Chinese-Indonesians celebrate once-forbidden roots

Atroupe of lion dancers jerk and sway down a busy Jakarta street to usher in theChinese New Year, moving to the beat of traditional instruments and handing outred envelopes inscribed with good wishes in Chinese characters.

Such a scene would be unthinkable just over a decade ago, when former dictatorSuharto ruled Indonesia with an iron hand and disallowed any expression of theChinese minority's own heritage.

"If you opened a shop with Chinese characters on it, it'd be closeddown," said Adrian Yap, 25.

In 1967, two years after a failed coup by the Indonesian Communist Party,Suharto cracked down on Chinese art, music, literature, language and othercultural expressions.

But since the dictator was ousted in 1998, these have flowered again in theworld's most populous Muslim nation, where the mostly non-Islamic Chineseminority makes up only a small fraction of its 240 million inhabitants.

In 2003, the Lunar New Year was declared a national holiday and this year -- asthe nation marks the 10th year of unrestricted celebrations -- nearly all ofJakarta's glitzy malls are festooned for the occasion.

Red-and-gold banners with Chinese characters decorate many shopping centres,and Lunar New Year parades are scheduled around the city.

Workers at Jakarta's upscale Plaza Indonesia mall greet shoppers in traditionalChinese clothes as Chinese music wafts from the speakers.

Across the city, passersby are greeted by colourful banners wishing them ahappy "Imlek," as the locals call the holiday.

"When I was growing up the celebrations were all hush-hush, said JevelinWendiady, a 24-year-old university teacher.

"Everybody knew that during Imlek you would visit relatives at home. Butyou wouldn't go out to malls like you do now. You'd have no idea it was Imlek,it was like any other day," she said.

"Today when you walk around there is atmosphere, decorations, music.Outside, there are even fireworks at night."

The festive season is not only embraced by Chinese-Indonesians but also byretailers, who look forward to more business.

In the run up to the Lunar New Year newspapers have been filled with hotel andrestaurant adverts, offering special new year's packages and deals.

West Java Highland Tea Tours

Tuckedin the highlands of West Java, away from the endless hustle engulfing Jakarta,tea estates harkening back to the Dutch colonial period have become Indonesia’sanswer to France’s famed vineyards or California’s Napa Valley.

Providing getaway seekers with a chance to savor a different world, these teaestates are drawing city dwellers and foreigners looking for a taste ofsomething out of the ordinary.

“Tea plantation tours offer something different,” said Jimmi Lapotulo, avisitor at the Goalpara Tea Estate in Sukabumi. “The natural beauty, thefragrance of tea leaves, the fresh air breeze — you can’t really find placeslike this anywhere else.”

Indonesia’s introduction to tea came in the 18th century, courtesy of the Dutchcolonialists. Java’s tea industry was painstakingly cultivated by DutchmanJacobus Isidorus Lonevijk Levien Jacobson, who arrived in Jakarta, thenBatavia, in 1827. For six years, Jacobson made exhaustive trips to China tobring back seeds, plants, workmen and materials, until he was able to start atea plantation in Bogor. The Indonesian tea industry continued to grow, and nowthe country is the fifth largest producer of tea in the world.

But it wasn’t until the late 1980s that these tea estates began drawingtourists, thanks to a collaborative initiative by the Indonesian government,state-owned plantations and travel bureaus.

Tea fields have been turned into hiking trails, hilly paths are dotted withmountain cyclists, processing factories offer educational and tasting tours andcolonial homes are now charming guesthouses. Here, vacationers can travel backto a bygone era and partake in ecological adventures without ever having to setfoot on an airplane.

Today, there are more than 30 state-owned tea plantations in West Java and ahandful of them are tapping into the growing tourism market.

“Developing tourism at other plantations was simple because the infrastructurewas already in place,” said Ali, a spokesman for Goalpara. “Malabar has a bigcolonial mansion and is close to a hot spring, and Gunung Mas is located at ahigh altitude, so it’s perfect for adventure sports.” Gunung Mas is another teaestate.

Goalpara’s high production targets mean it doesn’t have the time to promoteagrotourism as much as other estates, but Ali said tourists, both locals andforeigners, do make their way to the plantation.

“Locals like to come here to escape the noisy city life,” Ali said. “Here, theycan do lots of outdoor recreational activities — picnics, trekking, enjoyingthe cool weather and the view. It’s all very refreshing.”

According to Ali, tea estates are also popular getaway spots for Europeantourists, who enjoy the old-world charm.

“Most of the [foreign] tourists come from the Netherlands, because most ofthese plantations used to be owned by the Dutch,” Ali said. “Coming to the teaplantations is like a way for them to preserve the memory of their ancestors.There’s an emotional connection.”

Unlike a lot of ecotourism, which focuses on adventure travel, tea plantationtours are more relaxed. Vacationers can choose to participate in leisurely “teawalks” around the estate, accompanied by cool breezes and the scent offlowering shrubs.

At Malabar Tea Estate in Pangalengan, walkers can head to the nearby hot springafterward to soak their tired muscles; Gunung Mas in Puncak has a swimming poolwhere hikers can cool off.

However, adventurous vacationers, seeking more than just rest and relaxation,will also find plenty of activities to keep them occupied. The sloping, windingpaths of the plantations provide a perfect backdrop for challenging treks andmountain biking, while tea estates at higher elevations like Gunung Mas offersadrenaline junkies the chance to paraglide over Puncak’s rolling green hills.

In addition to refugees from the city and adventurers, West Java’s tea estatesare also drawing visitors with their educational tours.

“Coming here is not just about relaxation, but also about education,” Jimmisaid. “You drink tea every day, but a lot of us don’t know how it gets from theearth to our tea cup.”

Senari has worked at Gunung Mas for 35 years and now leads tours around theprocessing facility and the plantation.

“We get a lot of young tourists also,” Senari said. “Parents would come visitfor the weekend, bring back the tea, and their kids would want to come forthemselves to see how it was made.”

Tea estates like Goalpara and Gunung Mas have tours that allow visitors to walkthrough the shrubs (some close to 100 years old), partake in the tea pickingprocess, observe tea production and packaging, and sample the estate’s teas.

Many tour operators now offer tea-tasting getaways, which includetransportation and accommodation at a colonial plantation house, but escapingto these tea estates is simple to do on your own. All it takes is a three-hourdrive from Jakarta, and, if you can make it through the traffic, you’ll findyourself up in the cool hills, raising a steaming cup of antioxidants in saluteto the charms of tea-estate culture.

“I like to go on ecotours because it’s about preserving our natural wonders,”Jimmi said. “It’s about nurturing the environment and getting away from it all.It makes me feel younger every time I go.”

Additional reporting by Astrid Paramitha Lyssens & Lauren Zumbach.

Goalpara Tea Estate
Jl. Raya Goalpara, 43/92
Sukabumi
Tel: 026 622 1500
E-mail: gt1.goalpara@gmail.com

Gunung Mas Tea Estate
Jl. Raya Puncak Cawas, Bogor
Tel: 025 125 2501

Rendang tops best food list

TheSeptember best food of the world poll from CNNGO now puts Rendang at the topspot. In the July list, Rendang was at the 11th place.

CNNGO says: "And now, after more than 35,000 votes, it appears we gotit all wrong. The world’s most delicious food is not Massaman curry, as wesuggested, but a meaty, spicy, gingery dish from west Sumatra."

"Beef is slowly simmered with coconut milk and a mixture of lemongrass,galangal, garlic, turmeric, ginger and chilies, then left to stew for a fewhours to create this dish of tender, flavorful bovine goodness.
The Indonesian dish is often served at ceremonial occasions and to honoredguests. It's not only delicious but also comes with a simple recipe."

The revised list also has nasi goreng at the second place, and satay at number14

Rendang Among Top 15 Best Foods in the World

CNNGopublished an article last week that ranks the 50 most delectable eats on theplanet, and one of Indonesia's most popular dishes, rendang, made it onto thelist at number 11.

Unfortunately, neither nasi goreng, sate ayam nor Indomie made the culinaryhall of fame, with rendang being the spice-rich country's only native cuisineto make the cut.

The article, titled “World’s 50 Most Delicious Foods,” did not specify whatsort of criteria it used to compile the list. It only says, “we’ve scoured theplanet for what we think are 50 of the most delicious foods ever created.” Andby delicious, it suggested, “foods worth traveling the world to gorge on.”

The entry on rendang first introduces how to make the dish and what goes intoit, before explaining to the readers what rendang can do to food buffs.

“Beef is slowly simmered with coconut milk and a mixture of lemongrass,galangal, garlic, turmeric, ginger and chilies, then left to stew for a fewhours to create this dish of tender, flavorful bovine goodness.

I sure hope no vigilante group will declare war on Malaysia over this — and Ihope no Malaysians send CNN a letter claiming that rendang is actually theirs.Take this with a pinch of salt, please.

Topping the list is massaman curry from neighboring Thailand, which the articledescribes as “spicy, coconutty, sweet and savory, its combination of flavorshas more personality than a Thai election.”

Coming in at second and third place is Italy's Neapolitan pizza and Mexico'schocolate, respectively.

But the top 10 list suggests that, in the culinary world, Asian hegemonyprevails — Japan's sushi (4), China's Peking duck (5), Thai's tom yum goong (8)all made it to the top, as well as the laksa and curry.

Europe was represented by the pizza and Germany's famous hamburger, while theonly African cuisine joining the culinary elite is Gabon’s chicken muamba.

Miss Tjitjih Keeps Sundanese Theater Alive

Membersof the traditional Sundanese theater troupe Miss Tjitjih still take pride inbeing associated with the group, even if its glory days are in the past.

The troupe has been plagued with financial struggles the past couple of years,which has meant that the members can now only give the rare performance.

Formed in 1928 in Jakarta under the name Opera Valencia, the troupe’s heydaystretched over decades. It used to sell out theaters, with hundreds of peoplesitting rapt for hours as the troupe performed its trademark mix of comedy andhorror. Later the troupe changed its name to Miss Tjitjih, a moniker inspiredby the “prima donna” character of the group.

During the Japanese occupation of Indonesia in the 1940s, Miss Tjitjih was oneof the many theater troupes used to disseminate propaganda. The Japanesebelieved that theater had the power to influence people.

Through it all, Miss Tjitjih has managed to stand the test of time, even afterit temporarily lost its home theater to a fire in 1997. But the troupepersevered and took its show on the road.

“From 1998 to 2000 we would still get around 150 people, mostly lower-classpeople like becak [rickshaw] drivers, coming out and enjoying our shows,” saidDadan “Ude” Supriyatna, who plays gamelan for Miss Tjitjih.

But as television stations started to offer more contemporary programming inthe early 2000s, the troupe’s audiences decreased significantly.

“There were just so many choices of entertainment on TV, including soap operas,”said Kokom Kusnadi, who has been a member of Miss Tjitjih for 20 years.“Whenever there is a football match on TV, we only have about 20 people comingto our show.”

And where once they would perform nightly, they cut back to twice a week andthen once a week. Now they perform whenever they can.

“We have a show on Saturday night but it depends on when the subsidy from thelocal administration is available,” Ude said. “We only had 10 shows in 2011.”

Jakarta Biennale Exhibit Challenges Perceptions

Spectatorsstare at a red, circular statue standing on two stubby legs, with dozens ofhands reaching out from the surface of the sphere, each pointing a revolver. Nodirection is out of the statue’s aim, and as visitors pass by, the red orbseems to be drawing its weapon on them.

The artwork is titled “Total Survival,” a piece by Deni Rahman who said hewanted to criticize the culture of violence in Indonesia. Deni, a mixed mediaYogyakarta-based artist, is one of more than 30 participants in the “Game,Leisure and Gadget Victims” exhibition at Central Park mall in West Jakarta.

The exhibition is part of the Jakarta Biennale XIV, the largest, most ambitiousand spread out art show in the capital, which kicked off on Dec. 15. TheBiennale is an attempt to bring avant-garde artwork to the doorsteps ofJakartans rather than limiting the pieces to museums or galleries. “We want tointroduce contemporary art to the public,” curator Seno Joko Suyono said.

Another piece lurking in the Central Park mall is a mannequin of a beautifulgirl wearing pink gloves and a paper hat with the word “Heaven.” Dozens ofinfusion bottles are also attached to the girl’s hands, in an installationpiece called “Superego Trendy Fashion” by Rocka Radipa.

Game, Leisure and Gadget Victim
Until Jan. 15
Central Park mall,
West Jakarta
jakartabiennale.org

Controversial Buddha Bar becomes Bistro Boulevard

Across from Cut Meutia Mosque in Menteng stands BistroBoulevard restaurant and lounge with its classic Batavia architecture. Oncecontroversial for going by the name of Buddha Bar, the owners redesigned thevenue and the restaurant concept.

“The previous concept was not successful, but instead of giving up, we decidedto try something new,” said Riyan Mudadalam, a restaurant spokesman.

The interior of the 97-year-old building was transformed from a red, dimly litspace to a bright, white-walled one. The Buddha statutes are gone. The foyer,which also functions as a waiting room and gallery, is filled with sculpturesand large paintings. These items are numbered and prices are available uponrequest.

Bistro Boulevard now offers classic French cuisine with a modern twist. Themenu features classic dishes such as oysters, snails and steak tartare createdby executive chef Alex Ensor, who gained experience cooking French cuisine atthe Sydney Opera House restaurant.

Bistro Boulevard has been up and running for about a month, and an officiallaunch party is slated for September. Just last week, the restaurant hosted itsfirst Lazy Sunday, a monthly bazaar and music event.

Those aren’t the only changes. Prices have also been lowered. The average priceon the Buddha Bar ranged from Rp 200,000 ($23) to Rp 300,000, while thestarting price at Bistro Boulevard is Rp 35,000. That doesn’t mean, however,that you can’t run up a big bill here. A shared, meat-heavy meal at Bistro Barwill cost you around Rp 1 million.

Bistro’s homemade bread and butter are made from 16 ingredients including duckjus, garlic, tarragon, thyme and parsley. It has a strong, curry-like aftertaste, which is addictive when paired with French fries

Solo keroncong Festival 2011

Thousandsof spectators crowded the Solo Keroncong Festival 2011 in Ngarsopuro, right infront of the Triwindu Market in Solo.
They were mesmerized as Endah Laras, a traditional singer from Solo, presented“Gemes” (Carried away), a song in the langgam or Javanese-style of keroncong,which is long known as Portuguese-tinged Indonesian music.

The song, written by Anjar Any and popularized in the 1970s by keroncongmaestro Waldjinah, was jovially and temptingly sung by Endah that evening,testimony to the fact that keroncong is not always slow and soothing music.

Endah was not alone in adding color to keroncong during the festival. Earlier,the Zakaria Keroncong Orchestra offered a humorous piece entitled “Pakne Thole”(Boy’s dad). Presented in a duet, the old Javanese song triggered roars oflaughter after being modified into an intensely expressive and almosttheatrical composition for the stage, leading to calls to repeat theperformance.

On the first day of the festival, Congrock from Semarang appeared with a blendof keroncong and rock music to suit the taste of the youth in the audience,making the show more attractive and less monotonous, while stirring the crowdsto dancing and shouting. The notion that keroncong is for retirees was alsodispelled as “Rumah Kita” (Our house), a song from the rock band Godbless,spurred people to sing along in the keroncong style and wave like rock musicfans do at concerts.

“Through such music, we’re trying to offer and introduce keroncong to theyounger generation. Keroncong will survive unless it’s monotonous, so thereshould be [new] creations. We can’t force today’s youth to enjoy keroncong inthe style of olden times,” said Marco Manardi, Congrock’s leader.

For two nights the public welcomed the Solo Keroncong Festival withoverwhelming enthusiasm. Many visitors were even prepared to sit in the road towatch the performances on two big screens set up on both sides of the stage.The throngs of onlookers in Ngarsopuro seemed untroubled by the suicide bombingthat had recently shocked the city.

Opened by former Transportation and Manpower Minister Erman Suparman, thesecond Solo Keroncong Festival had 18 keroncong groups from various regions asparticipants, including five foreign troupes from Italy, Hong Kong, Hungary,Malaysia and Singapore.

The event started with teenage keroncong musicians from the Putra Mawar TimurSolo Orchestra. Mostly junior high school students, they elegantly presented aninstrumental medley that displayed their musical skills. The famous keronconghits “Kota Solo” (Solo city), “Bengawan Solo” (Solo River) and “Tanah Air”(Motherland) marked the beginning of the international festival.

Saman Dance Officially Recognized by Unesco as World Heritage

UNESCOofficially recognized Aceh’s traditional Saman Dance as an intangible elementof world cultural heritage during a session in Bali on Thursday.

The decision was announced during the sixth session of UNESCO’sIntergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of Intangible CulturalHeritage, taking place in Bali from Nov. 22 to 29.

“The UNESCO secretariat, and then NGOs and experts, have checked the documents[on Saman Dance], and we proposed them to the session in Bali this morning,“ Tourismand Creative Economy Ministry spokesman I Gusti Ngurah Putra said in a pressstatement on Thursday.

“And thank God [Saman] was declared as having met the requirements. Saman hasbeen officially included in the list of intangible cultural heritage, whichneeds UNESCO’s urgent protection,” he added, as quoted by Antara.

Indonesia proposed the UNESCO listing of the Saman Dance in March 2010.