Thursday, December 20, 2007 1st Indonesian food festival set Dec. 29 By Joy Romares-Sevilla
TO SHOWCASE Indonesia's cuisine and culture, the Indonesian Consulate Office in Davao City will conduct the first Indonesian Food and Cultural Festival on December 29 at the SM Davao Entertainment Plaza.
Consul and First Secretary of the Indonesian Consulate General Bambang Gunawan said this in Wednesday's edition of the Club 888 press forum.
"This is the first time that the Indonesian Consulate will hold a food and cultural festival. We are excited to know what is the result of the event and hopefully next year, we will conduct the same activity," Gunawan said in an interview.
Gunawan said Indonesian dishes will be displayed during the festival.
"We encourage people who are interested in culinary to come. This is an opportunity to broaden their knowledge about our culture, food is also part of our culture," Gunawan said, adding that some ingredients used for Filipino dishes are also used for preparing Indonesian foods.
Gunawan further said there will be no participants from Indonesia who will come over to Davao for the event. He said the event will be opened by the Consul General of Indonesia.
"We invited groups and associations from Davao for the event. All ingredients of the food to be displayed will just come from Davao. It can be tasted by visitors and also, the preparation can be explained to them if they request to," Gunawan said.
The festival, Gunawan said, will start from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Meanwhile, Gunawan claimed that there are more than 8,000 Indonesians who live in Mindanao at present.
"Most of them live in Southern Mindanao, some are in General Santos City, and in Glan in Sarangani Province. Most of them are farmers and fishermen. In Davao City, most Indonesian who live here are students," Gunawan said. (JGRS)
