Are you currently in Lasem? At your leisure, head over to Pak Munakir’s Fried Rice Stall for your dinner. That’s where you can grab the distinctly delicious fried rice along with a wide variety of other foods, such as Cap Cay (mixed vegetables), Kwetiau (flat noodle) with broth, Nasi Bakmi Bihun Goreng (stir-fried meat noodle with rice) by Mr. Munakir. The stall, which has been around for well beyond 20 years in Lasem, is located on a sidewalk across Lasem Police Station. Please take note on the opening hours! The stall opens from 6:30pm to midnight, but they’ll close at any time when the food is sold out already.
I had the honor to taste a portion of unspicy fried rice with the topping consisting of thin slices of chicken meat, mixed fried eggs, and pickled cucumber. At times, Chef Munakir serves Nasi Mawut, the kind of fried rice that’s mixed with noodle, vegetables, and egg. Interesting! At least I didn’t feel bad about eating fried rice because it had some vegetables in it too!
Mr. Munakir (68) and his wife, Mrs. Juwati, first opened the stall back in 1996. He migrated to Lasem from his hometown in Kediri and later got married to his wife, who originated from Punjulharjo. Since 1960s onwards, Mr. Munakir had learned how to cook in Malang. “I learned how to cook from a Chinese in Comboran, mbak. I cooked for a living in Jakarta and went back home to Kediri, and then I tried my luck in Probolinggo and Pasuruan. I worked as a cook in all these different places.”
“I used to work in a furniture shop in Pasuruan. Then I moved to Lasem, and in 1996 I opened the stall. I got many customers in a short while. Duh, I can still remember the crowd of customers at the time. Back then I sold Lomi (think wide noodle) too, but the ingredients were appropriated according to the general taste of the local people here,” he uttered, recalling the memories of his much success in the first days of his business as he was accompanying me to eat my fried rice.
“Do you know the key (of the success)? It’s the ketchup! Once I used to cook with Raja Rasa Ketchup, but I’ve now been cooking with Siwalan Ketchup, made in Rembang. The food becomes so-ooo yummy! That’s the tastiest ketchup. I’ve been asked to come along with my boss to move to Bali, but I declined. I chose to stay here,” said this chef, who loves cooking Fu Yung Hai the most, but unfortunately, he wasn’t serving it at the time.
“I usually take a day off on Monday, or any time I feel tired,” he added.
So guys, if you happen to be around Lasem or stay overnight in Lasem, come over to Chef Munakir’s stall and try the tasty fried rice!
