Monday, February 23, 2009

Tukang Roti (bread man)

"Rootttiiiiiii....... Rooottiiiiii....... Roooottttiiiiiiii......"

The typical shouting that you can hear from those men selling bread on their bicycle/motorbike-carts around almost all Jakarta's residential neighborhoods every early morning starting from 5 am to 8 am.

I usually see this Tukang roti (trans: bread man) with his bicycle-cart on my way to the office when I pass this small street.


And most of the times, I see him feeding a stray cat with his fresh bread. Isn't that so sweet and kind of this bread man?

Yes, Nic (khkl)! Cats also eat bread sometimes ;)



There are breads with several filling like chocolate, grated peanut with sugar, grated coconut, and also cheese. Each bread costs Rp. 2.000 (less than 20 cents US).

A loaf of bread costs Rp. 5.000.

Btw.. out of topic, I saw a guy selling toys on his bicycle :)

53 comments:

  1. I am amazed at the prices. The bread looks delicious - I would love the coconut stuffed bread.

    I think it's sweet that the bread man feeds the stray cats - I would too.

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  2. Hello little cat!

    I didn't know all bread was called roti in Indonesia, but the Wikipedia definition of Indian roti says so.

    My mother's country has fewer types of flatbreads than India, roti being the principal type.

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  3. pam: Fyi, the prices for street food are low because the incomes are also low. The average salary of a waiter or salesgirl at shop counters is USD 100 - 150 per month (incld. meal & transport).

    Sometimes to see the bread man feeding the cat, it's so heart touching :)

    olivia: Yes, roti means bread also in Indonesia. Uhmmm... we don't have flatbreads here.

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  4. One of the convenieces I miss living in a highrise building.
    =,(

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  5. I love the picture of the man selling toys on his bicycle. Its so colourful and interesting, am glad you took it.

    I love roti chocolat :p yum yum

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  6. tummythoz: ah... too bad coz' it's really convenient to buy food directly in front of the house.

    laveena: Hehehe... I think it's interesting to sheare the pic the toy's man :)
    Bread with chocolate filling is also my favourite!

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  7. just loves those push or bike carts selling their wares-good post.

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  8. This time, I swear I thought I knew what the food was going to look like because I've seen Indian "roti" before. I was wrong. This bread had coconut in it.

    Mmm, it looks so good. Why isn't there a bread-carting man in Central IL?

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  9. Wow, great deals on bread. I find this all so fascinating! And the breads look mouthwatering!

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  10. I like how industrious the bread vendors are. Their breads looks wonderful, I'm starving for some now. Chocolate stuffed bread? Wow!! I am learning so much from you Selba = )

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  11. Bread with choc inside..sounds fabbbb..:)

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  12. i want a bread man! esp. one that sells chocolate bread!!!

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  13. chocolate stuffed bread? goodness gracious.

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  14. mica: Hahaha… It must be a big surprise when you saw the bread pic. Is there any hot dog carts in IL?

    donna-ffw: The breads from these bread men tasted much better than those in the bakery stores because they don’t put too many “chemicals” to make "good looking" breads. It tasted more like home bread made :)

    Katherine aucoin: So glad that I can share something new to you :)

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  15. varsha vipins: it is indeed :)

    tigerfish: thanks, tigerfish :)

    heather: Hahaha…. I wish I could send one bread man from Indonesia to you!

    pearl: yup!!! hehehe…

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  16. The bread looks fantastic, and it is such a affordable price! That size of bread might cost almost $3 USD. The fillings sound great too!

    I also am amazed at the guy on his bicycle selling toys. I've never seen people sell toys on a bicycle, and it is so colorful and amazing! There are so many toys too!

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  17. eattraveleat: 3USD for that kind of bread? Wow... that's quite expensive.
    We also have men who sells toys that they carry in boxes with bamboo stick on their shoulder (not sure what's the exact word for it) :)

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  18. yeah I also feed stray cats at back of my house....

    they seem know the time when I want goes to feed them

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  19. pisang goreng: Oh.... that's really sweet of you! The stray cats must be so grateful each time they see you :D

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  20. hahaha! thanks selba for answering my question!

    i am gonna keep my rotis away from the cats!!

    thanks! ;)

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  21. nic: I'm so happy that I found the answer and a proof to your question, hehehe..
    Aiyaaaa... should not be stingy to the cats lah... kekeke... :P

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  22. Wow, your photos and descriptions make me so wanderlust! The bread looks wonderful, and that cat should consider itself lucky. The cart-sold treats that I often came across in Vietnam tended to be fried and filled with meat; I wish I'd seen these!

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  23. sapuche: Hi Sapuche, welcome to my blog and thanks for the compliment :)
    Yeah, I remember those food carts on the streets in Vietnam. Too bad, I didn't get the chance to try it.

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  24. Lovely photography, great blog. Street food is one of my real passions. You write about it brilliantly.

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  25. just cook it: Hello there, nice to see you in here.
    Wow.. thanks a lot for your compliments, it really makes my day :)

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  26. I love asian breads with all the yummy fillings and toppings. I miss my local chinese and korean bakeries back home in San Francisco - they always have slightly sweet, fluffy, delicious breads (and always cheap!).

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  27. This reminds me of my childhood days when the tukang roti will come on bicycle! Hardly find this at all nowadays except in the kampungs.

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  28. These breads look delicious as is your blog, making me very hungry :)

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  29. Wow, the bread looks so soft and fluffy. I'm sure I would love it! I wish there was a bread man riding by my apt daily.

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  30. Hi Selba, great blog!
    I would love a bread man to visit me, great photos.

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  31. I can't even imagine the luxury of having freshly-made, chocolate-filled bread for breakfast; and the price would easily tempt me into buying the entire cart.
    That vender would only need two customers, me and the cute kitty.

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  32. What a great story of the bread man. This is a wonderful journey for me into a whole other world. I love that he sometimes feeds the cat.
    Sam

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  33. i absolutely love this post. i almost feel like i'm there on the street! i wish brooklyn had a tukang roti. that would be so awesome. btw, i love that final picture - could be framed.

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  34. gastroanthropologist: You are right, most of the asian bread are fluffy, got fillings and the most important beside it's yummy, it's also cheap :)

    jo: Ah.. too bad, but why there're no more bread men on bikes in the cities in your country?

    joey: Hi Joey, welcome to my blog and thanks for your compliment, please come again :)

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  35. Jessica@foodmayhem: No doubt that you would love the filled bread from tukang roti because it's yummy :)

    nicisme: thank you, Nicisme :) Wish that there is bread man around your area.

    marysol: Hi Marysol, welcome to my blog :)
    Hahaha… The vendor will be really happy to have you and the cute kitty as his customers.

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  36. my Carolina kitchen: Hi Sam, seeing this bread man feeding the stray cat really touch my heart. As a vendor, he doesn’t just thinking about making money but he also is willing to share his “income” with a stray cat.

    we are never full: Hello there, welcome to my blog and thank you for your compliment :)

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  37. Another sentimental journey for me. I used to but these bread from the local roti man every morning before going on the school bus!

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  38. worldwindows: You took a school bus to your working place? Ah... are you a teacher?

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  39. hello selba ;) ,, this reminds me of Penang, where we stil hv man on bike/bicycle ringing their bells selling those bread..

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  40. The bread looks good for a quick bite to eat. It is very nice of the bread man to feed the cat!

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  41. thenomadgourmand: Hi Becky, ringing the bells? no shouting? hehehe.... that must be cute :D

    Mediterranean Turkish Cook: Yes, the bread man has a kind heart to feed the stray cat :)

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  42. What a wonderful post!! I love it!! I feel like I can just hear the Rootttiiiiiii....... Rooottiiiiii....... Roooottttiiiiiiii......

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  43. chefbliss.com: Hahaha...
    Thank you, ChefBliss :)

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  44. That's so nice of the tukang roti to feed the cat.

    seems like jakarta is an interesting place..

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  45. 13th panda: Yes, very sweet and kind of the bread man. Hey... come and visit me in Jakarta ;)

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  46. Reminds me of my home back in India.
    Soma(www.ecurry.com)

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  47. soma: Hi Soma, thanks for stopping by my blog. People also sell bread on bicycle in India? That's interesting :)

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  48. Selba, as I read your reply to Olivia's comment. We, Indonesians, have flatbreads. It is typically sold as Sumatran culinary such as roti canai. or In Surabaya, we have roti maryam.

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  49. indonesia-eats: Actually, you also can find Roti Canai stalls here in Jakarta but originally Roti Canai is from India (not Indonesian food). Roti Canai is also known as Roti Prata. If not mistaken, the term Roti Canai is more common being used in Malaysia and in Singapore, it's Roti Prata.

    As for the roti Maryam, I'm not familiar with it, I should try it someday if I visit Surabaya :)

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