Tikim Timpla: Memorable Meals Around the World

A Vegetarian Thali Meal

I still have the taste in my mouth of meals that have unforgettable impact on my senses. So here goes:
This was a wonderful gustatory experience - an Indian Thali meal and the presentation made it more appetizing! Thali is an Indian meal comprising of a selection of several small dishes, usually representative of the region you are in. It is served with Basmati rice and chutneys. We had this in a fancy hotel so the Thali was served in silver dishes but it was equally delicious without the luxurious setting.

It is very similar to the Indonesian/Dutch rijsttafel which is more easily found in restaurants in Amsterdam rather than in Indonesia. And speaking of Indonesia, I have very fond memories of the most delicious and probably most cholesterol laden fried chicken. I had my first taste at Madame Suharti in Yogyakarta and then at Mbok Berek in Jakarta. If you are in any of those cities, this is a must try. The fried chicken is marinated in coconut milk and it is served with fried crumbs or kremes. I have unsuccessfully attempted to duplicate this but my recipe must be wrong. I understand that the crumbs are made of tapioca and rice flour mixed with egg and chicken broth and then fried in trickles.

Rijsttafel served at Poppies Restaurant in Bali

Ayam Goreng Kremes

Another recommendation I have is a meal wrapped in banana leaf, Nasi Borana.... rice topped with a meat dish and a vegetable dish and some sort of pickle and half a hard boiled egg, satisfying and cheap! Our wonderful hostess purchased this from Milka as the label outside the banana parcel shows.

We had a great duck meal at Dirty Duck in Ubud, Bali. It is a rather slim portion of duck and you can easily have two of this dish. The baked cheesecake in this restaurant is rather good and not with the usual heavy cheesecake consistency.