Indonesian festival fills that missing gap

Photo provided to China Daily

The deserts buffet section was most impressive, with nearly all the country's signature deserts presented to appeal to diners' eyes and palates.

Most of the deserts were white, red and green, which, according to the pastry chef I Made Semawan, are all from the natural coloring of organic ingredients used, such as plant leaves and roots, instead of chemical coloring.

My favorite desert was the bubur kacang ljio, or green bean pudding, a sweet dessert made of mung bean porridge with cane sugar and coconut milk.

The mildly sweet porridge was soft and smooth, having an aromatic flavor from the mung beans, coconut milk and ginger.

Chef I Made Semawan says the desert is very popular in Bali, especially when it rains or is cold. People believe ginger can warm the body and is healthy when it is cold, he says.

I also liked the gilling gilling. The finger-shaped rice cakes were made from rice and beetroot. They were quite hard and chewy, and was refreshingly sweet.

Among all the appetizers, my favorite was cramcam udang, or cucumber and prawn salad. The pieces of cucumber were green, while the slightly fried prawns had a pinkish color, looking very inviting.

The salad tasted as fresh as it looked, having a pleasant balance of sweetness and sourness. The vegetable was crunchy, and the prawns were chewy and juicy. The gado gado, or mixed vegetables with boiled potato, eggs, fried tofu and peanut sauce, was also fresh and savory.