Our story, our bacang...
Our recipes come straight down from the food shop manned by our grandmother at Jalan Arjuno in Malang, Indonesia back in the 1950s. There, she would be cooking and selling delicious Indonesian snacks and everybody in the neighborhood loved it.
​
Coming from a modest family, my grandmother worked hard to make a living by selling Indonesian food. Nasi kuning (yellow rice), bacang (rice dumpling), sausages, sup merah (tomato soup), pastel tutup (potato casserole)... anything you can think of, she did everything by herself. Nowadays, my aunt still carry on her legacy in the same kitchen as back in the 1950s.
We spent the last 13 years in Singapore before coming to New Zealand in early 2017. While bacang could be found practically anywhere in Indonesia and Singapore, it was not something which we could easily find here. Well, at least, not like what our grandmother used to make. We had such a bad craving for some delicious bacang one day that suddenly we thought of "why not trying to make one here?". With a little knowledge I learnt from my mom during my university time, lots of trial and error to get it right but finally, we are proud to say that we have made it 100% as what were being sold in the street of Jalan Arjuno.
​
Why "Rumah Arjuna" ?
"Rumah" means house in Indonesia. "Arjuna" was taken from the street name "Jalan Arjuno" where my grandmother used to live in Malang. It is just our way to remember our grandmother.
The olden days..
Back in the day, we used a huge cooking pot to cook more than 100 bacang at a time. The cooking process would take around 7 hours, after which we would hang the bacang on a very long pole to cool them down and drain the excess water. This method is still applicable today when we are cooking our delicious bacang.
Quite simply, our ingredients.
​
Bacang is made using the freshest ingredients available in New Zealand, but for one exception which is a secret sauce which we source from our aunts in Malang. This ingredient is the key to make our bacang different from the rest.
​
Every bacang is weighed and cared for individually so that we can achieve the same taste and size. This is our way to thrive for the best quality and consistency.
What makes us special?
How to enjoy our bacang?
While many people think that steaming the bacang is the correct way, this method will remove the moisture from the bacang and give it a dry exterior.
​
The best way to enjoy the bacang is to boil it for 10 minutes (or 20 minutes if it's coming straight out of the freezer), then let it rest for 10-15 minutes. I didn't believe my mother when she told me not to eat the bacang when it was pipping hot. But, mothers are always right. Don't you all agree?
"Almost" featured on ...
Yes, "almost"...
​
The first picture was taken by the talented Dutch photographer, Iwan Baan back in 2013 for a Peranakan Chinese recipe book (second picture)
​
Unfortunately, the photo was not featured in the book as my grandmother wanted to preserve the recipe within the family. Sorry :)
