Foreign Prophecies: Indonesian Cuisine Enthralls in the Midwest USA's Asian Food Fest

Ria Ellison, left, and Ake Langlois in front of The House of Sate booth

The man from the Filipino booth carving up the roasted pork for their BBQ

Due to the low prevalence of Asian restaurants, Americans in the Midwest tend to have little idea of what Asian cuisine is like. When they think of Asian food, the only things that come into their mind are the meals in a Chinese restaurant or Japanese's sushi. The Asian Food Fest aims to change that perception by introducing the less-popular Asian cuisine into the general American population.

This was the third time the festival is conducted. However, for the Indonesian American community in Cincinnati, it marked something else altogether. It was our debut in representing our ancestral cuisine to the festival. Ria Fariani Ellison and her partner Ake Nurita Langlois opened up a booth called The House of Sate, where they showcased chicken satay accompanied with yellow rice and 'acar' (pickled vegetables). For dessert, they served 'bolu kukus' (steamed cupcakes).

A resident of Sacramento, California, Langlois visited Cincinnati to help her childhood friend Ria in organizing the Indonesian booth. The pair then invited several of their Indonesian friends to help out with grilling the satay and serving the customers. I was privileged to be one of them.

Unlike Indonesian communities in coastal states like New York and California, those residing in the Midwest tend to be sparse and rare. We do not advertise our existence through the internet, nor do we have many Indonesian restaurants to cater to our longing for Indonesian food.

My friend Kevin Jo, left, and I are grilling the satays. Diva Jonatan in the background is preparing the raw meat.

It was to our delight to find that there are a lot of Indonesians coming to the event, specifically to check out our booth. Some are friends and acquaintances, but most are those who are unaware that Indonesian community around Cincinnati has gained stronger foothold over the last couple of years.

Apart from fellow Indonesians and Asians, there are also other Americans coming with keen interest in Indonesian culture, checking our booth with bits of salutations, "Apa kabar?" and "Selamat siang!" Some were curious of what yellow rice is made of, asking questions like, "Do you mix the rice with saffron like the Indians do" to which we answer that it is rice mixed with turmeric. Some others were peculiarly delighted to see that there is such a thing called "steamed cupcakes."

Visitors to the booth (day 1)

Visitors to the booth (day 2)

The Asian Food Fest came to Downtown Cincinnati, Ohio last weekend. The festival brought together various Asian booths from the Greater Cincinnati region (which includes Southern Ohio and Northern Kentucky) to serve up taste samples of their best dishes. There was no admission charge for the visitors, but donations were accepted to help Care2Share build village and school facilities in Pleiku, Vietnam.

There were some concerns among booth participants that it might rain during those two days of the event, since rain has been falling quite sporadically over the last several weeks. Thank goodness, the sun shone brightly and the air was dry, contributing to the larger turnout of the crowd.

A notable visitor was an old lady who came in saying that she had spent a year working in Fatmawati hospital, South Jakarta in 1962. She then told us that she still remembered some folk songs such as "Nona Manis" and "Si Paku Gelang," and asked some of us to sing with her. We were more than happy to oblige. After 50 years of leaving Indonesia, she had a fairly good command of basic Indonesian, and left us impressed. For the whole weekend, we tried our best to become the first ambassadors of Indonesian food and culture to the region.

Vietnamese American Indie singer Andrea Pham

According to the festival's marketing director Bao Nguyen, an estimated number of 10,000 people was expected to come to the event. To accompany their enjoyment of the food, there were several live entertainments at the centerpiece including Japanese pop singer, aikido performance, and a Polynesian dance.

Me and Andrea Pham. My face looks tired!

Panyembrama dance, performed by Jeanne Speier, left, and Kamelia Smith

One performance which quickly became the main highlight of the event was the Balinese dance of Panyembrama, performed by local dancer Jeanne Speier and her Indonesian partner Kamellia Smith. It marked the first time a Balinese dance got performed on the Asian Food Fest. Soon enough, a lot of passersby and visitors alike huddled in front of the stage, forming a crowd enthralled by the beauty of their movements.

On an interesting sidenote, Rio (son of Ria) manages to carve up an interesting chaise lounge sculpture from UNO wooden blocks

After the festival concluded, booth owner Ria said, “It was a challenge, but I am glad everyone seems to enjoy working in our booth! I am pretty confident that we can do much better next year. I have received suggestions that the booth can be more attractive by including more variety in the menu such as pisang goreng (fried banana) and traditional drinks such as "cendol" or "es teler". Also, some gamelan music can attract more attention”