Trying Es Dawet in Kotagede Traditional Market with Stephen

 

Credit: Stephen Paff

I spent a day strolling around the old town of Kotagede with Stephen. We had a super fun day visiting the Royal Tomb Heritage site and Mataram Islam Mosque in the Southern side of Kotagede traditional market. I was supposed to be Stephen's tour guide but we ended up booking a local tour guide because I wasn't sure I could explain the rich history of the Royal site to him. Lol.

Stephen said it was his second time visiting Yogyakarta. It was also his second time visiting the Royal Tomb Heritage site. He had been there two years ago with a friend. Well I didn't know about it, that's why I asked him to be there for a tour. But still, as an Anthropologist his enthusiasm of visiting heritage sites still sparks. It seems like he knows quite a lot about the history of Hinduism and Buddhism in Southeast Asia. He also has a strong interest in learning customs and traditions of every country he visited. Stephen is now enjoying his time traveling across the world. It's been his second year on the road. Well I can tell he's enjoying his time traveling alone, meeting and interviewing as many people across the world as possible. You can check his interviews with people from different cultures and backgrounds across the world here.

Stephen is now recording his own interview with the people he met in every country he visited. You can check his YouTube Channel here. He is also recording and uploading his travel vlog regularly. And our visit to the Royal site and the traditional market that day was one of them. In this video, we were trying traditional Javanese drink called Es Dawet. Es Dawet is one popular traditional drink across Java Island. It is made of rice flour and coconut milk. Es Dawet is a symbol of refreshment, team work, and life balance. What makes Es Dawet in Kotagede different from other region is that its is using fermented sticky rice as main ingredient. The sensation of slightly alcoholic taste gives the refreshing feeling to the beverage. You can find the traditional Es Dawet in the parking lot of Pasar Legi Kotagede (the name of the traditional market).