Soto Kwali dan Wedang Ronde GALABO

<—-Kisah Sebelumnya

Gerbang depan GALABO.

Gladag Langen Bogan atau lebih dikenal dengan sebutan GALABO adalah kompleks pasar kuliner yang diselenggarakan di Jalan Kapten Mulyadi di area Kedung Lumbu. Konsep pasar jalanan ini menjadi daya tarik tersendiri bagi pemimpin perusahaan tempatku bekerja sebagai kandidat utama untuk dikunjungi saat acara Marketing Conference nanti.

Oleh karenanya, aku perlu melihat kondisi sesungguhnya dari GALABO. Aku harus membedah perihal konten kuliner di dalamnya, konsep aktivitasnya dan tentu waktu operasionalnya. Dan untuk bisa melakukannya, tentu aku harus mensurveynya saat malam karena ini adalah pasar malam kuliner.

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Aku meluncur bersama taksi online yang kupesan menuju barat daya, meninggalkan Taman Pelangi yang berada di area Jurug. Waktu yang tepat menuju GALABO, karena aku akan tiba disana sekitar pukul 19:00 dan berfikir dengan yakin bahwa tenda-tenda kuliner sudah didirikan di sepanjang jalan.

Aku berpindah dari Taman Pelangi melalui Jalan Ir. Juanda, lalu berlanjut ke Jalan Jend. Urip Sumoharjo, hingga akhirnya aku tiba di sebuah pelataran luas dengan deretan kios-kios di salah satu sisinya.

GALABO sebelah mana, Pak?”.

Ini GALABO, Mas. Kita sudah sampai”.

GALABO bukannya tenda-tenda kuliner di sepanjang jalan ya, Pak

Oh itu dulu, Mas. Sekarang sudah di relokasi dan dipindahkan ke sini. Ini tepat di selatan Benteng Vredeburg”.

Oh sejak kapan, Pak dipindahin?

Pertengahan 2018, Mas”.

Aku membuka pintu taksi online dengan berusaha meyembunyikan raut kekecewaan. Aku masih saja berfikir bahwa GALABO adalah kuliner jalanan. Karena kuliner jalanan akan lebih menarik antusiasme para peserta Marketing Conference nantinya.

28 kedai kuliner pilihan.
Kedai yang hanya menjual kuliner legendaris Kota Solo.
Buka dari pukul 17:00 hingga pukul 05:00

Tak apa, Donny. Kita cicipi dulu saja makanannya!”, batinku meneguhkan diri.

Taksi online dengan cepat meninggalkanku di area baru GALABO. Aku segera menyusuri sepanjang deretan kedai untuk mencari makan malam yang cocok. Kali ini makan malamku sedikit telat sehingga kuputuskan mencari hidangan yang masih panas. Aku tak ragu memesan Soto Kwali Mbok Yem. Kemudian kupadukan dengan memesan Wedang Ronde sebagai minumannya.

Aku mengambil duduk di sebuah umbrella shading-bench. Tak lama setelah aku duduk, lagu yang dibawakan oleh seorang biduan dengan iringan organ tunggal mulai mengalun. Aku baru saja menikmati suasana indah GALABO malam itu. GALABO belum ramai tetapi para pengunjung secara konsisten mulai berdatangan. Perlahan deretan umbrella shading-bench mulai penuh.

Sepuluh menit kemudian, makanan yang kupesan tiba dan mulai kusantap Soto Kwali yang masih mengepul itu dengan lahap. Biasanya kalau telat makan maka secara otomatis aku akan kehilangan nafsu makan. Tapi kali ini aroma harum Soto Kwali membuatku terlupa akan kondisi perutku yang sudah mulai masuk angin. Sementara ritme lagu yang dibawakan semakin cepat dan ngebeat.

Malam yang indah di Solo.

Di akhir waktu makan malamku, aku mulai berfiikir, membayangkan membawa peserta Marketing Conference yang berjumlah 76 orang ke GALABO untuk makan malam. Di fikiran lain, aku membandingkan jika makan malam itu diselenggarakan di De’ Tjolomadoe.

Sepertinya aku sudah memiliki kecenderungan untuk memilih destinasi yang mana. GALABO atau De’ Tjolomadoe?

Kini aku harus bergegas untuk mengunjungi destinasi lain. Destinasi yang akan dikunjungi di sore hari saat Marketing Conference, tetapi aku akan mensurveynya di malam hari.

Mari kita lanjutkan perjalanan kita ke pusat olahraga terbesar di Kota Bengawan itu.

Kisah Selanjutnya—->

GALABO’ Soto Kwali and Wedang Ronde

<—-Previous Story

GALABO front gate.

Gladag Langen Bogan or better known as GALABO was a culinary market complex which was held on Kapten Mulyadi Street in Kedung Lumbu area. This street market concept had attracted for the CEO of a company where I worked as a main candidate to be visited at Marketing Conference later.

Therefore, I needed to see GALABO real condition. I have to dissect culinary content in it, its activities concept and of course, its operational time. And to be able to do that, I have to survey it at night because this was a culinary night market.

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I drove with an online taxi which I ordered to southwest, leaving Pelangi Park in Jurug area. Great time to went to GALABO, because I would arrive there at around 7:00 pm and I thought with confidence that culinary tents have been set up along the street.

I moved from Pelangi Park through Ir. Juanda Street, then continued to Jenderal Urip Sumoharjo Street. It took 15 minutes and a distance of 5 km until I finally arrived at a large courtyard with a row of stalls on one side.

“Where is the GALABO, Sir?”.

“This is GALABO, Sir. We have arrived”.

“As I know that GALABO is rows of culinary tents along the street, Sir”.

“Oh that first, Sir. Now it was relocated and moved here. It’s just on south of Fort Vredeburg ”.

“When is relocated, Sir?”

“On mid-2018, Sir”.

I opened the online taxi door and trying to hide my disappointment. I still thought that GALABO was street culinary. Because street culinary would be more attractive to Marketing Conference participants later.

28 selected culinary stalls
Stalls which only sell Solo’s legendary culinaries.
Open from 5pm until 5am.

It’s okay, Donny. Let’s just taste the food first! ”, I thought to myself.

The online taxi quickly left me in GALABO new area. I walked along row of stalls and looking for a suitable dinner. This time, my dinner was a little late so I decided to find a dish which was still hot. I didn’t hesitate to order Soto Kwali * 1 Mbok Yem. Then I combined it by ordering Wedang Ronde * 2 as a drink.

I took a seat on an umbrella shading-bench. Shortly after I sat down, a song sung by a singer with a single organ accompaniment began to play. I just enjoyed beautiful atmosphere of GALABO that evening. GALABO wasn’t crowded yet but visitors consistently started arriving. Slowly, rows of umbrella shading-bench started to fill up.

Ten minutes later, Dish which I ordered arrived and I started to eating a steaming Soto Kwali with gusto. Usually if I ate late, I would automatically lose my appetite. But this time, fragrant aroma of Soto Kwali made me forget my stomach condition which had started to catch a cold. Meanwhile, songs rhythhm which was delivered was faster and beater.

Beautiful night in Solo.

At the end of my dinner time, I started thinking, imagining in bringing 76 Marketing Conference participants to GALABO for dinner. On the other mind, I compared if dinner was being held at De ‘Tjolomadoe Sugar Factory Museum.

It seemed that I already had a tendency to choose which destination. GALABO or De ‘Tjolomadoe?

Now I have to hurry to visit other destination. Destination which would visit in afternoon during Marketing Conference, but I would survey it in the evening.

Let’s continued our journey to the biggest sports center in Bengawan City*3.

Notes:

Soto Kwali * 1 : a typical Solo dish cooked in kwali (clay pot). It’s a soup menu filled with pieces of beef, mostly from sengkel (top of beef leg).

Wedang Ronde * 2: is a hot drink which is made from ginger which can make our body warm after we drink it. It’s consisting of sticky rice balls, then poured with ginger sauce and sprinkled with fried peanuts with addition of plain bread and sugar palm fruit according to our taste.

Bengawan City*3: Another name for Solo  city besides Batik City. Bengawan is a Javanese vocabulary which means a big river.

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