So far for me, nothing tops the boiled duck blood with egg noodles that I tried in Thailand. I didn’t know it was duck blood until I finished eating and my friend whose local told me after about it. Believe me, the look on my face couldn’t describe how bewildered I was. It was such a small portion and it wasn’t like I could throw it up.

There are some delicacies in Indonesia that I love to eat as well such as land snails. In French cuisine you can see this menu under “escargot” which is a part of haute cuisine and can be found in expensive restaurants. However in South East Asia, this land snails meal is inexpensive.

I tried the expensive escargot, it was just escargot drenched in pesto sauce, the indonesian version is definitely way better.

In Indonesia itself, land snails delicacy is almost gone with the farm lands being redeveloped into housing settlements. It’s such a rarity to be able to taste this but there’s one region in East Java is well-known for this delicacy.

A viral delicacy in Magetan East Java, Bekicot Magetan

Magetan is a small region in east java boasting its hilly areas and lush rice field farm. As its just an hour drive from my grandparents house, I visit the area often but only about a couple months ago, I discovered this place that apparently people said went viral.

The stall is pretty humble offering land snails in various spices. The place also offers rabbit meat that are quite famous in the region. Funnily enough, the seller is quite chatty and they even have this banner mentioning they can send overseas. Want sum?

I was there with my parents and uncle who only ordered 3 small plates of these. I am not huge on rabbit meat but my dad and my mom were into it. I was only going to this place for the land snails that are often praised and joked about online.

I was satisfied with the meal because the spices were rich and so flavorful. It’s definitely a recommend and must-go if you’re into local delicacies. At least this time, you know what you’re signing up for and know that I am talking about slug and land snails.

A must try when visiting Madiun, Pecel Yu Gembrot

Another thing that you can try while around this region is pecel. My grandparents hometown are known for this meal. It’s assorted boiled vegetables served with peanut sauce on top. It comes with rice and sometimes fried parts of the beef from tripe to intestines and the likes. As much as there are some well-known places, this one beats them all.

This establishment is a humble eatery called Pecel Yu Gembrot. Pecel in this place is served on a banana leaves plate and comes with generous vegetables and peanut sauce. It also comes with crackers that was so clean and not too oily. This place is definitely on the higher price but it’s worth it especially if you don’t really like oily food and want to stay on the healthier. After all, pecel is some type of salads.

If you come from this place, people here eat this meal 3 times a day and is also often so popular during breakfast. Whenever I come to visit my grandmother, she would always serve me this meal every breakfast, lunch and sometimes it’s dinner too. You can’t escape this meal if you’re visiting the area. They are very proud of it and enjoys this meal almost everyday. The only thing that changes is the side dishes accompanying it which ranges from chicken, grilled meat to beef innards.

This recommendation should be out a while back but life gets the best of me and this time, because I want to remember these places, I am sharing it with y’all. It’s that good and definitely deserves more than a second visit.