The Story of Poke Rice, alias Nasi Toel~

Last night, my mom went home with a box of rice from an event. It's very common and habitual that my mom brought food home and we'll eat together. That time, my mom bring a small box of rice, named "Nasi Toel". I was supremely interested of the menu for its unique name and unusual packaging. When I opened the box, I found square shaped rice, with no sight of complimentary food. Then you have to "poke" the rice and find the side dishes inside. It's just  like Bakpao, you can find the filling as a layer inside the dough. When I taste it, it felt like a blend of dishes.

Nasi Toel

I am curious to the heart with this menu. So I called the owner just now, named Angel. She explained to me about the variety of Nasi Toel menu. 

They have Toel Campur, Toel Kedip, Toel Remas, Toel Kaasar and Toel Yak!

I tasted Toel Campur yesterday, and the filling is "ikan rica", "ayam ungkep", "teri sambel ijo".

Toel Kedip's filling is "Acar bumbu nanas", "ayam goreng", "ikan teri", and egg.

For Toel Yak! , the "Yak!" is the abbreviation of "Ayam Kecap", the filling is "ayam kecap",egg and "Teri".

Toel Remas has "ayam bumbu kuning", fried shrimp, "Sambel ati", egg and stringbean inside.

Toel Kaasar stands for Makaasar, Angel's hometown. Its filling is "ayam woku", "ikan rica", and "abon ikan cakalang fufu".

 (Dying, trying to translate those culinary terms X_X)

Besides Nasi Toel, she also provide some Manado and Padang cuisine, since she came from Manado and her husband is from Padang. The price for Nasi Toel is IDR 7,000, except Toel Remas and Toel Kaasar that priced IDR 9,000.

There's a gigantic question on my head on how she got the idea of the name and form of Nasi Toel. When I asked her about this, she sounds, ehm..slightly embarrased and, to cut the story short *censored* ,the name means that people have to "poke" it first, find the delicious food inside and mix it to get the taste thoroughly. You can't just take the right side or the edge of the rice, because the filling is spread in every corner. Take it in one side, and you might get spiced down there!

Overall, I think she is very innovative and creative. The attraction effect of the name is very strong. She is able to mix a lot of dishes in a small space like that. It's similar to nasi kucing in terms of the portion, but here, she re-invented "Nasi kucing" and bring it to the next level. Besides, it tasted good and not as spicy as usual Manado cuisine. But I feel that it's too small. For me, it's not a problem. But for you who has big appetite, one will never enough.

For more information, you can contact Angel from Dapur Ella  at (0813-16777111) or (021-70071111)