When Things Get Tough, The Tough...

...produces humorous food labels.

Above is the actual label for "Abon Crismon", which apparently went into production back in late 90's. "Crismon" is our abbreviation of "Crisis" and "Monetary", marking the period when our currency, rupiah, started to plummet to less than a quarter of its worth.

While Abon is a traditional food based on meat (mostly beef, chicken, or fish). The process in some ways is similar to making a jerky; first you caress the meat tenderly, then you whisper proverbial sweet nothings to the ear, and--NO, sorry, wrong process! You boil the meat, tear it apart to tiny little slices, mix them with more spices than Geri Halliwel, and then keep them fried until they dry out. The result is a brownish, soft, cotton-like food with a sweet smell. Put a spoonful in your mouth and the various spices meet different parts of your tongue, giving you a rich taste to explore.

(Yes. I'm fasting. And it's getting on to me.)

Back to the label, let's take a deeper look at the description.



Loosely translated, the top description says, "Made from the meat of healthy cows, this abon is perfect for these crisis-filled times, just pick a handful, mix with rice, bread, or porridge, it'll surely taste great. Life may be hard, but never pass such a delight."


While the bottom one states, "Note:

1. Not recommended for vegetarians.
2. Upon running out, don't hesitate to buy more.
3. Don't throw away this label, it may be a good trinket when our condition returns to normal."

It's always nice to discover that, when faced by a crisis of economical proportion, someone was able to keep her/his sense of humor.


(The actual label above was sent by Affi. Many thanks!)