Warung Iro Indo

                   Story Time: Warung Iro Indo

Hello, my dearest Story Time readers from around the world! How are you? Today I am taking you on a food adventure with me. We were really hungry so we went on a food hunt. We ended up all the way at Warung Iro Indo close to Bernarddorp in the district Para. It is what it is when you are an adventure lover like me. And if there is one thing I absolutely enjoy it is the opportunity to explore my country. Suriname is a big country, some people haven't even seen multiple parts of the country. Even I haven't been to all the places this country has yet, despite being in different corners of Suriname all the time. But in today's Story Time we will be talking about food.  Javanese food to be more specific. As I already told you Suriname is a multi-ethnic society. This is best reflected in our food. I always recommend everyone visiting Suriname try the different dishes here. The delicious and flavorful taste of our diverse cuisine will not only melt in your mouth but leave loving memories.  Warung Iro Indo might be one of the first delightful Javanese warungs that you come across when you head towards the capital Paramaribo from our Johan Adolf Pengel Airport.  Their warung is clearly influenced by the Indonesian culture. Suriname is one of the few Caribbean countries where you will Javanese people. And even if you find Javanese people in other parts of the Caribbean they probably have Surinamese roots as well. When Suriname was a colony of the Netherlands, the Netherlands introduced immigrants from their other colony Indonesia into Suriname. Like other cultures that were enslaved, or manipulated to work in this South American/ Caribbean country they brought a part of their identity with them. Hence the strong Indonesian influences that you will notice while traveling to Suriname. The Netherlands kept bringing immigrants to the colony of Suriname because they needed workers for the very lucrative plantations after the abolishment of slavery.  The immigrant workers were treated poorly and had to work under harsh conditions. My country has a lot of dark pages in its history. But either way, we have become this diverse and unique blend of survivors.  When we entered warung Indo Iro we decided to dine in.  We had ordered the Long Tong Tahoe, Saoto,  A shrimp sate, and some dawet. When I think about Long Tong Tahoe, I become nostalgic. It reminds me of how my grandmother would prepare all kinds of Javanese dishes for me while I was growing up. I do miss her and her food, and her habit of nagging at me when I don't eat on time. It was as if that woman measured the cooking pot up until every last grain. The Long Tong Tahoe that I had from warung Iro Indo was absolutely delicious. Each bite didn't disappoint. It's made with a type of rice cake, Tahoe, tjapar, and chicken bits, and something we call ketjap sauce in Suriname! That is basically like a sweet spicy soya sauce that really brings all the flavors together. It was as good as the Long Tong Tahoes that I had in my childhood. I love authentic Javanese food. Sometimes warungs fail to capture that authentic flavor in the process of commercializing. But Warung Iro Indo did a good job. Their saoto was divinely delicious. I couldn't get enough of it. When you are in Suriname Saoto is a must-have dish that you have to taste. It's a soup made with tjapar, baked thin strips of potato chips, chicken meat, and other ingredients. You could add rice to it for extra flavor, but that is optional. Surinamese people like to add a lot of spicy sambal or ketjap pepper sauce into their saoto soup. Feel free to try it either way. Let our dining table and culture be a unique experience for you. The shrimp sate didn't have any flavor. But I understand that it is difficult to season shrimp and then throw it on the grill and still keep the flavor. I was kind of disappointed in the dawet. For one reason or another, I assumed I would be getting a delicious homemade Javanese dawet made from coconut milk with citrus grass and maizena. Yummy I am just drooling but thinking about it. But note it was the sirup one you can buy in the store and mix with water.  But overall we were very satisfied with our meal and left warung Iro Indo with filled stomachs.  Keep in mind that they aren't always open till late at night. Sometimes they are closed well before 9pm. I hope you enjoy your adventures and travels in Suriname along with the Youtube video that I made for you guys. Have fun and be safe. Until next time, right here on Story Time!