A Shocking Red Noodle in Martapura

21.9.12

What do you expect when you're ordering a bowl of Yamin noodle? Of course, a typical noodle covered with soy sauce without the soup. However, what about the noodle served comes in a red color and with the soup, without the signature soy sauce? I’m not sure it’s Yamin noodle but that’s what I got in Martapura, South Kalimantan.

At the small noodle café near the Martapura jewel market, I found a very extraordinary kind of Yamin noodle. When an ordinary Yamin noodle is made from a typical thin noodle for ‘bakmi’, with brown color from the soy sauce and no soup added, the Martapura’s yamin comes in a thicker size with soup, okay this is shocking, red color! The waiter said that the noodle is handmade and the red color comes from food coloring (I wish it’s not a textile coloring since the color is too red haha).

I was a lil bit afraid to taste it, however my tummy just couldn’t resist the meatballs, the fried pangsit, and of course the red color of the noodle. So, it went well in my tongue, the noodle’s texture was soft even though it’s too thick (I think I kinda eat a rubber hahaha), a lil bit salty from its soup and yeah the rest was like an ordinary ‘bakmi’ you see in the street. I should add much soy sauce since I wanted it like ‘Yamin’ not ‘bakmi kuah’ but the taste became awful haha!

Anyway, it’s a funny experience to taste such noodle. Though the taste is so-so, at least I knew that in every region in Indonesia, there are always unique foods to try, right! Can’t wait to explore any Indonesian food in its original place!