Almond Crispy Cheese

Indonesians are no slackers when it comes to souvenir shopping. If you hit the road in this country, you better bring something home to show for it and it better be representative of where you've been. This is so much a custom that this kind of gift has its own name: oleh-oleh. And Indonesians are so serious about their oleh-oleh that airports feature oleh-oleh stands so you don't miss your chance to buy the perfect gift before heading home.

Oleh-Oleh are always location-specific and are usually food-orientated. Given that Indonesians are snack maniacs, they typically represent local snacks (usually fried). Sometimes there are even restaurants near the airport that wrap-up their specialty dishes for plane portability. (Wrap your head around the smell of that if you can).

With that background in mind, allow me to share with you my first oleh-oleh experience.

John returned from two nights in Surabaya this week. Surabaya is the second largest city in Indonesia and the capitol of the province of East Java. It's known for it's hot weather and straight talking people. Before boarding his return flight to Jakarta, John approached one of many oleh-oleh stands and inquired, "what is the most famous oleh-oleh from Surabaya?"

Without hesitation and with an emphatic gesture, he was directed to a box of "Almond Crispy Cheese". (Does it feel like a word is missing from that title? I thought so too.) Almond Crispy Cheese: a most surprising snack to represent any place in Indonesia given that Indonesia produces neither almonds nor cheese. But there it was - clear as day on the box - "Oleh-Oleh Khas Surabaya," followed by a list of all five locations within the city where Almond Crispy Cheese is made.

If you were to hand me an Almond Crispy Cheese and ask me what country it comes from, Indonesia would be the absolute last country that I would pick. No part of it involves a tropical fruit. No part of it is fried or involves noodles or rice. No part of it is covered in chili sauce. Instead, the Almond Crispy Cheese is a delicate biscuit that is neither just sweet nor just salty, but instead a wickedly splendid marriage of the two, with just the right amount of baked-on grated cheese and a flake or two of almond. In all honesty, this is the best damn combination of almond, crisp and cheese I've ever had. I'd eat these things all day. As far as snacks go - check. As far as cheese flavor goes - check, check. As far as sweet-meets-salty - check, check, check.

The discovery of the Almond Crispy Cheese means the world of oleh-oleh has no limitations. It means cheese can be found in this country. Where do we go from here? Well, which part of Indonesia snacks on Parmasean cheese? That's where I want to go next.