Se'i babi (Timor smoked pork).

Throughout Timor (the Indonesian side at least) restaurants and food stalls were selling se'i babi - smoked then grilled strips of pork. The pork was smoked using leaves and twigs from Schleichera oleosa, called the kusum or Ceylon oak in the subcontinent, and a member of the soapberry family (Sapindaceae).

Flowering twig and young leaves of Schleichera oleosa

The pork is smoked early in the day (pagi pagi) in time for the lunch time rush. Strips of the pork fillet are then grilled on poles of kusum, over kusum charcoal and covered with a kusum twig - all to add a little extra flavour. It was served as strips on a chopping board with a sharp knife to be cut as you wish, some white rice and sambal. The meat was excellent, like very chunky smoked bacon, but more succulent, and we ate it nearly every day, but I never tired of it.

Pork being grilled, kusum branch in the chef's hand

The se'i babi was particularly good at 'Depot Joy' in Soe, served with sop brenebon (a broth with pork and brown beans), bunga pepaya (fried papaya flowers) and deep fried pork skin.

Deep fried pig skin at Depot Joy

Jus alpokat.

This green sludge is jus alpokat, or avocado juice to give it a basic translation from the Indonesian. (Advokat or alpukat are also Indonesian for avocado, though the first one can mean lawyer, and lawyer juice doesn't sound very enticing.)


I don't know how it is made, but at a guess it is something like an avocado, lots of condensed milk, and ice blended together; the brown streaks are chocolate condensed milk. I don't really care how it is made, but I think it is delicious. It's perfect with anything that has some spicy sambal, is a great stomach liner before something a bit oily, or is so versatile it can be a pudding at the end of the meal; highly recommended.

PS. Incredulously, the Lonely Planet Indonesia guide lists avocado juice in a list of four "We Dare You...specialities that make for a real culture shock" (together with dog in Sulawesi, durian, and Balinese pork offal specialities), which is just silly because whilst it's not everyone's cup of tea it's hardly different from very sloppy gaucomole.