Salak fruit — also known as snake fruit in English due to its tough, scaly exterior — is a produce that may confound some. Those who have not seen it before may wonder if it’s even edible, or at least scratch their heads wondering how to get to its sweet, sometimes acidic and crunchy inside.
Being a fruit native to Indonesia, one might expect that all Indonesians should be masters of the art of peeling open the salak skin. But 29-year-old Indonesian socialite Nia Ramadhani — who shot to fame as a sinetron (Indonesian soap opera) actress before marrying Ardi Bakrie, son of business tycoon Aburizal Bakrie — showed that that was not the case, to the apparent amusement of Indonesian netizens far and wide.
Nia’s shortcoming in salak-related matters was revealed in a series of videos posted as stories on Instagram by Ardi on Sunday. The videos depicted playful banter between the couple, who appear to be having a meal together while they were on holiday on Komodo Island, East Nusa Tenggara.
https://twitter.com/nickoakbar/status/1185926272913772544
“I asked her to crack open the salak, but then she asked me how to do it. Are you serious you don’t know how to open it?” Ardi asked Nia, who’s seen laughing and shaking her head.
“Do I use a knife?” Nia asked matter-of-factly.
“Of course not, peel it!” Ardi said, mocking Nia’s salak ineptitude while sharing the amusement with a couple of waitresses.
We think there was either an element of the videos being cute and endearing, or that people took comfort in seeing rich, beautiful people failing, but the videos went hugely viral to the point that the name Nia Ramadhani topped Twitter’s trending topic in Indonesia on Sunday.
Inevitably, though, the moment was memefied.
https://twitter.com/thepilouge/status/1185950568977580032
God creating Nia Ramadhani: rich, beautiful, body goals.
Angel: She’s too perfect
God: Make her unable to peel open a salak
https://twitter.com/RafidaRahmania/status/1185957581824487424
Nia Ramadhani’s life problems are only limited to peeling open a salak
Saw Nia Ramadhani as a trending topic for RI, and for one brief moment I thought, wow, is she on the menteri list, too?
Salak paham ternyata
— Bruce Emond (@BruceEmond) October 21, 2019
Some suggested that Nia not knowing how to peel the salak is indicative of a class divide, presumably because of the belief that salak is generally enjoyed by working class and regular Indonesians.
https://twitter.com/NyaiRusmini/status/1186475105573982208?s=20
Nia Ramadhani has definitely never eaten these.
Nia ramadhani pasti ga pernah tau rasa nasi goreng semalem paginya digoreng lg buat sarapan
— Bimasatya_ (@sesokpreiii_) October 20, 2019
Nia Ramadhani definitely doesn’t know how left over fried rice for breakfast tastes like.
Nia Ramadhani gunting dapurnye bau bumbu Indomie gak ya?
— Teza Sumendra (@TezaSumendra) October 21, 2019
Does Nia Ramadhani’s kitchen scissors smell like Indomie seasonings?
In case you’re wondering how to correctly peel a salak, refer to the video below, which was created as a response to Nia Ramadhani.
FYI, salak has other uses too, apparently.
https://twitter.com/bensiagian/status/1186227599732699137
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