During my two nights in Surabaya city, I stayed at two different hotels. Firstly, I stayed at Pasar Besar hotel. It wasn't my choice but rather a direction from the motorcycle taxi driver who took me there. Initially, I chose OYO Syariah, but when I arrived there, the gate was closed. The motorcycle taxi driver who picked me up from Pasar Turi station took me to the hotel on Pasar Besar Street. Since I needed some rest, I booked a room at this hotel, which costs IDR 140,000 per night.
After meeting Firdaus, a security officer at Tugu Pahlawan Museum, who took me around the Sunan Ampel Mosque complex, I canceled my plan to continue staying at Pasar Besar hotel. While touring, I found many hotel options in that area, which was quite lively at night. Finally, I booked a room at House of Amanah, whose rooms were much cleaner than those at Pasar Besar hotel.
While still staying at Pasar Besar hotel, I still had rice with fried chicken for iftar. As far as I can remember, since departing from Kualanamu Airport, North Sumatra, until breaking the fast on Gumarang train, Jakarta-Surabaya route, the iftar or suhoor menu still included chicken. The difference was that I ate at AW, an American restaurant, in Kualanamu, while on the train, I broke the fast with black pepper chicken rice. I bought the food at Solaria before boarding the train.
On the second night in Surabaya, I finally had a different iftar menu. After wandering along KH. Mas Mansyur street, which was bustling with people selling various foods, I stopped by BosGil. At this Middle Eastern food restaurant, I ordered mandhi rice with lamb. I came here after iftar time, and there were so many customers that I had to queue. Fortunately, while ordering my drink, there was a vacant seat on the third floor, so I was directed there. There were also many customers waiting for their orders on the third floor, like me.
Although I had enjoyed this Middle Eastern cuisine before, I still ate it eagerly. I wasn't afraid of getting high cholesterol from eating lamb. "It's okay once in a while," I whispered to myself. I was so absorbed in eating that I didn't have time to look around. I thought no one cared about me.
