Rijsttafel in Amsterdam

(Indonesian muppets)

When we visited Djakarta for the first time, friends who were living there treated us to a "rijsttafel" in a restuarant that was located in an old colonia building.
What an unforgettable dining experience!
"Rijsttafel" means "rice table" in dutch, and it's a meal developed in Indonesia during Dutch rule, it allowed to sample the many varieties of wonderful Indonesian food in one plate. It consists of rice accompanied by anything between 12 and 30 dishes served in small portions around the rice...
Note that Indonesian cuisine blends in a remarkable way cuisines of many different cultures, such as Chinese, India, Arab ...
Rijsttafel was introduced in the Netherlands, and you can find many Indonesian restaurants that serve this rich meal. To revive the memories of my first Rijsttafel, every time I visit Amsterdam I go to an Indonesian restaurant, and the last one I visited deserves my praise!

We started with with a chicken soup with rice vermicelli.
Then we were served two different types of satay, one in peanut paste, the other in a dark sauce, both delicious.
Later came the orgy of plates: beef, chicken, vegetables ... and two types of rice, one steamed, one yellow with coconut ...
The two types of beef in the picture above were very good, the vegetables were sauteed on the left, cooked in a light sauce on the right.
Chicken prepared in two different ways, one with lemon grass, and more vegetables ... mmmm

I ordered a red wine from Languedoc to go with this wonderful combination of ingredients.
We ended our meal with an ice cream with real whipped cream, the perfect end for such a copious meal ...

I warmly recommend Taste of Life, Rijnstraat 51 in Rivierenbuurt (we ordered the rijtaffel at 25 Euros per person, with the wine, I paid 60 Euros for two)