The Best Meal of My Life (So far)

At Restaurant Blauw, an Indonesian restaurant, I had the best meal of my life.  My friend, unable to join us, sent her husband as my date and guide through the Rijsttafel ("Rice Table"), which is an elaborate meal consisting of several dozen small dishes of Indonesian fare-- hence filing "an entire table."  This is a very popular way of eating Indonesian food, though it is rarely served this way back in Indonesia, a former Dutch colony. It was a way to make the colonial food understandable for those back in the home country.

From what I can gather (from the interwebs and remembering what we had), I think I had the following (though this may may me accurate or comprehensive).

• Babi kecap – Pork belly braised in sweet soy sauce common in the Netherlands
• Gado-gado - Vegetables (cooked or fresh) with peanut sauce (sambal kacang)
• Nasi goreng – Fried rice
• Nasi kuning - Indonesian yellow rice
• Pisang goreng - Banana fritters
• Sambal iris – Onion, tomato and chilli pasta
• Sambal kacang - Peanut sauce
• Sambal ulek – Spicy chilli paste
• Satay (sometimes spelled Sate or Sateh) - Various thinly sliced meats, marinated then broiled on a skewer, such as: Sate Ayam, chicken; Sate Babi, pork; Sate Lilit, seafood
• Semur daging - A type of stew of beef braised in sweet soy sauce
• Serundeng - Peanuts with sauted shreded coconut
• Telur balado - Hard-boiled eggs sautéed in chilli sauce
• Sayur lodeh - Vegetable stew (spicy) in coconut milk
• Rendang - Aromatic spicy caramelized beef, braised in coconut milk, chili and spices
• Opor ayam - Chicken coconut curry

It was seriously the best meal I have ever had.  The tastes were sweet, salty, savory, fruity, spicy, tangy-- every possible combination of flavors.  It was amazing.  And though we had 17 dishes of food (not to mention two types of rice), it was not too much food!  It was the perfect amount.  You got a good taste of the various dishes of Indonesian fare.  I also had very good Indonesian beer(s).  If you are in Utrecht (or Amsterdam), you *must* go to Blauw and have this meal.  You will then be able to say that you have had the best meal of your life so far too.