Marriage that works: Local and Western food

Marriage that works: Local and Western food

DENPASAR, Bali (JP): You like cream? The answer, will be a
resounding yes from all quarters. You like rujak? Though limited,
the response will be just at unequivocal. Limited because the
yeses will burst from the mouths of Indonesians rather than those
from foreign lands. Maybe there'll be a sprinkling of resident
aliens who join the chorus. Some may have developed a taste for
that dish of different types of fruit covered in a dressing
concocted of chili, brown sugar and, most important, terasi
(fermented shrimp paste), which has to be smelt to be believed.

Now hold on to your seats ... Do you like rujak and ice cream?
Or sorbet, rather? I mean both of them on one plate, accompanied
by a tart filled with sour cream? I bet the reaction is either a
deadly silence or politely raised eyebrows. Or -- from those who
are less polite -- an assortment of comments the meaning of which
can be encapsulated by yuk or urgh. But I'd also wager that some
of you may be intrigued by the unusual combination. Unusual yes,
but definitely not impossible. So, for the intrigued among you,
here's where you can get Rujak and Fresh Yoghurt Sour Cream Tart
& Yoghurt Sorbet: The Legian hotel in Bali which "opened softly"
recently.

A bit about The Legian. It belongs to General Hotels
Management, which, as some of you probably know, owns the chain
that includes The Chedi. Four are already up and running, of
which two - in Bandung and Ubud - bear the name of The Chedi. But
all of them share the characteristics for which GHM hotels here
have become famous: they're small (with 70 rooms The Legian is
the largest), the atmosphere is friendly, intimate and informal.
GHM's are consummate hosts. They make it a point to always chat
to all guests, staying as well as non-staying, and they have also
adopted the sedap malam flower (a kind of tuber whose fragrance
lasts all evening) as their signature flower. You'll see tons of
them at the GHM hotels in Bandung, Ubud, Candi Dasa and Legian.

But to get back to the sorbet-rujak combination. In hotel
shops and restaurants Indonesian dishes always undergo
adjustments. Which is quite understandable. You don't want your
guests to end up with Bali belly or Solo stomach caused by the
100% authentic eats they stuffed themselves with. But in many
instances the adjustments have been so thorough as to make the
dish totally unrecognizable. I recognize the need for adjustments
but there is such a thing is going too far. The day hasn't
arrived yet that I can appreciate rendang, or gado-gado, or sop
buntut in hotels, be they foreign or Indonesian. As for bubur
ayam ... Glodok is still waiting for any hotels to come close.

So where does the sorbet/rujak come in, you ask. Well, when it
came to the table I caught a whiff of terasi and my eyebrows went
skywards. Mindful, however, of the proof of the pudding and all
that jazz, I took a spoonful and my palate was hit by a totally
new and very pleasant sensation combining the heat of the chilies
tempered by the coldness of the yoghurt sorbet while the
crunchiness of the tart's shell, married to that of the fruit,
enhanced the dish's body. There were more successful marriages,
such as the one between the taste of white and brown sugar, the
first in the tart and ice cream, the latter (derived from
coconut) in the rujak dressing.

There's nothing bland about yoghurt, chilies, fruit, brown
sugar, sour cream, terasi, and blending these strong, assertive
ingredients is something else. It takes somebody like pastry chef
Francois Seurin to tackle this. He hails from Monaco -- at least
where he worked before he set foot on Bali -- and taming such
strong flavors like cheese -- some types of which are just as
pungent as terasi -- is nothing new to him. This is all very
well. of course, but what about the taste? "Simple," Francois
said with a Gallic shrug, not to mention accent, "I ask my
assistants. They're Indonesian, so they should know..." So I
turned to two of them, busy putting together something that
looked like dark chocolate and jackfruit mousse (ever had that
before?) "What is it you appreciate in this dish?" The answer:
"It's still Indonesian."

All this miscegenation between Indonesian and western dished
is not confined to desserts, either. Main courses included the
typical Balinese duck dish called bebek belulu - quite authentic
- served with mashed potato. There's also roast lamb with glazed
young papaya.

So the emphasis is on combining and adjusting these two very
different types of cuisines in such a way as to rein in their
respective characteristics, with none taking precedence over the
other. There is a reason for this. Said executive chef,
Christopher Salans: "We don't want to be too dependent on
imported ingredients. Practically the only imported items we have
are such things as beef and lamb, because the local meat is not
suitable for the hot dishes we create."

Creating is right. On the day I left, general manager Jean-
Pierre Baratin suggested that I try something he's been thinking
about. "What is it?" I asked. "Lemon grass tea." Two glasses came
to the table, I took a sip and thought I caught a taste of
ginger. "No, there's no ginger in it," he said, "but I think it
may need some." Now there you have an glimpse into the process of
creation, which of course is what the art of food is all about.

Another thing ... when the waiter comes around with the basket
of rolls, choose the black one. It's made of ketan hitam (black
rice).

-- Lucullus