A call to return to local cuisine

Foreign food, which has hit the market in various parts of the country, especially in big cities, has stolen people's hearts. With the ever increasing number of restaurants offering foreign meals, can local cuisine thrive? The Jakarta Post observes the phenomenon in conjunction with World Food Day on Oct.16. More stories on page 2.

JAKARTA (JP): A street singer approached a group of people dining on local food at one of the street-side restaurants that line Jl. Wijaya, near the Blok M bus terminal in South Jakarta.

To the accompaniment of an old guitar, the shabby-looking young man sang a local song in a hoarse voice. Before long, the customers, seemingly feeling their privacy was being disturbed, gave him Rp 500. The singer then left for another table without finishing his song.

At the same time, the Hard Rock Cafe on Jl. Sudirman, Central Jakarta, one of the city's most prominent foreign food outlets, entertained its numerous customers with top foreign or local singers. There weren't any unfinished songs or harassment from begging singers.

"After three years of operation, we have reached the break- even point and raked in Rp 5 billion (US2.2 million) in revenue per year," commented Meuthia Kasim, Advertising & Promotion Manager of PT Hasta Rahayu Citra, franchisee of the Hard Rock Cafe in Indonesia.

This is how the local and foreign food businesses differ from one another in this country. While the former are mainly stranded on the roadside or in places lacking modern amenities; the latter get all the best: posh and comfortable places, middle and upper- class customers. And big money.

The Hard Rock Cafe, which has opened a branch in Bali and plans to open two more, in Surabaya and Bandung, is one of the tens of food and drink foreign franchises operating in Indonesia. Others include MacDonald's, Pizza Hut, Wendy's, A&W Family Restaurant, American Hamburger, Dunkin' Donuts, Kentucky Fried Chicken and Texas Fried Chicken. All of these are familiar names in the big towns cross the country.

In 1991 there were only six foreign franchises in the country. With annual growth of 43.3 percent, their number had grown to 84 by early 1995, 90 percent of which are in the food and drink business. The U.S. has 75 percent of the market, followed by Japan (7 percent), Singapore (6 percent), France (5 percent), the Philippines and England (2 percent each).

Observers say its part of a cultural trend. The invasion of the entire world by American culture is changing people's lifestyles, particularly those of middle and upper classes. Accessories of the new culture are the popular taste for cars, Western clothes, beverages and food.

"The lifestyle requires them to consume international food and drinks," said Darmanto Jatman, a lifestyles observer.

Concerned about the trend, the government launched the "I love Indonesian Food" campaign last year. Earlier, on World Food Day 1993, President Soeharto himself called on the people to return to local cuisine. The President dismissed the shift toward Western food, such as hamburgers and hot dogs, as being only a fad.

A lot of experts have since joined in, praising Indonesian food as better than Western food. They said it is natural, fresh and does not contain too much fat, which can lead to too high cholesterol level and high blood pressure.

"In Indonesian traditional eating patterns, the use of fat is only 20 percent, while in Western food is 40 percent," said nutritionist Tuti Sunardi.

"If we eat fast food once in a while, it's okay. But don't let children who are under five -- who don't yet have a fixed consumption pattern -- get used to this kind of eating. Once they are used to food with a high level of fat they will ask for more and more," she said.

Zoemrotin K. Susilo, who chairs the Indonesian Consumers' Foundation, concurred: "Fast food might be quite nutritious, but the problem is that people who eat it usually don't think about balancing what they eat. Usually they prefer to eat, for instance, fried chicken, which contains a high level of fat, and don't eat a salad because of its price."

According to a 1993 survey by two researchers of the Bogor Agricultural Institute, Hadi Riyadi and Faisal Anwar, 100 grams of Japanese teriyaki, tempura or yakiniku, or Korean mandukuk, somyon or bulgogi has a cholesterol level ranging between 200 and 354 milligrams. Mexican Omelet contains 818 milligrams of cholesterol per 100 grams.

Fast foods which have relatively low cholesterol levels include pizzas from Pizza Hut and burgers from MacDonald's and Burger King.

There are certainly many kinds of Indonesian food which are rich in cholesterol, including pepes ikan mas (roasted carp fish wrapped in banana leaf) and fried carp or gurami. Their cholesterol level range from 103 to 142 milligrams per 100 grams. But even those are considerably lower than the fried chicken sold at fast food outlets.

Aside from lower cholesterol, Hadi and Faisal also found that quite a number of Indonesian dishes are rich in elements believed to have healing powers, including kunyit (saffron), said to have antiseptic, anti-infection and anti-rheumatic qualities; and asam jawa (tamarind), said to be good for the urinary tract and to boost immunity.

However, people do not choose dishes only on the basis of their nutritional or medicinal value. Restaurant hygiene and ambience are also considerations.

"How can I be tempted to go into a warung (street stall) if the owner doesn't use running water to wash the dishes?" said Jeffri, 28, who works for an insurance company.

Studies have revealed that over eight percent of food vendors in Jakarta use toxic additives like Rhodamin and Methany Yellow to color their merchandise.

Also drawing wealthy customers away from the street are the food courts that have been opened in most major shopping malls, such as Pasar Raya in Blok M, Sarinah on Jl. Thamrin, Gajah Mada Plaza on Jl. Gajah Mada and Matahari Department Store in Pasar Baru, Central Jakarta.

Some local entrepreneurs have also tapped the demand for hygienic fast food, including Es Teler 77, which serves an ice- based confection and meatball noodle soup; Ayam Goreng Mbok Berek and Ayam Goreng Suharti, which sell fried chicken; and Bakmi Gajah Mada and Bakmi Gang Kelinci, which sell noodles.

Recently, some foreign franchises have lent a hand, especially with respect to technical and management skills.

"Many local restaurants are run by a one-man-show management. This does not allow them to develop properly," said Bambang Noeryatno Rachmadi, managing director of PT Ramako Gerbang Mas, franchisee of McDonald's in Indonesia.

To help these businesses, Bambang said, McDonald's has organized special workshops for local restaurateurs designed to improve their technical and managerial skills.

Since the national campaign for the consumption of local food has just begun, the results will not be apparent for a long time to come. If it is successful, it will due in large part to what Darmanto calls the "global paradox".

People around the world are heading towards globalization. But they also feel a sense of alienation from themselves, causing them to seek their cultural roots, he says. This is particularly likely to happen in the case of rich people who, more than any other social group, lack a bond to their culture, Darmanto says. Faced with this feeling, people start to look upon traditional food as exotic.

"There is now a 'Back to Traditional Food and Drinks' trend. I, for instance, served only traditional food at my silver wedding anniversary," said Darmanto, adding that noted intellectual Arief Budiman did likewise for his daughter's recent wedding reception. (jsk/als/raw/swa/aks)