Manado Escape Trip with Riri – Day 1

Riri and Thatha took a 5:30 am flight from Jakarta to Manado last Saturday. We arrived in Manado at around 9:30 local time since the flight takes about 3 hours and Manado is one hour ahead of Jakarta.

This was my second time coming to Manado, but I had no memory of this city. Judging from the art deco glass and the tenants at the airport of Manado, the city of Manado should be more promising than Pontianak.

Outside the airport, Thatha saw an interesting phrase Si Tou Timou Tumou Tou and immediately guessed that the meaning must be “welcome”. Apparently, the phrase is the motto of Manado city, which means “Manusia hidup untuk menghidupkan manusia lain” (“Men live to help others live”). What a beautiful phrase that identifies Manado people.

We stayed in Manado Tateli Beach Resort. According to some locals, this resort was used to be Hotel Sedona, and it is going change into Grand Mercure Resort. 

The confusion of the name can be seen from the bath
room amenities. After checked in, we had lunch at the hotel restaurant. I like the placemat that looks like a traditional satay fan without the stick. Homemade bread before the meal After waiting for an hour, our orders finally arrived. The appetizer, Pisang Goroho (Minahasa Fries), came out at the same time as the main course. This is a very unique fried banana that can only be found in Sulawesi. Javanese usually eat fried banana with cheese, condensed milk, chocolate butter, or fruit jams; Pontianak people usually dip fried banana into srikaya (coconut jam). In Manado, the fried banana is accompanied with spicy chilli sauce. The banana used is not the normal soft and sweet banana, it is more like plantain, a bit hard and bland. The chilli sauce in this restaurant is so addicting. I really love this dish. 

For main course, Thatha had Chicken and Beef Satay, Riri had Ayam Woku Bakar, and Franky had Spinach Tagliatelle Carbonara. The peanut sauce for the satay was a bit disappointing, not enough peanut flavours and the texture was too smooth, looked like an instant sauce. 

Franky’s dish didn’t turn out as expected. The homemade pasta was seasoned as Aglio Olio instead of Carbonara, and there was no meat at all, only spicy taste.