1945: Dutch East Indies Cuisine
Image: This nicely appointed dining room is a rich tapestry of Indonesia’s history. The warm, earthy colours are plucked from the sepia inspired portrait of Kartini, a pioneer of Indonesian women’s rights.
This nicely appointed dining room is a rich tapestry of Indonesia’s history. The warm, earthy colours are plucked from the sepia inspired portrait of Kartini, a pioneer of Indonesian women’s rights. Wooden menu holders, puppets and gamelan music complete the package. They’re serving up Rijsttafel, the Dutch inspired festive banquet, or ‘rice table’, still popular even after their independence in 1945. Enjoy a number of reasonably priced small plates from all over the Indonesian archipelago either in a set menu or individually. The Grand Rijsttafel ($80/serves 2) delivers all dishes simultaneously on a large wooden platter covered with banana leaves, but portions are small, with hits and misses, and it all cools very quickly. So perhaps design your own, with sticky, sweet Chicken Wings with Caramelised Cashews ($10) in syrupy kecap manis on a brown paper covered basket; tasty Grilled Pork Skewers/Sate Babi ($3), Corn Fritters/Perkedel Djagoeng ($2) and whole Grilled Prawn Skewers/Oedang Panggang Goerih ($6). Skip the Rendang Daging ($5), but rice is essential – the Tumeric Rice/Nasi Koening ($3) scrubs up best. Drink a malty Bir Bintang ($8) or their own Organic Chardonnay ($12/glass) before finishing with an addictive palm sugar and coconut milk dessert, Es Tjendol ($7).
1945: Dutch East Indies Cuisine
Shop 2, 42 Harris Streeet, Pyrmont
Ph: (02) 9660 9699 www.1945.com.au
Dutch Indonesian $$
