Bakso!

   Throughout the day, men push small food carts up and down our street (and streets all over Indonesia) selling a mysterious meatball soup.  It's called Bakso, and it's delicious.  It's an "everyman's food"... the food of the people.  However, in much of the same way that hot dogs are widely denigrated due to their 'mystery meat' status, Bakso also has a certain degree of ambiguity when it comes to what the ingredients of the meatball actually are.

   They are available in a lot of different varieties: chicken and beef are common throughout Indonesia, but pork is a favorite here among the Hindus in Bali.

   As with hot dogs, I don't want to know what the ingredients are.  I choose to eat and enjoy without worrying about the actual makeup of what I'm eating.  And let me tell you, ignorance is bliss.

   Bakso is usually served with noodles, egg, tofu, some type of vegetable and something fried (to add crispiness).  Soy sauce, hot sauce, and Indonesian sambal are usually added to the mix as well.