Here comes the bang, here comes the ‘soto’

Once you’ve tasted one Soto Madura, you’ve tasted them all. Well not quite. There is at least

one special soto which leaves a lasting memory. Ask regular patrons of soto Gebrak on Jl. Setiabudi

II why they keep coming back, most are likely to say because they love the crashing sounds that

come with preparing this dish.

Judging from the luxury cars parked outside the stall, they are not simply ordinary

neighborhood patrons.

The watery yellow chicken soup, the pride of Madura, the island just off Surabaya in East Java,

is so popular that there are must now be hundreds of stalls selling it, not to mention restaurants and

other eateries. One can even order it at a number of five-star hotels.

The soup contains shredded chicken, bean sprouts, cabbage, and chopped, boiled eggs. It

combines such spices as ginger, onion, garlic and cloves. Add a squirt of lemon juice and a little chili,

and you have Soto Madura. It is normally served with rice.

Gebrak’s soto is not noted for its stinging chili sauce nor its flavorful chicken. It is remembered

mostly for the way it is prepared. The name itself is supposedly adapted from an Indonesian word

which means a crushing blow or shock therapy.

Inside the stall, the sound comes from a thick, long necked, cognac bottle being pounded on a

table by the chef. The bottle is filled with soya sauce, which is squirted into the soto as a final touch to

the preparations. Then the chef bangs the bottle on the table hard. “Usually the guests laugh and they

are impressed, and that’s how they remember us,” said Anton, who owns the stall.

The stall, a mere four by six-meter space, is busy at lunch time as well as during the dinner

hour. Don’t expect to easily find parking space nearby, especially during the peak hours. “Some

celebrities come here regularly,” boasts the 47-year-old Anton, citing comedians Basuki and Bagio as

examples.

First timers are usually attracted by the name, more out of curiosity. But one or two come at

their friends’ proddings. “My friend invited me to come here and I was interested because of its

name,” said Veti, now a regular patron. “I’m still startled every time I hear the beating.”

Andri, in contrast, anticipates the sound of the crashing bottle. “I enjoy it every time he beats
the bottle,” said the young girl from Yogyakarta turning her eyes at the chef.

Anton started his business in 1975 and has moved five times before settling at his present

location on Jl. Setiabudi. He has a second stall in Tebet, south Jakarta. Turnover at the two stalls

amounts to average of Rp 450,000 a day, he said.

This occupation provides enough income so he is able to properly raise his four children,

including paying for their school and university fees.

Here comes the bang, here comes the ‘soto’

1. Mobil-mobil mewah diparkir di luar. Apa yang dibelah?

restoran

2. Bacaan ini ditulis tahun 1993. Dalam usia berapa Anton mulai jualan soto Madura?

18 tahun

3. Di bacaan ini tertulis “at a number of five-star hotels”. Artinya (pilih satu saja yang benar)

A). Di hotel berbintang nomor lima

B). Di sejumlah hotel berbintang lima benar

C). Di sebuah nomor yang terdapat di lima hotel berbintang

D). Di banyak hotel berbintang lima

E). Di lima hotel dengan nomor berbintang

4. Dari bacaan ini carilah satu saja kata bahasa Inggris yang artinya “warung”.

eateries

5. Perempuan itu bernama Kasiem. Menurut bacaan ini apa yang dilakukan si tukang masak (koki)?

koki membanting botol di atas meja dengan keras

6. Di bacaan ini tertulis “It is remembered mostly for the way it is prepared”. Jadi, cengkeh untuk apa?

Rempah-rempah soto

7. Ia sanggup membayar biaya universitas. Siapa yang terkejut (kaget)?

Andri
8. Pembelinya termasuk Basuki dan Bagio. Kecap disemprotkan (disemburkan) ke mana?

yang disemprotkan ke dalam soto sebagai sentuhan terakhir

9. Pilih satu saja yang benar

A). Soto Gebrak kembali lagi ke Jl. Setiabudi II

B). Empat warung luasnya enam meter

C). Tidak ada touge di soto ini x

D). Para pelanggannya tidak hanya tetangga sekitar benar

E). Cowok itu menikmati bunyi botol yang digebrakkan x

10. Anaknya empat. Sebutkan yang berleher panjang.

botol cognac yang tebal