Indonesia: Jakarta Enjoys Deep Culinary Connection with China

His main challenge is to maintain the taste and quality of his dishes.

“The most complicated part is during the spice mixing process, it feels like we almost use all kinds of spices,” he told DW. “For the rice cake itself, I need about 12 hours to boil it.”

Syihabbudin starts cooking every day at 3 a.m. so that his dishes are ready for sale at around 9 am.

Just like culinary acculturation, good, hearty dishes cannot be rushed.

“From culinary, we can learn the long history of acculturation. It was an extraordinary process because people from all sides understood and adapted to each other,” sinologist Malagina says.

“Indonesian spices are rich, and foods are diverse because of many influences from the outside.”