Siomay Bandung Dumplings – a fleeting visit to Paris van Java

Mt. Tangkuban Perahu, Bandung

Jump to recipe

I’m spending the next three weeks in Indonesia to do some work for my research project. This is possibly the longest time I have spent in my home country in my entire adult life. In the next 3 weeks, I’ll be doing some island hopping and am looking forward to adding at least another three Indonesian cities to my travel list.

The first stop is a fleeting day trip to Bandung, about 3 hours south east of Jakarta, which is also the capital of West Java province. Leaving the craziness of Jakarta at the crack of dawn, I finally reached Bandung at 9am. As soon as I arrived, I was instantly reminded of the Jakarta I grew up in… the fresher air, the cooler climate, the (slightly) slower pace of life, the becaks (cycle rickshaw), and generally nicer people.

Peanut Sauce (Sambal Kacang)

Peanut sauce (Sambal Kacang) is a star condiment of Indonesian cooking. OK, so every country in South East Asia always tries to claim it as one of theirs. But who wouldn’t? There’s nothing not to love about peanut sauce. It’s so yummy, easy to make, and so versatile. We eat it with pretty much everything, from satay (sate), dumplings (siomay), salad (gado-gado or ketroprak), to rice and any meat dishes.

Huevos Rancheros - Brunching in Sydney's Northern Beaches

Checking the surf

Last Christmas we went back to Sydney for a summer wedding of two of our close friends. We stayed for two amazing weeks of beaches, surfing, brunching and grazing over long coffees. Sometimes I really wondered why I left for Europe in the first place…

In Sydney, we used to live up in the Northern Beaches, in a beautiful small suburb called Fairlight just up the road from the famous Manly beach. Our place was about 5 minute walk down to the local Fairlight beach.

Carciofi alla Romana (Roman Stuffed Artichokes) - Seasonal Eating

Artichokes from Oerlikon Markt

Cooking with in-season vegetables is a pretty easy and cheap way to practice sustainable eating. It minimises the emissions generated from transporting these vegetables from far away farms. Plus, you keep your local farmers happy and it’s a good opportunity to put on your experimental masterchef hat.

Unlike in Australia where we could generally get vegetables at any time of the year for pretty cheap, eating seasonally is anyway something that Europeans have already been doing for a very long time. I guess when the climate is harsher you’re left with no choice but to be resourceful!