FOOD is one of the major components of culture and heritage. We get to know people more by the food they eat and seeing how these are prepared. Most of all, partaking of them.
Thus was our experience in the lunch invitation by Indonesian Consul General Berlian Napitupulu during the Media Briefing on Tourism Culture and Economic Promotion held at the Consulate General in Matina, Davao City.
Since I had my staff with me to take care of the news part, I gawked at and tasted the food and realized that Indonesia has indeed cranked up its global presence through their packaged products, specifically coffee and sweets.
Their sweets with repeated names were too fun to resist taking photos of, but impressive were the packaging and flavors of their chocolates that underlined the Indonesian.
There were the apple and strawberry-flavored chocolates that still came out Indonesian because they came in woven bamboo boxes. Then there were the chili, ginger, and cinnamon-flavored chocolates whose packaging had the wayang kulit (shadow puppets), which Indonesia is known for.
Their identity is clearly stamped on their products, and I find that really cool to be proud of your nationality that way.
I like being invited to Indonesian events here at the off-chance that there will be the salak fruit on the table. And on that media briefing, there was, and I was happy. Happier because may didn't like it, and so that meant, I get to have more. (Oops!)
Salak is a species of palm tree (family Arecaceae) native to Java and Sumatra in Indonesia although this has already been propagated in other areas like Sulawesi, Bali, and Maluku.
It is named snakefruit because its skin is like the scales of a snake. It's something you learn to love. When I first tasted Salak, I didn't like it. Its flavor is very strong. It's like durian with spices thrown in, very pungent and strong spices. But I was willing to give the fruit a second chance. Thus, when I tasted it again in Bali, I started to appreciate its unique flavor and texture. Now, I look forward to that every chance that I stumble upon Salak in one of my trips.
On the business side of the meeting was the invitation to Davao businessmen to join the Trade Expo Indonesia in October this year, to be held in Tangerang in the province of Banten, Indonesia.
Considered as one of Asia's biggest business-to-business export product exhibitions, Mindanao enterprises can have the exposure they need to reach their target markets. Expo organizers are targeting 1,110 exhibitors, 28,000 visitors from 125 countries and $1.5 billion worth of transactions up from last year's $1.41 billion.