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It was raining cats and dogs that day. I ran into the open yard of an office building and took refuge from the rain in the 
security guard’s post. The cat was already there, sheltering from the rain too. I watched the rain, he watched me. Unlike me who was eager to be on my way again as soon as possible, the cat seemed content and was in no hurry to leave.
This little fellow melt my heart when he sat and looked at me expectantly as i was eating at a street food tent in 
Pecenongan. He was so sweet and cute. I gave him some scraps from my plate and he let me pat him as he ate. There are a lot of stray cats and dogs in Jakarta, but stray dogs here have to endure a much harder time than cats. It always makes me mad when someone kicks a stray dog without reason or treat them cruelly simply out of spite.
Rafting and swimming season in Jakarta is usually during January and February, when the rainfall is at its peak.
I spotted him on Jln. Gajah Mada. A portrait painter doing his work on the pedestrian walk, not paying attention to passersby who glanced at him occassionally. Portrait painters are not usually found along this street. There were only him and another a few distance away when i passed by.
I am choosy when it comes to soup noodles. Some noodle lovers are okay with just any noodle as long as it is noodle, but for me Bakmi Abun in Gang Kelinci is THE place to eat soup noodle. The restaurant is located at the end of a very small alley. The outside and inside appearance of the place do not improve much with years. It is just as shabby looking as it was years ago, no air-con, a battered old TV was mounted at the corner wall, supposedly as the only source of entertainment for the staff and the guests, nobody seemed to care that it needed replacement since the entire screen was green and the noise made it hard for you to hold a conversation in normal tones. But the last time I was there, the TV was not in its usual place anymore, thank god. 
As soon as you sit at a table, one of the staff will promptly approach you and ask what you would like to eat. The menus are pasted on the walls. I almost always order pork soup noodle (the rice noodle is good too). Mind you, the taste of a noodle dish greatly depends on the sort of noodle you use. If you use a different sort from the usual, eventhough the ingredients are the same, it may not taste the same. Thus each noodle restaurant usually has a dependable noodle supplier or they make their own to maintain the same specific taste of their noodle dishes.
The soup noodle in Bakmi Abun is just perfect, both the noodle and the ingredients. You can have either chicken or pork noodle.
My preference is pork, “why eat chicken when there is pork” being my motto. Well…
There is also a choice of plain/with meatballs or fishballs/with steamed dumplings. Try each one, they are all delicious. The staff, which are mostly females, are also a rather interesting flock. There were about 10 of them and they are noticeably of the same heights (or shall I say: shortness?) I have often wondered if it is simply a coincidence or intentional. When not taking orders from the visitors, they usually sit in a group at the back table, laughing and joking and deftly picking a pile of red and green peppers.
Gang Kelinci itself is an interesting tiny alley with a life of its own. I will tell about it in another post, some other time.
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