In Padang food establishments, it is common to eat with one's hands. They usually serve kobokan, a bowl of tap water with a slice of lime in it to give a fresh scent.

This bowl of water with lime is used to wash one's hand before and after eating.  In most establishments of course, (unless you're way out in the boondocks of Indonesia) you may ask for cutlery if you prefer to eat in a more "civilized" fashion...lol..

The cuisine is usually cooked once per day, and are left out on display in high stacked plates at the window of the Padang restaurant. No refrigeration required...lol.

When dining-in "hidang" (serve) style at a Padang restaurant, after the diners are seated, the waiter immediately serves all the different dishes from the window directly to the table.

You dont to get to choose which dishes you want. The table will quickly be set with dozens of small bowls filled with highly-flavored foods such as beef rendang,(a very spicy coconut dry beef curry)  curried fish, stewed greens, chili eggplant, curried beef liver, tripe, intestines, or foot tendons, fried beef lung, fried chicken, and of course, sambal, the spicy sauces ubiquitous at Indonesian tables.

Customers take — and pay for — only what they eat from this array of dishes. When everyone is finished eating, the waiter calculates how much is left in the dishes and charges you for what’s been eaten. (left overs on your plate are not included…lol)

The best known Padang dish is rendang, a spicy meat stew. Soto Padang (crispy beef in spicy soup) is the local residents' breakfast favorite, while beef satay in curry sauce served with ketupat (a dumpling made of packed rice) is a treat in the evening.

This is the ketupat...tightly packed dumplings of rice served inside a little basket made of woven palm leaves.

Those of you who think choosing beef dishes will be the safest option....check out some of the stuff they will serve and you wont know because they are chopped up and cooked in a curry (gulai).

Gulai Cancang, gulai of meats and cow internal organs

Gulai Tunjang, gulai of cow foot tendons

Gulai Babek or Gulai Babat, gulai of cow tripes

Gulai Iso or Gulai Usus, gulai of cow intestines usually filled with eggs and tofu

Gulai Limpo, gulai of cow spleen

Gulai Ati, gulai of cow liver

Gulai Otak, gulai of cow brain

Gulai Sumsum, gulai of cow bone marrow

Gulai Gajeboh, cow fat gulai

I actually got to love padang food in Bali.  The first few times I did get "Bali belly" but after that I developed a cast-iron stomach and have enjoyed this type of food with no problems at all.

Would you be game enough to try this if you every got to Bali?