Lonely Planet Indonesia

by Lonely Planet

  A carefully curated list of books about art, culture and Indonesian writers, dancers and musicians can be found at www.ganeshabooksbali.com, the website of the excellent Bali bookstore.

  Puppets

  The most famous puppets of Indonesia are the carved leather wayang kulit puppets. These intricate lace figures are cut from buffalo hide with a sharp, chisel-like stylus, and then painted. They are produced in Bali and Java, particularly in Central Java. The leaf-shaped kayon representing the 'tree' or 'mountain of life' is also made of leather and is used to end scenes during a performance.

  Wayang golek are three-dimensional wooden puppets found in Central and West Java. The wayang klitik puppets are the rarer flat wooden puppets of East Java.

  Jewellery

  The ubiquitous toko mas (gold shop) found in every Indonesian city is mostly an investment house selling gold jewellery by weight – design and artisanship take a back seat. However, gold and silverwork does have a long history in Indonesia. Some of the best gold jewellery comes from Aceh, where fine filigree work is produced, while chunky bracelets and earrings are produced in the Batak region.

  Balinese jewellery is nearly always handworked and rarely involves casting techniques. Balinese work is innovative, employing both traditional designs and those adapted from jewellery presented by Western buyers.

  Kota Gede in Yogyakarta is famous for its fine filigree work. Silverware from here tends to be more traditional, but new designs are also being adapted. As well as jewellery, Kota Gede produces a wide range of silver tableware.

  MASKS

  Although carved masks exist throughout the archipelago, the most readily identifiable form of mask is the topeng, used in wayang topeng, the masked dance-dramas of Java and Bali. Dancers perform local tales or adaptations of Hindu epics such as the Mahabharata, with the masks used to represent different characters. Masks vary from the stylised but plain masks of Central and West Java to the heavily carved masks of East Java.

  Balinese masks are less stylised and more naturalistic than in Java – the Balinese save their love of colour and detail for the masks of the Barong dance, starring a mythical lion-dog creature who fights tirelessly against evil. Look for masks in shops in and around Ubud, especially to the south in Mas.

  Sport

  Soccer and badminton are the national sporting obsessions. Indonesian badminton players had a good record at the Olympics (three medals in 2008) until London in 2012 when two key players were booted off the team after they admitted to throwing matches in an effort to manipulate the quarter-final draw.

  Although international success has eluded Indonesian soccer (football) teams, it is played with fervour on grassy verges across the archipelago.

  Many regions, particularly those with a history of tribal warfare, stage traditional contests of various kinds to accompany weddings, harvest festivals and other ceremonial events. Mock battles are sometimes staged in Papua, caci whip fights are a speciality in Flores and men fight with sticks and shields in Lombok, but the most spectacular ceremonial fight is seen during Sumba's Pasola festival, where every February and March horse riders in traditional dress hurl spears at each other.

  In Bali and other islands, the real sporting passion is reserved for cockfighting, which means the spectators (virtually all men) watch and bet while birds brawl. Although nominally illegal, many matches are held openly.

  Food & Drink

  When you eat in Indonesia you savour the essence of the country. The abundance of rice reflects Indonesia's fertile landscape, the spices are reminiscent of a time of trade and invasion, and the fiery chilli echoes the passion of the people. Indonesian cuisine is really one big food swap. Chinese, Portuguese, colonists and traders have all influenced the ingredients that appear at the Indonesian table, and the cuisine has been further shaped over time by the archipelago's diverse landscape, people and culture.

  Regional Flavours

  Indonesian cooking is not complex, and its ingredients maintain their distinct flavours. Coriander, cumin, chilli, lemon grass, coconut, soy sauce and palm sugar are all important elements; sambal is a crucial condiment and comes in myriad variations. Not surprisingly for an island nation, fish is a favourite.

  Indonesians traditionally eat with their fingers, hence the stickiness of the rice. Sate (skewered meat), nasi goreng (fried rice) and gado gado (vegetables with peanut sauce) are some of Indonesia's most famous dishes. However, just like sambal, Indonesia's flavours come in many, many forms.

  Indonesia's food scene is better than ever. Bali has scores of world-class and renowned restaurants and you can find great eats in major cities including Jakarta and on Lombok, the Gilis and beyond. And now more remote areas once dismissed as culinary backwaters like Flores, West Timor and Sumba boast excellent restaurants, serving foods from Indonesia and beyond.

  Java

  The cuisine of the Betawi (original inhabitants of the Jakarta region) is known for its richness. Gado gado is a Betawi original, as is ketoprak (noodles, bean sprouts and tofu with soy and peanut sauce; named after a musical style, as it resembles the sound of ingredients being chopped). Soto Betawi (beef soup) is made creamy with coconut milk. There's also nasi uduk (rice cooked in coconut milk, served with meat, tofu and/or vegetables).

  In West Java, the Sundanese love their greens. Their specialties include karedok (salad of long beans, bean sprouts and cucumber with spicy sauce), soto Bandung (beef-and-vegetable soup with lemon grass) and ketupat tahu (pressed rice, bean sprouts and tofu with soy and peanut sauce). Sundanese sweet specialties include colenak (roasted cassava with coconut sauce) and ulen (roasted sticky rice with peanut sauce); both best eaten warm. Bandung's cooler hills are the place for bandrek (ginger tea with coconut and pepper) and bajigur (spiced coffee with coconut milk).

  Central Javan food is sweet, even the curries like gudeg (jackfruit curry). Yogyakarta specialties include ayam goreng (fried chicken) and kelepon (green rice-flour balls with a palm-sugar filling). In Solo, specialties include nasi liwet (rice with coconut milk, unripe papaya, garlic and shallots, served with chicken or egg) and serabi (coconut-milk pancakes topped with chocolate, banana or jackfruit).

  There's a lot of crossover between Central and East Javan cuisine. Fish is popular, especially pecel lele (deep-fried catfish served with rice and pecel). The best pecel (peanut sauce) comes from the town of Madiun.

  Two very popular Madurese dishes are soto Madura (beef soup with lime, pepper, peanuts, chilli and ginger) and sate Madura (skewered meat with sweet soy sauce).

  Java's Cianjur region is famous for its sweet, spicy cuisine. Dishes include lontong (sticky rice with tofu in a delicious, sweet coconut sauce); the best beef sate in Java, locally known as marangi; and pandan wangi rice, fragrantly flavoured rice that's often cooked with lemon grass and spices.

  SURPRISING TASTES

  Everyday eating in Indonesia can challenge your palate. Here are a few favourites:

  In Nusa Tenggara Timor (Alor and Flores in particular) there is a scintillating, spicy, oily, mildly astringent dish called ikan kuah assam (tamarind fish soup). It is absolutely sensational. It’s basically a fish steak or half a fish (bones often included) steamed and swimming in spicy tamarind broth. It’s simple, life affirming, bliss inducing and could easily be your favourite dish of the trip.

  The durian has a serious public-image problem. This fruit's spiky skin looks like a Spanish Inquisition torture tool; opening it releases the fruit's odorous power. Most people form a lifelong passion – or aversion – on their first taste of this sulphury, custardy fruit.

  Balinese specialties are readily available; look for warungs advertising siobak (minced pig's head, stomach, tongue and skin cooked with spices).

  For avocado juice, take an avocado, blend with ice and condensed milk (or chocolate syrup) and serve. Indonesians don't consider this strange, as the avocado is just another sweet fruit.

  Bali

  Balinese specialties are easy to find, as visito
r-friendly warungs offer high-quality Balinese dishes, with several options of spiciness. Many restaurants offer the hugely popular Balinese dish, babi guling (spit-roast pig stuffed with chilli, turmeric, garlic and ginger) on a day's notice, although you're best off getting it from any of many warungs that specialise in it. Look for the pig's head drawn on the sign or a real one in a display case. Also popular is bebek betutu (duck stuffed with spices, wrapped in banana leaves and coconut husks, and cooked in embers).

  The local sate, sate lilit, is made with minced, spiced meat pressed onto skewers. Look for spicy dishes like lawar (salad of chopped coconut, garlic and chilli with pork or chicken meat and blood).

  BALI COOKING COURSES

  If you want to carry on enjoying the tastes of Indonesia after you go home, Bali has several cooking schools where you can learn everything from how to shop in the markets and the basics of Indonesian cuisine to advanced cooking techniques. Best of all though is that you get to eat what you make! The following are two of the best:

  Bumbu Bali Cooking School ( GOOGLE MAP ; %0361-774502; www.balifoods.com; Jl Pratama; course without/with market visit US$103/115; h6am-3pm Mon, Wed & Fri) Long-time resident and cookbook author Heinz von Holzen runs a cooking school from his excellent South Bali restaurant.

  Casa Luna Cooking School Half-day courses cover cooking techniques, ingredients and the cultural background of the Balinese kitchen.

  Nusa Tenggara

  In dry east Nusa Tenggara you'll eat less rice (although much is imported) and more sago, corn, cassava and taro. Fish is popular and one local dish is Sumbawa's sepat (shredded fish in coconut and mango sauce).

  The Sasak people of Lombok (and visitors!) like spicy ayam Taliwang (roasted chicken served with a peanut, tomato, chilli and lime dip) and pelecing sauce (made with chilli, shrimp paste and tomato). Also recommended is sate pusut (minced meat or fish satay, mixed with coconut, and grilled on sugar-cane skewers). Nonmeat dishes include kelor (soup with vegetables) and timun urap (cucumber with coconut, onion and garlic).

  Maluku

  A typical Maluku meal is tuna and dabu-dabu (raw vegetables with a chilli and fish-paste sauce). Sometimes fish is made into kohu-kohu (fish salad with citrus fruit and chilli). Sago pith is used to make porridge, bread and mutiara (small, jelly-like 'beans' that are added to desserts and sweet drinks). Boiled cassava (kasbi) is a staple in peoples' homes as it's cheaper than rice.

  In the Banda Islands you'll find nutmeg jelly on bread and pancakes, which is fitting as these were the original Spice Islands, where nutmeg was first cultivated.

  Rice in the field is called padi; rice grain at the market is called beras; cooked rice on your plate is called nasi.

  Papua

  Little rice is grown here: indigenous Papuans get their carbs from other sources and the rice eaten by migrants from elsewhere in Indonesia is mostly imported. In the highlands of Papua the sweet potato is king. The Dani people grow around 60 varieties, some of which can only be eaten by the elders.

  In the lowlands the sago palm provides the starchy staple food: its pulped-up pith is turned into hard, moist sago cakes, to which water is added to make papeda, a kind of gluey paste usually eaten with fish in a yellow turmeric-and-lime sauce. You may find the fish tastier than the papeda. Some lowlanders also eat the sago beetle grubs found in rotting sago palms.

  MSG is widely used in Indonesia. In warungs, you can try asking the cook to hold off on the ajinomoto. If you get a look of blank incomprehension, well, the headache only lasts for a couple of hours.

  Sumatra

  In West Sumatra, beef is used in rendang (beef coconut curry). The region is the home of Padang cuisine, and the market in Bukittinggi is a great place to sample nasi Kapau (cuisine from the village of Kapau). It's similar to Padang food but uses more vegetables. There's also bubur kampiun (mung-bean porridge with banana and rice yoghurt).

  In North Sumatra, the Acehnese love their kare or gulai (curry). The Bataks have a taste for pig and, to a lesser extent, dog. Pork features in babi panggang (pork boiled in vinegar and pig blood, and then roasted).

  The culinary capital of South Sumatra is Palembang, famous for pempek (deep-fried fish and sago dumpling; also called empek-empek). South Sumatra is also home to pindang (spicy fish soup with soy and tamarind) and ikan brengkes (fish in a spicy, durian-based sauce). Palembang's sweetie is srikaya (green custard made from sticky rice, sugar, coconut milk and egg).

  THE REAL SAMBAL

  Sambal, the spicy condiment, comes in myriad forms and can be the best part of a meal, but all too often, servers will assume you are a timid tourist who wants the tame ketchup-like stuff from a bottle. Insist on the real stuff (try saying 'sambal lokal?' – 'local sambal?'), which will have been prepared fresh in the kitchen from some combination of ingredients that can include garlic, shallots, chilli peppers in many forms, fish sauce, tomatoes and more.

  Kalimantan

  Dayak food varies, but you may sample rembang, a sour fruit that's made into sayur asem rembang (sour vegetable soup). In Banjarmasin, the Banjar make pepes ikan (spiced fish cooked in banana leaves with tamarind and lemon grass). Kandangan town is famous for ketupat Kandangan (fish and pressed rice with lime-infused coconut sauce). The regional soup, soto Banjar, is a chicken broth made creamy by mashing boiled eggs into the stock. Chicken also goes into ayam masak habang, cooked with large red chillies.

  There is a large Chinese population and restaurants usually have specialties such as bird's nest soup and jellyfish on the menus.

  At Banjarmasin's floating produce market in Kalimantan, you can sample exotic fruit to your heart's content. The range will include all manner of unfamiliar and unusual-looking treats such as the pungent, spiky durian.

  Sulawesi

  South Sulawesi locals love seafood, especially ikan bakar (grilled fish). Another local dish is coto Makassar (soup of beef innards, pepper, cumin and lemon grass). For sugar cravers, there's es pallubutun (coconut custard and banana in coconut milk and syrup).

  The Toraja people have their own distinct cuisine with a heavy emphasis on indigenous ingredients, many of them odd to Western palates. You can easily find pa’piong, which is meat or fish cooked in bamboo tubes with spices. Also look for pamarasan, a spicy black sauce used to cook meat.

  If a North Sulawesi dish has the name rica-rica, it's prepared with a paste of chilli, shallots, ginger and lime. Fish and chicken are two versions (also look out for dog). Things get very fishy with bakasang (flavouring paste made with fermented fish), sometimes used in bubur tinotuan (porridge made with corn, cassava, rice, pumpkin, fish paste and chilli).

  Jajanan (snacks) are sold everywhere – there are thousands of varieties of sweet and savoury snacks made from almost anything and everything: peanuts, coconuts, bananas, sweet potato etc. They are cheap, so sample at will.

  Drinks

  Tea

  Indonesia's most popular brew is black tea with sugar. If you don't want sugar ask for teh pahit (bitter tea), and if you want milk buy yourself a cow. Various forms of ginger tea are popular, including bandrek (ginger tea with coconut and pepper) and wedang jahe (ginger tea with peanuts and agar cubes slurped from a bowl).

  Coffee

  Indonesian coffee, especially from Sulawesi, is of exceptional quality, though most of the best stuff is exported. Warungs serve a chewy concoction called kopi tubruk (ground coffee with sugar and boiling water). Most urban cafes and restaurants offer quality coffee; beans from Sumatra and Bali are especially prized.

  A popular – and protein-filled – drink in Aceh is kopi telor kocok, one raw egg and sugar creamed together in a glass and topped up with coffee. Look for it in Takengon.

  Ice & Fruit Drinks

  Indonesia's es (ice drinks) are not only refreshing, they are visually stimulating, made with syrups, fruit and jellies. There are plenty of places serving es jus (iced fruit juice) or cordial-spiked kelapa muda (young coconut juice). But beware of ice outside of urban areas (ice in citi
es is made with filtered water).

  Alcoholic Drinks

  Islam is the predominant religion in Indonesia and restrictions on alcohol sales are increasing. In early 2015 a law was enacted that banned the sale of alcoholic beverages – including beer – in minimarkets and shops across Indonesia. Given that these are the very places most people buy their beer, the law could have severely limited the availability of beer and other drinks across the archipelago. But this being Indonesia, enforcement and compliance was spotty at best. On Bali, some convenience stores covered up the windows of coolers. Elsewhere, beer continued to be openly sold or was kept off shelves but available for the asking.

  After a few months of grumbling, the law was revised so that towns and regions could decide locally about beer sales as well as wine and some traditional drinks. With the exception of Aceh, parts of West Java, Sumbawa, Papua and some other very conservative areas, you can still buy a beer – although many warungs are dry.

  You will see traditional spirits for sale, including tuak (palm-sap wine), arak (rice or palm-sap wine) and Balinese brem (rice wine). Be careful when buying arak. In recent times, there have been cases where it has been adulterated with chemicals that have proved deadly.

  Of the domestic breweries, iconic Bintang, a clean, slightly sweet lager, is the preferred choice for many.