Dining Aceh Style - Banda Aceh, Indonesia

I find it difficult to eat when everything in the restaurant menu is on my table!

Small shrimps fried with garlic, shallots and green chilies taste delicious

Indonesian cuisine is full of diversity, largely influenced by its geographical and ethnics factors. Although some of the dishes resemble Malaysian food but the uniqueness of the Indonesian food differs in terms of its ingredients and blend of spices. But hot and spicy is still the key element of Indonesian food.

We were invited for iftar at a local Aceh restaurant in Banda Aceh. While waiting for iftar, I stared at all the dishes on the dinner table. I'm hungry but there is no way that I could eat all these food! "Do you cook like this at home" I asked Ika. "Oh..no" she replied "but during gathering or any festive occasion, we do cook as many dishes as possible" she continued. I counted the dishes and there were about 20 of them and I was told, there will no charges for the untouched dishes. I wondered, "How would they know that the food is not tempered?" Misbah told us that the restaurant workers would somehow know!

"Ayam Tangkap" (Catch the chicken)  - taste real good

The call to break fasting in Banda Aceh is the siren, loud enough to tell everyone that it is time to eat.  Among all the dishes served, "Ayam Tangkap" (English translation: Catch the Chicken) is the "star" of the night. One actually has to rummage the pieces of chicken in the piles of curry leaves and pandan leaves...interesting! Simple but tasty, and within minutes the chicken is gone. With very short dinner time and the Magrib prayers to catch we end up eating just a few dishes.  It was a good experience with Aceh food and as a result, we were in search of "Ayam Tangkap" everyday and everywhere in Banda Aceh for the next few days!

Crab in thick spicy sauce

Among the dishes served

I counted them - about 15 dishes

Almost everything on the menu was laid on our table - Banda Aceh

Patiently waiting for the iftar time

This is our iftar in Takengon

From bottom right - Prawn, Chicken and Beef and the potato cutlets