Lewis sees a range of Indonesian dishes
When Lewis the Lion first arrived on the island of Sulawesi in Indonesia, for the first time during all his travels he felt a bit out of his depth in terms of the language barrier. Even though the Malaysian language had similar words, many people there spoke some English but not here on the island of Sulawesi. (Check out his Lewis loves Languages page on Malaysian and Indonesian to learn more). It was here that he learnt to appreciate all the more the visual clues around him, as you can see in the photo above. From that he was able to decipher the following words:
–Ayam means chicken
–Nasi means rice
–Goreng means fried
–Sop means soup
At least he wouldn’t go hungry at any rate!
Lewis investigates this restaurant’s range of Indonesian dishes
Again rather helpfully, this Indonesian fast-food restarant had displayed the names of their main dishes along with pictures.
Lewis the Lion enjoys his first Indonesian meal
He was therefore able to enjoy his first proper Indonesian meal: soup with meatballs, chicken and rice and fish with noodles.
Lewis the Lion tries out an Indonesian soft drink: Tehbotol
He also saw a bottled drink that he had never seen before: Tehbotol – a type of iced tea. He also noticed that water was often sold in plastic cups with a plastic seal at the top which you perforated with a small plastic straw.
Rice fields of Tana Toraja, Sulawesi, Indonesia
As Lewis the Lion then travelled around the island of Sulawesi, he understood why the country’s staple food was rice. He had seen hundreds of paddy fields as he journeyed around as the tropical climate meant that rice thrived in these hot and humid conditions.
One of his and Helen’s favourite dishes therefore was Nasi Goreng: fried rice which could include things like chicken or seafood.
A Christmas Day Sulawesi dinner: seafood Nasi Goreng
He loved it so much, that he even had it as his meal of choice on Christmas Day: delicious! Furthermore, he discovered a condiment on Indonesian tables that accompanied it just perfectly: Kecap manis , a type of thick, treacle-like, sweet soy sauce which has palm sugar in it. This strange mix of sweet and sour was just scrumptious and his friend Marion even bought a bottle of it, she enjoyed it so much!
The guests are kindly offered wild rice and pork
Like at the funeral ceremony in Tana Toraja, Lewis the Lion discovered that food served with rice often didn’t come with any cutlery; you were expected to eat it with your hands (or in his case with his paws and tongue!). His friends were taught to keep their fingers together to form a little scoop, then to use the thumb to push the food forward and shovel it into their mouths.
A savoury Indonesian buffet breakfast
Another thing that interested Lewis the Lion were the Indonesian breakfasts, like the time he stayed in the hotel in Tana Toraja. They were mainly savoury affairs with rice, chicken, other meats, egg, mixed vegetables and tofu. Tofu seemed to be a popular ingredient here in Indonesia, especially served with nuts, like cashew nuts. He discovered that peanuts too were another popular ingredient in Indonesia (found in sauces like satay and gado-gado) due to its climate where the peanuts can thrive.
A traditional Torajan sticky treat!
One time at his friend, Imelda’s house he was offered this very tasty sweet-treat: a type of treacle based flap-jack containing nuts and seeds. They were the perfect accompaniment to his cup of coffee: another thing that the Indonesians do well, particulary around the area of Tana Toraja where the arabica and robusta coffee beans are famous. Along with coffee, tea is also one of Indonesia’s biggest exports even though Lewis the Lion didn’t see any tea plantations himself. However, because of this wonderful tropical climate, like in Malaysia, Lewis the Lion loved seeing all of the fresh fruit and vegetables being sold by the roadside.
Lewis loves the fresh fruit sold by the roadside in Sulawesi
Like in Malaysia and Singapore he discovered new exotic fruits which he was unfamiliar with back in the UK: salats, mangosteens, rambutans and durians. However, he was also happy to find some of the exotic fruits he did recognise (even though there seemed to be more varieties again) like bananas, pineapples, mangoes and coconuts. (Coconuts are also another prominent ingredient in Indonesian cooking).
Lewis the Lion is relieved to take a break by this salat fruit stall
As Indonesia is made up of so many islands, it was no wonder that fish was a big feature, particularly on menus near the coast.
The taxi passes by stalls selling fish and fresh produce
One evening, Lewis the Lion particularly enjoyed an avocado dip starter followed by fresh fish in a Sambal sauce (tomatoes, chili and lime juice) cooked lovingly by Shanti. On her menu board it stated “Our food is cooked with love and that takes time.” Lewis the Lion really didn’t mind waiting for exquisite food and he noticed that even a lizard had come to sniff out the delicious aromas filling the air!
Even a lizard comes to investigate Shanti’s fabulous cooking!
It was clear that the Indonesians take great pride in their cooking and with the rich variety of ingredients to them, Lewis the Lion was not surprised. However what did surprise him one time was when he came to eat dessert at the governor’s house. This particular dessert was green (probably due to the pistacchios in it) but it had the exact same flavour and consistency of egg-custard, the way his grandma used to make it! Who would have thought he would have found that in Sulawesi?!
Seeing as Sulawesi is a mainly Muslim country it was no wonder that pork did not feature on the menus. Nor too was alcohol allowed unless you were in designated tourist areas. Lewis the Lion was too young to drink alcohol anyway so that didn’t bother him although Helen and Marion were happy to have a beer with their dinner on Chistmas Day to celebrate seeing as they were in the tourist resort of Bira Beach. (You had to pay an entrance fee to enter the zone).
A Christmas Day treat: fresh fish (and a beer for the grown ups!)
Furhermore, luckily the friends had somehow been able to acquire a small bottle of whiskey so they were able to raise a special Christmas Day toast in memory of Marion’s grandad.
A Christmas Day toast… but only in the tourist resort!
Lewis the Lion thoroughly enjoyed his special Christmas dinner this year even though it was very different from what he was used to back in the UK.
What would your perfect dinner be for a special day or event in the year?
Design your perfect menu with a starter, main course and dessert.
