LOEMPIA BOOM: Culinary Review by Cassiopeia

LOEMPIA BOOM

Culinary Review by Cassiopeia

Photo by Alia Arsy Arya Arga

 

“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”.

Cassiopeia members:

Ainul Karomah

Alia Arsy Arya Arga

Listiyaningsih

Nia Susanti