The Case of Tahu Campur Lamongan

by Julius Kensan
24th January 2014
Whether or not you care that late President Gus Dur frequented this establishment, there's no doubt that Tahu Campur Lamongan is one of the best in town.

The beauty of street food is that word of mouth is pretty much what the vendor only need when it comes to banging the drum for the food they’re selling. It is thanks to word of mouth that, from time to time, urban myths get attached to them. Naturally, the vendors have to nothing to lose from the attachment to these urban myths.

Tahu Campur Lamongan pretty much looks similar to the rest of the street food stalls along the stretch of Paus Street. But what arouses the curiosity is the myth that late President Gus Dur used to be a customer of this establishment. Still, Tahu Campur Lamongan doesn’t need that myth to survive on their own in the first place.

There are only two choices of food to choose here: Tahu Campur – a plate of noodle, fried tofu, steamed potato and beef tendon in a clear dark soup made of shrimp paste and Tahu Telor – a plate of rice cakes, fried tofu, steamed potato smeared with spicy peanut gravy. These simple dishes may look deceivingly simple but you’ll be taken aback by how flavourful it is. Each taste of the ingredients is noticeable and yet doesn’t overpower one another when thrown together. Those who don’t take well to spicy food might want to take note as Tahu Telur is made spicier here.

Now, whether those urban myths are fact or not, may not matter to some patrons. After all, we just love vendor who doesn’t skim on his/her ingredients.