棉兰, 我到了!

I have only been in Medan once-- around seven or eight years ago for a one day transit before I went to Penang for ear issues. It was different Medan back then. I never encountered a traffic congestion and too many private vehicles on the street. 

The purpose of going here is actually to attend my relative's wedding. As a family reunion as well. Here is what I discovered in Medan:

Food

The food here are relatively the similar food you find in Chinese areas in Jakarta; pork, noodles and fish soup. All Indonesian-Chinese (Peranakan) is likely to exist here. It won't be too alien for your tongue. Everything just tastes better here. Not to mention the price. One bowl of beehoon with duck meat (bihun bebek) is around 50,000 --twas a huge portion, though. Gile!

My favorite was; Babi Panggang Karo (Karonese Roasted Pork)
Some culinary travel tips: have someone who is familiar in getting around the city guided you; there are so many eating spots that offer food at its best, at reasonable price (they are often not seen from the main roads. You are more likely to get the standard price, so you'll be able to save up)

Nih, my favorite: Babi Panggang Karo

(Above) Bihun Ikan, (Below) Chiong Fan 

Family
We are one big freaking family. It was too bad that we were separated by seas. Ada yang di Jakarta, di Australia, Pekan Baru dan tak terkecuali di Medan, which is where my grandparents (alias the first generation) grew up. My relatives that I visited in Medan were of my late grandmother's only brother descendants (I am supposed to call him, kukong)-- yang semuanya pada bisa bahasa Hokkien sedangkan saya tidak huhu. 
As I mentioned before, one of the reasons we went to Medan was to attend a relative's wedding. It was the wedding of the eldest grandchild of kukong-- the son of my father's closest cousin, and my ... um, let's just refer him as my relative. Anyway it was the first wedding of the third generation (us, the grandchildren) from kukong's side so it was definitely awaited and celebrated hugely. 
Speaking about family reunion, obviously everyone got to have conversation with each other, in which I did not have any conversation or whatsoever (boo me, alright) since most of them speak in Hokkien T_T and I barely understood any of them except when they talked about family history and family tree. That, I understood, because I learned them in advance wayyyy before I went to Medan. You know, curiosity drove me to those questions. It was a long history and big family tree though. But it was fun spending the time with them. And we definitely took SO many photos together. By "many", I mean, many. There was once a time when my kima (grandmother's sister) posed Gangnam Style and Cherrybelle for the photo. Ha. That was, Awesome! 

Duren Medan

Ko Wilson is a married man! Congrats!

The Places

We visited Berastagi and Tjong A Fie mansion. Did not get to go to Toba Lake, unfortunately.

Kosakata & Arti Baru
Atret = Mundur
Doorsmir / Doorsmeer = Cuci Mobil
Paja = Pasar

Pare = Ikan Pari
Tempel (Ban) = Tambal (Ban)
Teh Pahit Dingin = Es Teh Tawar
Teh Tong = Teh Manis

Speaking of traveling to Medan, here are more tips or warning from me, yang masih amatir (ha):

1. Medan is not a tourist city so; hotel bagus bisa dihitung dengan jari, tidak banyak tempat wisata yang 'wah' dan otomatis harga yah harga lokal bukan harga turis.

2. For those who thought that Toba is not so far enough from Medan, ha ha me too.

4. Smoking in public is a very public thing to do even in air-con room.

5. No need for addressing any complains about the Polonia airport, since the newly-built one will be opened soon: Kualanamu. In Soekarno-Hatta and Polonia airport, I got to see the ads about the Kualanamu airport-- so excited to see the design, the layout, and obviously new system in the airport that (I hope) will be more, idk, 'welcoming'