#5 Bandung Food Testing: Cireng
Sunday, April 18th, 2010
Bandung is a prime location of many culinary delights–this is a fact widely known by many people from all over the place. Whether you are looking for Indonesian-style or internationally-flavored cuisines, Bandung has the goods for you. Whether you want to eat the kind of foods that are prepared meticulously by a five-star Chef or the kind that can be swiftly served in under five minutes with little to no hassle, Bandung can deliver them for you.
This post is dedicated to one of the most famous food that belong to the latter categories of food above–the one that can be prepared quickly and swiftly but addicting to taste nevertheless. The name of the food itself is exquisitely simple: Cireng.
The 24th of March marks one of the most famous days in the long history of Bandung as a city. It was an event so historically important that a national song was written about it–a song that is often sung in numerous official and ceremonial events all over Indonesia. The 24th of March, 1946, was the day of “Bandung Lautan Api”, or Bandung in the Ocean of Fire. 
I hate to say this, but it’s bound to happen one way or another. It’s good to dream big things, but dream too big and you are bound to trip up. It is unhealthy for a frog to dream that he can fly: it can leap from a steep cliff trying to soar to the sky when impending doom is the certain result. Alas, dreaming too big without a stepping a foot in realism is a disease often exhibited by many Indonesian officials, and the end will almost always results in shame.
Let us play an experiment. If you have acquaintances in Bandung, call them up and ask this question: “When is the date of Bandung’s birthday?” Most probably, they will not be able to answer the question. Or you can just ask anyone with a Bandung ID or claim themselves as Bandung citizens: I can guarantee you that most of them–if not all–will not be able to answer correctly.
World Cup, without a doubt, is the single biggest sporting event in the world. It is probably the biggest event in the world, surpassing every other events in the world in terms of sheer size and the buzzes it generates. Though it is an event mainly made to cater to the soccer aficionados, there is little doubt that it affects each and every one of us in varying degree due to its monumental significance. Everyone wants to eat a slice of the whole World Cup’s cake, and Indonesia is not an exception to this rule.
