“This is a real good spot. Let’s take a seat here, guys,” said a
friend, Ai, as she drew out a chair from one of a table. I was just going to
reply ‘why’ until my head turned southward, then I knew what she was talking
about. Out of the rows of buildings and uproar of the city, the yellowish green
paddy field was stretched before us, framed with the green trees on the left
side and the bright blue sky above.
Located on Jalan Selokan Mataram, Pogung Dalangan, in Yogyakarta,
this restaurant presents a different point of view to see the city. The weather
was prone to hot as we stepped on the second floor of “Loempia Boom”
restaurant. It led us then, to pick a shady spot in the furthest corner, from
which seen the red, yellow, and green lampions hung under the edge of the roof.
Just like us, numerous of the other visitors are mostly teenagers to the
middle-aged people, who seemingly enjoyed the tranquil ambience of the place.
Aside from the good vibes it spread out, the name “Loempia Boom”
itself straightly hints to the specialty of this modest restaurant: lumpia. The
lumpia served there is not just the ordinary one; ‘boom’ sounds pretty much
like something extra, which is the size. Normally, a lumpia—also known as
spring roll in English—is in a size of a man’s palm, with bamboo sprout as the
filling. But this one is unlikely into normality. It has a jumbo size. Twice as
big. Around 20 cm in length, probably 3 cm in width. Comes out with various
fillings, as of chicken, beef, sausage, meatballs, seafood, or even chicken
gizzard, loempia boom simply breaks the conventional lumpia. This golden brown
dish features as a side dish, along with rice, plus the extra raw vegetable and
sambal (grinded chili)—which completing each other.
Arranged on a plate of besek—a typically Javanese traditional
plate made of weaved-bamboo—the shrimp-filled lumpia emits a yum aroma,
inviting us to chomp it promptly as it is set on the table. Once the slice of
it landed on my tongue, gently I ground its warm crispness. Just nearly at the
same time, the diced carrot and sauteéd eggs touched my palate smoothly,
pleasantly tender. And even that it was needed an extra attempt to make my gustatory
sensitive in finding the shrimps, yet when I did, the savory of it tasted
delicious. As if the whole of lumpia were dancing a melancholic waltz in my
mouth.
Another friend, Tiyan, admitted that as chewing a slice of
chicken-stuffed lumpia, she could hear the scrunch of her dish’s surface within
her head. Once she came to munch the fillings of carrot and bean sprout, she
grasped their tenderness that melt together. The mixture of naturally sweet
carrots, bean sprout and scrambled eggs are all in balance with the
well-seasoned chicken. It goes even more challenging when she dabbed her lumpia
with the red-hot sambal, of which casting grains of sweat upon her philtrum. In
accordance to what Tiyan said about her dish, Ai portrayed the sensation she gets
for her lumpia as alike. The only difference lies in the filling she chose, the
pungent tasted chicken gizzard that kicked her tongue in a morsel.
Also in her lumpia hunting, Nia preferred to order boombastic
lumpia and oseng jamur boom. Tagged with the most complete fillings, she was
allured by the image presentation of bombastic lumpia. The most dominant taste
when her teeth crushed it was the carrot with its sweet smoothness and the
chopped of well-spiced chicken. Combined with the chewy meatballs, sausage, and
slices of beef, this lumpia is such a pleasure to eat. Whereas, the
presentation of oseng jamur boom was delightfully colored: white of the
mushrooms, garnished with red and green comes from the chili. Each slice of the
mushroom was set in a bite size, and it was fresh on account of being
undercooked.
But then to have a meal without drinking would be so unfair to the
throat, so we ordered several distinguish beverages, one of which was ice tape
with milk. Tape is a Javanese traditional food made of fermented yeast, that
basically can be enjoyed by itself. For me, though, to take a sip a glass of
stirred tape with milk was just a little piece of heaven. The combination of
sour and sweetness comes from the green tape and its rice-like texture just
felt complete with splash of creamy cold milk.
If a glass of ice tape with milk rather comes as semi-traditional,
a number of Western beverages also served in this restaurant. With its slim
long glass, the chocolate colored vanilla latte indeed tasted like the fresh,
real melting chocolate bar. Covered with the soapy white float, the upper layer
of this chocolate drink tastes sweet as well as mildly salty. For those whose
tongues are a big fan of sweetness, vanilla latte would be a great accompaniment
anytime.
As an alternative for those who wants to get relieved from thirst
in a hot weathered day, a healthy choice offered in the menu is a glass of
strawberry float. The composition is simple, with a red colored substance hints
to its juicy freshness. If the flavor brought by the smooth strawberry juice is
typically sour, a scope of vanilla ice cream upon it softens the taste, leaving
a refreshing mixture throughout the throat.
Another beverage offered in this restaurant is indeed as fresh as its
name, “the rainbow”. Splashed colors of deep red, green, and bright blue is
apparently such a joy to watch. As a soda-based drink, the rainbow has an
ability to calm down your body by the drops of mint extract. Served with ice,
this cold syrupy drink is not only pleasing to sight, it glides down the throat
like a dew in early morning.
Ultimately, with such enjoyable dishes, atmosphere, and less than
Rp 10,000 for each food and drink, it is more than just a lumpia. It is “boom”.
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