Hotel Pan Pacific Sonargaon Dhaka brings ‘Taste of Indonesia’ home

The Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia in Dhaka, in cooperation with Pan Pacific Sonargaon Dhaka, is running "Taste of Indonesia," a weeklong Indonesian food festival from 30 August to 6 September, 2019. Taste of Indonesia will take place at the hotel's Café Bazar. Guest Chef Eko Cahyo will delight food enthusiasts with his authentic Indonesian cuisine. 

A meal is never just a meal in a country strikingly rich in history and tradition like Indonesia. Traditions, stories and cultures are cooked into every recipe they offer, creating a unique cuisine admired by many. The Indonesian food is the product of the nation's own ancient recipes.

Be it nasi goreng or delicious rendang, each recipe in Indonesia is a manifestation of the nation's history and culture. Murni Nyaristi, third secretary for information, social and cultural affairs at the Indonesian embassy in Dhaka, stated, "The week-long food festival will celebrate the authentic culinary diversities that Indonesia has to offer."

Indonesian food is as diverse as it gets. Every ethnicity in the country holds unique recipes specific to their culture. The popular Padang cuisine, for instance, uses a lot of chilli and spices to keep people warm, whereas Sweet Javanese food was influenced by the abundance of sugar production during colonial times.

There are dozens of sambal (spicy condiment) recipes known in Indonesia. If Bangladeshis pair their meals with daal, you'll learn that dishes in Indonesia go with a certain sambal to make it complete. The same goes with krupuk or crackers.

Among popular sambal recipes stand the Balinese sambal matah with its fresh chilli, lemongrass, and lime; sambal terasi with the local favourite shrimp paste; and sambal kacang, which uses peanuts and chilli.

Indonesia remains one of the world's top producers of spices, providing us with nutmeg, clove, galangal, pandan leaves, and others, which are incorporated into many traditional recipes. The Moluccas (Maluku) is known as the "The Spice Islands."

Gado-gado, nasi goreng, sate and soto are some of the appetising Indonesian dishes that contribute to the Indonesian cuisine and are considered as Indonesian national dishes as well. For instance, the Sumatran cuisine features curried meat vegetables such as gulai and kari due to Middle Eastern and Indian influences, while the Javanese is more indigenous.

So, bless your tongue with the Indonesian buffet spread at Pan Pacific Sonargaon and mouth-watering dishes like flavourful Beef Rendang, Indonesian Laksa, Gado-Gado, Sop Buntut (Oxtail Soup) and so on, all for Tk 4,000 only. Brace yourself because there is more.

When they termed it as 'Taste of Indonesia,' they literally meant it. They brought a part of Indonesia with them because they will be bestowing us with live Indonesian traditional dance performance which is to be in addition to the Indonesian dishes. 

Therefore, without further ado, book your seats not just for the taste of Indonesian delicacies, but to be a part of their culture, tradition and story that is cooked into the dishes and relish on the authentic Indonesian cuisine, filled with spices, flavour and love.