It is true that
different nations has different eating habits, and so for Indonesians. I can
say that Indonesia is the richest country and more various, and has endless
topics if we are trying to talk about it.
Unlikely in western
countries (Europe, American) that has many type of eat like breakfast, lunch,
dinner, tea time, and supper, with various dish type like appetizers, main
course, side dishes, and desserts. But it is simpler in Indonesia. We only have
breakfast, lunch, supper, and tea time for some family, with dish types only
main course, side dishes, and dessert for some families. Also, people in the western side of Indonesia
usually eat meat (chicken, beef, and lamb). But people in the middle and eastern
side of Indonesia are familiar with eating fishes and sea food.
Let’s talk about the breakfast.
The breakfast types are different for each family. Some family eats heavy foods
(like rice) for breakfast and serves with drinks like mineral water, tea, or
coffee. But some family had their breakfast like tea time. This second habit is
in my family. A few years ago when my cousins stayed in my house to take care
of me while my parents were away, I am a little bit surprised to know that they
are serving fried rice as breakfast. Families who are familiar with the second
breakfast habit are usually drinking teas, coffees, milks, or juices with
breads, biscuits (cookies in America), or even cakes. Milks and juices are
popular among the upper class society, as they are more likely to imitate the
western’s eating habits and those drinks are also pretty expensive in
Indonesia, along with cheese and chocolate.
Lunch is various too.
We had rice as the must-served-on-table dish, along with side dishes (lauk) and
soups or stews. Lower-middle class society usually cooks the dishes enough for
supper, and after lunch we save it in food storage. It is like a small cupboard
with enough air circulation. The traditional types (like the one in my
grandparent’s house) are made of wood, and the modern one is made of glass and
iron. The glass version is better because it has no odor and has better light
and air circulation than the wooden one.
We usually had supper
at 7 P.M with the same menu served when lunch and some new lauk cooked in the
evening. We do not have dinner because it is served in the evening in the
Maghrib time, as most of Indonesians are Muslim.
Some families had tea
time usually at 3 P.M. This tea time usually had no snack, so we are just
having tea or coffee. The teatime habit is brought to Indonesia by Dutch and
Indonesian student who were studying in Nederland.
*picture coming soon
