Asli Soto Medan 1930
A couple of months ago I went for my annual medical check-up. Nothing serious, thank God! Just one reasonably large little problem, really high cholesterol. Just how bad is the problem you might ask? Well, let me tell you. The guidelines for triglyceride levels set by the American Heart Association states that anything below 150 mg/dL is in the normal range with a low risk of heart disease, while anything over 500 mg/dL is considered very high with a very high risk of heart disease. Mine was in the 490’s – very bad. So the doctor’s put me on Lipitor and made me cut out all fatty and high cholesterol foods out of my diet instantly. All the good stuff basically. But, it wasn’t all doom and gloom; I was allowed something fatty once or twice a month. So, my fortnightly fatty treat became mini celebrations, days I really looked forward to, days I’d mark on the calendar.
On one particular fatty-treat day, I got up pretty early and made myself a breakfast of champions – oatmeal porridge with a mix of berries. Doesn’t sound so boring, but after almost two months straight of oatmeal porridge for breakfast it gets really boring. During breakfast I started contemplating what my fatty-treat for that day would be. The process would last the whole morning, and by 11 I was still undecided on the issue. It came down to two choices, sop sum-sum for lunch or tongseng for dinner. Just as I was about to list down the pros and cons of each option, my dad walks through the back door and asks me if I wanted to join him for lunch. The conversation went something like this:
Dad: Got plans for lunch?
Me: Don’t know yet.. You?
Dad: Soto Medan..
Me: Where? Kemayoran?
Dad: Yup.. You coming?
Me: Hmmm… (thinking really hard – an hour’s drive, really high cholesterol, heart attack – SCREW IT!) Let me put my shoes on and grab my Lipitor real quick!
Dad: Don’t bother with the Lipitor, got a bucketful in the car all ready to go.
Rumah Makan Pak Syamsuddin S also known as Asli Soto Medan 1930 has been in business since 1930. That’s right, this establishment has been making the same thing since before the second world war even broke. To this day they’re still in business – just goes to show how good their soto Medan is. Even though the actual Pak Syamsuddin had passed on a while back, the tradition, quality, and taste hasn’t been lost. To give you an idea just how good the soto Medan is, I was prepared to risk a heart attack for a measly-sized bowl of their to-die-for fatty goodness. A risk worth taking any day.
Walking through the front door, you’re instantly presented with three options of what you’d want in your soup; beef, beef mixed with entrails or chicken. As an avid fan of cheap cuts, I ordered the second. Small cuts of beef, lungs, intestines, tripe and liver floating in a shiny, golden, creamy coconut broth. It does not get better than this. Since the cuts of meat are not cooked in the actual soup itself, they remain firm, crispy even. A spoonful of this stuff in your mouth and your mind will start playing tricks on you. The contrast in textures gets me every time – crispy soup. Hmmm… As they bring your order to the table, they’ll also serve you a plate of sides. More greasy fried stuff like perkedel and fried entrails, just in case your cholesterol levels aren’t high enough. Even if it was, you still got to have them with your soto Medan, otherwise it will never be a complete meal.
To help wash the soto Medan down, I ordered myself a glass of Es Timun. Basically, it’s a glass of shredded cucumber with some iced water and simple syrup. Simple yet refreshing. Goes really well with the soto Medan too, as it helps rinse the fatty residue out of your mouth. I think ages ago, when someone came up with the idea to make es timun, it was solely out of necessity to be paired with fatty foods. This way, you can have all the greasy, fatty foods you want without having to endure the dizzying after taste for hours after consumption.
With my belly full and Lipitor safely consumed my mind was at ease, knowing that I survived the meal unscathed – no heart attacks, when my dad almost gave me one with his question: “Want to take some of this back for dinner?”
Rumah Makan Pak Syamsuddin S
Asli Soto Medan 1930
JL Angaksa (next to Pelni building), Kemayoran
Category: Eating Out, Gallery, Restaurants
Subscribe
If you enjoyed this article, subscribe to receive more just like it.
Comments (11,093)
Trackback URL | Comments RSS Feed
Sites That Link to this Post