take mini-bus (known as angkot) to the mall and got wet when crossing the road without using any umbrella (by the way, I hate umbrella so much, and I never carry umbrella). And there we have it, a girl looking wet from head to toe and almost freezing and starving to death, entered the current spacious, clean, bright and modern playground and meeting point for urban people. She felt sad and a bit insecure, and most of all, hungry.

Okay, that is the sad part of the story. The girl, or should I say me, later on met her friends. And they ate happily ever after.  Well, we need the details, don't we?

My friend told me to have a dinner at Mr. Pancake, which I straight away agree with, because I was so hungry and the menu displayed on the reading stand looks appealing. We then ordered a table, which is wooden, but I did not eat it, believe me I was not that hungry. I ordered Atlantic Salad with neither beef nor chicken and a plateful Tom Yum Fried Rice. My friends ordered Tuna Mania pancake, Crasy Potato and french fries. And had I known that the serving is large, I would definitely resist myself from ordering more than just one meal. So, when the salad, which basically is a plate full of chopped lettuce, tomato, paprika and onion ring topped with shredded cheese and mayonnaise, was served, I straightly wanted to finish them all because I was so hungry. There is nothing really special from the salad except the extra large onion ring. But, because I was so hungry, I managed to eat them all like only within 15 minutes. Hence, by the time the fried rice was served, I was full already. I only ate a tiny portion of the fried rice, which I so badly regretted because it tasted so yummy. The rice is sticky, and the seasoning is strong but in a good way. I didn't eat the fish fingers because I was so full, but my friend said it tasted good. The Crasy Potato was also good especially the tiny small potatoes which better eaten together with the skins. I also didn't try the Tuna Mania pancake, but my friend said it was good, and she seemed so happy with the huge serving of the pancake.

And, voila a happy tummy leads to a happy face, indeed :)