UGLY-LOOKING NOODLE

Mie Lethek literally means Ugly-looking noodles. The greyish look gives it that dirty like look while in fact, this is the most unique noodles you will not find anywhere in the world except in the southern side of Bantul city.  The taste is plain just like any other noodles but the combo with spicy tempeh paste makes it too special to ignore, perfect for a morning treats for family tea time.

For only 2.000 Rupiahs or about 0.14 USD you will get a small pack of this noodle wrapped in a teak leaf.  It is rare to find the noodle in the northern of Yogyakarta, so you may buy in many traditional market around southern Bantul like Jetis, Pundong, Srandakan, and Bantul district. 

Mie Lethek made traditionally by the village elders. Now this is the most interesting part of this noodle making. Since the makers are old and using very traditional tools, they use a cow to help mixing the dough. Yes, you read it right. 

There's an inside  joke why this noodle is dirty looking, you guessed it, yes, because it is pulled by a cow. Imagine that. However, this joke remains a joke because the hygiene standard is getting better by time. The giant bowl of the mixture is tall and far enough from the cow, so don't worry it will not make everyone sick.

Many Javanese traditional foods making rely on the sun light much to dry such as kerupuk (cassava crackers), emping (smashed Gnetum gnemon seed chips), crispy banana chips and this noodles. The producers also hope that the recent generations will always appreciate this noodle-making process will last, but no one really sure since younger generations prefer faster, cleaner, and more practical production.