Rijsttafel and the Dinner of the Legend

While the idea behind this trip was - for once - to stay within the confines of the resort, we still wanted to get a taste of Indonesia while we were here (even if Bintan Resorts is really just an extension of Singapore). Fortunately for us, another of the Banyan Tree's private Destination Dining options was one that featured rijsttafel, which, bundled with a storytelling session, was called Dinner of the Legend. They setup another beach canopy, although this time, we sat on a giant futon with our feet in the sand.



As if we were Dutch colonists, platter upon platter of food kept arriving. The first one was a set of salads that included gado gado, a dish that I wasn't a big fan of the first time I had it years ago, but tonight I just loved its peanut-ty taste. A second platter followed, this time including udang balado, a dish of impressively fresh prawns sitting in a pleasantly spicy red chili sauce. We pretty much cleared everything aside from a few meat dishes that were just too tough (and overspiced) for our liking.

And then dessert came, which included bubur ketan hitam, a sticky rice pudding that was less coconut-y than I was hoping for, but none to worry: there was also a giant coconut husk filled with a wonderful es puter jackfruit and coconut ice cream. These all came in huge portions...so much that we felt guilty that a good part of the food went uneaten. In the end, I finally realized why they provided that giant futon with the huge throw pillows: so that we could pass out after all of that food! Sure, this entire deal was a bit touristy, but it was good food, and that couch sure was comfy.