EKA NAMARA GINTING
Email: eginting+@cs.cmu.edu(Eka Namara Ginting)
I am of Karo ethnicity, and I grew up in Medan, North Sumatera. One
of the most popular Karonese dishes that you can easily find in the Karo Highland (Kabanjahe, Berastagi, etc - which are well worth a
visit) or in Medan is called, in local talk, BPK (pronounced: be-pe-ka, with 'e' as in 'pet' and 'a' as in 'father'), which is an
acronym for "Babi Panggang Karo".
BPK is simply barbequed pork Karonese style. The meat is marinated in some special sauce before barbequed, and it is served with a thick,
darkish-brown gravy made from blood! They typically serve this with "tuka-tuka", which is the intestine stuffed with a mix of vegetables
and the meat finely chopped. Steaming hot, white rice and BPK - you
are on your way to culinary heaven!
If you ask me, there are two dishes in the world that I consider most delicious and memorable, almost worth dying for:Pacific Northwest's
barbeque salmon and BPK!
Oh, in Medan you can easily find BPK around the Padang Bulan area (any bus/taxi driver can lead you to that area) or in Kabanjahe go to "Ras Maka Dame". For dessert, test the restaurants authenticity and
preparedness by asking for "cimpa", which is a kind of pastry with coconut and brown sugar filling wrapped in either banana leaves or a
special leave only used in Karo.
If you can't quite stomach that, there are plenty of delicious fruit, too, including the infamous "Durian". Again, Medan and the road from
Medan to Kabanjahe is the perfect place to find excellent durians.
You can find a list of other places to visit in North Sumatera in Bali's Web site at http://www.indo.com
I hope this helps. If you need to know more about Medan and Karo, don't hesitate to
drop me an email...
Bon voyage,
Eka Ginting
