Food #1: Bakpia

I went to Bali a few times. When I came back, my family asked me,"where's the gift for us?" Other time, I went to Bandung. My family and friends asked the same thing,"where's the gift for us?" A couple years ago, I went solo to Thailand for a month. Still, they asked same question when I came back,"where's the gift?"

So, the idea of travelling in Indonesia is bringing back gift as many as you can. Family and friends rarely ask you 'how was your holiday?' or 'how do you like the places you visited?'. It is just like: I don't care where you've been gone, just give me some souvenirs :D

That's why, each area in Indonesia has their own unique souvenirs. In Bali, they have brem. In Bandung, they have peuyeum. In Yogyakarta, we have bakpia. Many travelers (usually domestic tourist) will go the shop and buy bakpia for their relatives and friends back home when they visit Jogja. Well, you can say it is also as a prove that they've visited Yogyakarta~

Q: But, what is bakpia?
A: Bakpia is the name of a famous pastry from Yogyakarta with mung bean filling~
 

Bakpia

Wanna know more about bakpia? Here some brief explanation. (The information is based on personal knowledge from simple interview with the employees) :D


The name bakpia is consist of two words: 'bak' and 'pia'. Bak means meat and pia means pastry. Literally, it is a pastry with meat inside. However, in the previous time, the meat used is usually pork. Because Muslims don't eat pork, they change the filling with mung bean. Now, they have more variations for the filling such as; chocolate, pineapple, and cheese. Bakpia with mung bean filling can last only 4 days. The other fillings can last until a week.

Are you interested to taste this pastry? Yes? Cool!
In Yogyakarta, you can easily find it Pathuk area (north square to the north). This area is full of shops that sell bakpia. You can also visit a factory where you can see the making process.

So, when you come visit Yogyakarta, don't forget to try this pastry. Or maybe, you can follow the culture to bring some bakpia home as a gift for your relatives and friends :D