An Indonesian feast at FLOW

•  ‘Indonesia Enak’ promotion now on at Hilton Colombo Residences

By Madushka Balasuriya 

Indonesian cooking has been gradually growing its presence in Colombo in recent times, and it seems like Sri Lanka’s love affair with this most flavour-rich of Asian cuisines is about to take yet another leap with the launch of the ‘Indonesia Enak’ Indonesian Food Promotion at FLOW, the headline restaurant at Hilton Colombo Residences.

The promotion, which will run from 29 August to 7 September (excluding 1 September), features two guest chefs, Edi Yulianto and Asep Ramdani, from Hilton Bandung, who are curating an authentic Indonesian buffet dinner and an exclusive chef’s table, as well as entertaining cooking masterclasses.

Some of the dishes in the spotlight include appetisers such as tahu goreng medan (shrimp fritters), lumpia basah (soft spring roll stuffed with sautéed bean sprout, egg, chives), and pepes ayam (grilled chicken in banana leaves); mains such as pecak ayam (sweet basil chicken), rendang daging (Sumatera signature beef stew) and kering tempe (caramelised soya bean cake) and Indonesian desserts such as dadar gulung (coconut pancakes), pisang goreng (fried banana fritters), martabak mini (sweet dough topped with grated cheese).

On Thursday at the launch event we were able to try first-hand all the dishes on offer. On first look, what strikes you the most is the sheer variety of food on offer; FLOW is known for its multiple cooking stations, and nearly all of them were taken over by the Indonesian ‘enak,’ or taste.

This taste is created primarily through the use of five key ingredients: coconut, lemongrass, kafir lime, garlic, and red chilli. And all of these were on display in abundance as we made our way through the decadent buffet.

What to expect

Among our favourites were first and foremost the usual suspects such as the seafood satay, rendang daging and nasi goreng. These, to be fair, would be familiar to even newcomers to Indonesian cuisine, but that was all the more reason to get them spot on. 

The rendang daging, or beef stew, was perfectly cooked, with that delicate balance between sweet and spicy seeping through every morsel of the meat. The satays, meanwhile, came in a variety of options, namely chicken, seafood and beef; of the three, the seafood was the easy standout, especially when paired with the delicious shrimp-based sauce on offer. As for the nasi goreng, exquisitely seasoned, it provides the ideal accompaniment to the rest of the food on offer.

Apart from these staples, it was the less-heralded items that really stood out. The salad station serving Gado Gado – an Indonesian salad featuring slightly blanched vegetables, hard-boiled eggs, boiled potato, and fried tofu among other things – was a personal favourite. 

The secret sauce, both literally and metaphorically, was of course peanut; made from roasted peanuts, anyone half-way familiar with Indonesian cuisine will know how prominent peanut and peanut sauce is in their cooking. This peanut sauce was so good you could likely toss gravel with it, and it would probably make a more-than-palatable dish.

Moving from the sweet to the savoury, a second station serving up authentic Indonesian Noodle Soup is a must-try. Don’t be afraid to tell the chefs exactly how spicy you want it, they are more than accommodating.

The dessert station too had a couple of Indonesian items, the highlight of which were the coconut pancakes, something that diners will be sure to relate to an all-time Sri Lankan favourite – pol pani.

Overview

On the whole, FLOW has sought to present as thorough an Indonesian cuisine experience as possible, and it certainly doesn’t disappoint. The Indonesia Enak dinner buffet is priced at Rs. 3,900 nett per person and is on from 29-31 August and 2-7 September, 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.

Make your booking for four or more guests via flow.lk and have the booker’s food bill waived off for the dinner buffet. The exclusive chef’s table dining experience for 14 guests has limited slots from on 30 and 31 August and 6 and 7 September, from 7 p.m. until 10 p.m. and is priced at Rs. 7,500 nett.

Pix by Daminda Harsha

Cooking Masterclasses 

Learn to make signature Indonesian dishes with culinary masterclasses with chefs Edi and Asep on 31 August and 7 September, 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., for Rs. 5,500 nett per person at FLOW.

Edi Yulianto is a graduate of the Tourism Academy of Sandhy Putra Hotel Management Indonesia, Edi’s international experience spans in Dubai, Australasia, and Bermuda. With international exposure to his credit, he returned to Hilton Bandung in 2012 and currently holds the title of sous chef in the hotel’s main kitchen. 

As a Demi Chef de Party of Hilton Bandung, Asep Ramdani is passionate about delivering new and invigorating cooking methods. His culinary specialisation includes western, Asian, Mexican, and Indonesia. Asep has represented his country regionally at Hilton’s F&B Masters in 2015.