TEMPO.CO, Padang - Padang has many distinctive foods that are always tempting to bring back home as gifts or to be enjoyed as snacks. Balado chips is one of them.
Made out of cassava, the chips are coated with chili sauces and sold in packages. Tempo finds that Shirley and Christine Hakim are shops that have always been thronged by buyers. People are willing to stand in long queue to get some of the Balado chip from these two shops.
Shirley, the owner of Shirley shop, said she produced 300 kilograms for the last homecoming season. As a comparison, Shirley only produced 100 kilograms of the chip on regular days. For Shirley, this means an increase in her income.
In addition to Balado chip, Shirley said, buyers are also after rendang, durian chips, dakak-dakak, potato chips and cheese chips. Balado chips are tagged Rp72,000 per kilogram.
A buyer from Bogor, Ratna, said she bought the chips for her office friends.
“Each time I come home to Padang, we always buy balado chip. It’s a gift for our family in Bogor. My office colleagues also asked me to buy for them,” said Ratna.
ANDRI EL FARUQI