Jumpin’ Java Jive

Boracay NightLifeFebruary 17th, 2012Boracay Hotels Travel Guide0 Comments »

My sister Teri and her family lived in northern Sumatra for over 15 years. During my many trips to visit them in Lhokseumawe, Banda Ache I fell in love with Indonesian cuisine. I grazed my way through the basics that her cook served up until I travelled south on a surf trip to Nias Island in January 1989. That was when I discovered Nasi Padang (Padang food) and fell in love with its fiery flavours heavy on chilli and coconut milk.
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My favourite thing about Indonesian food is that you get to eat it with your hand (as in ‘right’ one). Take that Catherine de Medici!
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Yet I digress. The main reason I will be staying in Jakarta to attend the Java Jazz Fest (2 to 4 March) this year is of course for the music. It is the biggest event of its kind in Southeast Asia will feature A-list headliners such as Stevie Wonder, Al Jarreau, Erykah Bandu, The Manhattan Transfer, Herbi Hancock, Bobby McFerrin, Pat Metheny and a whole lot of funky Indonesian acts to cover just a small part of the three-day event programme.
Tom Racette gets a short back and sides

Short back & sides: the author when he still needed a barber. Nias 1989.

However I am also using Java Jazz Fest as a warm up before I head to the big daddy of all world music festivals: the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival (Jazz Fest). These are two ‘sister’ events for me because the common denominators are things I love the most: balmy weather (with the chance of thunder showers), great music (the type where people actually play musical instruments and sing at the same time) and outstanding food.
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The other thing these two ‘Jazz Fests’ have in common is that both event grounds are packed with food stalls. So once the gates open for the Java Jazz Fest I will be foraging for Beef Rendang (beef in chilli coconut sauce), Nasi Uduk (coconut rice with various meat and veggie side dishes) and Sambal Goring Teri (spicy anchovies with peanuts), which is also my all time number one beer snack.

(Beef Rendang photo by Food Stories)

Jakarta might not be the ‘Big Easy’ but it is quickly becoming one of Asia’s jazz and blues capitals. And the food in both cities is finger licking good too.