Mom's Home Cooking, Street Style
August 28th. I decided to switch things up this morning and hit a different local food stall (warung) for breakfast. I usually stick to my regular spot, but sometimes you just need a little variety.
The fascinating thing about Indonesian street food is that the flavor completely depends on the "Ibu" (mother) running the stall. Even a standard dish like Nasi Goreng can taste wildly different from one cart to the next. Today, I went with a vegetable dish (Sayur)—salty, spicy, and perfectly thickened. I paired it with some chicken (Ayam) and Tempeh. The grand total? 27,000 Rupiah (about $1.70 USD). Cheap, delicious, and exactly what I needed to kick off the day.
A Sugar Bomb and Barefoot Prodigies
After breakfast, I took a stroll down to my usual park and noticed a newly set up soccer court. Curious, I asked a nearby vendor what was going on. They told me an event was kicking off at 3:00 PM. Since I had a couple of hours to kill, I figured I'd head back to the hotel for a bit.
But first, snacks. I grabbed a waffle from a park stand for 10,000 Rupiah (about $0.65 USD), loaded it up with chocolate and banana for a total of 15,000 Rupiah (about $0.95 USD). I took one bite and—wow. It was a total sugar bomb, sitting right at "perfect sweetness plus one extra notch." Honestly, though, it was exactly the kind of energy boost my tired legs needed.
When I headed back to the park later that afternoon, I jumped into a quick soccer game with the local kids. Let me tell you, they were insanely good. Watching them pull off incredible moves completely barefoot was humbling.
The Pulse of the City of Music
As I wandered around, I stumbled upon a group of dads teaching their kids how to play the ukulele. They explained that they were practicing for a big performance on September 7th to celebrate the anniversary of Ambon's founding. It really hit me then why Ambon is officially known as the "City of Music."
For dinner, I walked about 10 minutes from my hotel to a local eatery to try Sop Iga Nasi (Beef Rib Soup with rice). The broth was rich, packed with collagen, and the ribs were cooked down until they were melt-in-your-mouth tender. Mixing that savory broth with the rice was an absolute game-changer. So incredibly good.
Later that night, I went back out to the park, and the place had transformed into a massive outdoor dance floor. Even tiny 10-to-15-meter cafe spaces were bumping with music and people dancing. It made me realize that Ambon—and honestly, Indonesia as a whole—is a place that simply breathes music and dance. You can't help but smile when you're surrounded by that kind of energy.
