Monday 4th August 2008
one thing i have always loved about being in Indonesia is the food. i adore spicy food and food full of delicious flavours, spices and aromas and in Indonesia the food is never dull. there are tastes and dishes to suit every whim. so today for lunch we were served nasi tumpeng and it is served in the most magnificent of manners. the rice is built in a tower formation and surrounded by an array of dishes. here it is served in the even more traditional manner as the place on where it is served is made from banana leaves and each of the individual dishes are put into serving dishes made from banana leaves. it truly is miraculous the usefulness of the banana leaf and the various wonderful creations is can be made into.
the dishes were so delicious and used many of the fabulous ingredients that one can find here in Indonesia. pictured below to the left is tempe goreng kering. tempe is made from fermented soya beans and is delicious when fried like this with peanuts. behind this you can see sate ikan on lovely chunky sticks which is fish satay. it is delicious and good, with a slight sweetness to it due to the addition of coconut. 
at the front of the picture you can see pecel which is a combination of green beans and a kind of cabbage like vegetable that is leafy. you spoon peanut sauce over this and it creates a lovely combination of soft green vegetables and salty peanut flavout. behind that is tauge, which are beansprouts which again are eaten with the peanut sauce.
finally you can see telur pindang, eggs that have been boiled in a concotion of spices and flavours so that the aroma and taste has permeated the eggs and behind that ayam suwir, a spicy chicken dish, where the chicken is shredded and mixed with a tomato and chilli sauce.
and then to bring it all together you have the kerupuk udang, prawn crackers that you can break up or use to scoop up little snippets of the dishes and eat it together. the crackers are crispy and the flavour blends perfectly with the variety of dishes. 
with lunch like this...why cook?
6 comments:
Yumm! When can I come over?
haha - yup, the food and presentation here is just amazing. everything is done with such care and love.
OMG this is the most scrumptious and artful meal... makes you wonder WHY WHY WHY people grab Mcnuggets and a shake in their cars and eat it all before the next light and call that a meal.
I can see how easily one can be inspired to say a prayer of thanks before meals there.
i know how did macD's every even get to be called food. when i see presentation of food like this, i am just in awe of the possibilities!
I love these pics!!! Makes me miss Bali even more!
Thank you for this....
It reminds me of these yummy little treats I had on the coast...little banana leaf packages, wrapped tightly over a sticky sweet rice...was soooooooooooooooo good!!!
hi jodycakes...glad to bring back some culinary memories for you! i'll try and keep them coming!
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