A rich Indonesian cuisine that goes beyond Satays

For food aficionados, the ongoing Indonesian food festival at Taj Deccan is definitely a ‘must’

For a person who has never tried Indonesian cuisine, the ongoing Indonesian Food Festival at Syn Asian Grill and Bar at Taj Deccan is one not to be missed. The food fest started on January 21 and will go on till February 1. I started off with a drink made of coconut milk, pandanus leaf and salt on the rim of the glass. The flavour of the coconut milk mixed with just a touch of salt tingled the taste buds.

For starters I had Bakwan Jangung, which was a fried corn fritter in Indonesian style. This had just the right amount of crispiness on the outside with a soft and moist inside. After this, the Lumpai Veg, a stuffed spring roll with bamboo shoots, spring onion and tofu, was served. The Ayam Goreng Bamboo had fried chicken with spices.

Indonesia’s most popular dish, the Indonesian Chicken Satay, was next on the menu. This was served on a wooden skewer and the chicken was cooked just enough to make the exquisite meat melt in your mouth. The white meat starters had been cooked in a banana leaf. The spices in the spicy shrimp starter called the Pasis Udang were overwhelming. The fish on the other hand was well cooked and just right to taste the flavours that went into the leaf.

Before the main course was served, I had two kinds of soups. Bakso, the Indonesian chicken meatball soup with vermicelli and a vegetarian Sop Bayam, a spinach and sweet potato soup. The main course had a wide range of dishes served in small portions. The Tumis Bayam Bawang Pitih was tofu with sautéed spinach and garlic. The aroma of the garlic kicked in just as you took a bite of the soft tofu. The Gulai Kambing had lamb in gravy, giving it a rich taste.

Same was the case with Kari Ayam, chicken breast and vegetables with coconut milk. The stir fried rice sided with chicken on a skewer and a prawn wafer called the Nasi Goreng was a well made combination. The Bakmi Ayam, which had steamed noodles with chicken, vegetables and egg, and Laksa Ayam, which had rice thread noodles with chicken and coconut sauce, came next. For me, the Laksa Ayam stood out among all the dishes.

The course ended with Mie Goreng, fried noodles with vegetables. Generally, Indonesian cuisine’s main course has rice or noodles as a base, and what I had was just as expected. Two types of dessert were on the menu. A chocolate pudding with vanilla sauce called Pudding Coklat Kuah Vanilla was the first. The chocolate, rich and balanced with vanilla sauce, came on a plate wobbling like jelly. Next up was Dadar Gulung, pancakes stuffed with palm sugar and coconut over a scoop of almond ice-cream. The combination was a match made in heaven.

The executive chef Sajesh along with his team made plated all of what was served in a very nouveau fashion. “Vietnamese, Japanese and Thai cuisine is more common than Indonesian. The reason I chose this cuisine was because I wanted the crowd here to experience this beautiful cuisine and to get used to it like the others. I wanted people to go beyond knowing the cuisine just for Nasi Goreng and the Satays,” said Sajesh.

By:Johnson D’Souza