Casual Lunch/Dinner in Indonesia

By aimera, 16th Sep 2011 | Follow this author | RSS Feed | Short URL http://nut.bz/1lpvpwse/
Posted in Wikinut>Travel>Other

Unusual and interesting manners during casual meals in Indonesia.

Introduction
Expect others to come late
How good you handle spicy food?
Yes. They use their hand
Be generous, share your food
Other little things that make up diversity
In short,

Introduction

Indonesian eating out

Once you are travelling abroad, all you want is to experience the diversity of the world. Having casual meal with the locals can a rewarding experience. Not only you've got the chance to taste the authentic local cuisine but also you have a memory of friendship, some
postcard to send when you back to your home country.

These are a few interesting things on acceptable manners when you have casual meal in Indonesia.

Expect others to come late

I mean really late, not only 5 or 10 minute late. In Indonesia, people could be one hour late, or may be more. They expect that you would tolerate. In my experience, it's no use to get angry at them. They won't change their attitude. The concept about time is culturally ingrained. Unless they have experienced another culture, it's difficult to grasp the concept of the value of time.

If you don't have time to waste, you can:

tell them firmly how long you are able to wait for them. Offer option whether you can meet them halfway.
Text them before you are leaving.
If you decide to wait, make sure you have a good book

How good you handle spicy food?

spicy food

Just like Indian, Indonesian likes to put different kind of spices into their cooking. The good thing about adding spices is they increase your body metabolism and add flavor to the food without additional fat. On the other side, if your stomach doesn't get used to various spices, especially lots of chili, the effect could be dire.

Take Travelan before your eating out. The medicine will soften the effect of spicy food on your stomach.

Yes. They use their hand

eating rice with hand

Don't be surprised. Unless you are eating out at a Western cuisine restaurant, you'll see your local friends using hand to scoop their food. I don't mean eating french fries or pizza. They use hands to eating rice. This experience may remind you to eating habit in India and the Middle East, where people eat rice with their bare hands.

In closer observation, they only use their right hand to scoop food. Although most of them wash their hands before meal, they barely use their left hand.

Be generous, share your food

sharing strengthening friendship

The highlight of Indonesian culture is sharing. This includes sharing your meal to everyone on the table. Don't be surprised if your friends starts asking you to share with them. It's OK if you ask a portion of their food. This could be a problem if everyone, but you, is using their hands or they scoop your food using the spoon they are using. Always have one extra clean spoon. Instead of letting them messing with your food, scoop a spoonful, or two, and put it on their plate.

Sometime, there is a person, or two, who hardly order any meal. This person always ask some portion from everybody. At the end they end up with a full meal.

Other little things that make up diversity

These are a few different manner while eating out with friends. For those who get used to European culture, these attitude is unacceptable. Though these manners are frown upon but tolerable.

Eating with sounds

Burping

Smoking on the table

In short,

cultural diversity

There are many things that make up cultural diversity. One of them is attitude toward eating out in a group. A rewarding experience for cultural traveler who has successfully blent in. You could experience different table manners and appreciate foreign cultural arts.