Jaunted

This multi- (and we do mean multi) course meal is like the Indonesian version of Spanish tapas, with small plates of delicious food arriving at your table in what seems like an endless parade. And the best place in the city to try it, without a doubt, is a restaurant we found in a hip little area of the city close to, but away from, the tourist throngs. Its name: Blue Pepper.

Blue Pepper serves modern Indonesian food raised to a whole other sensual level, with three different feasts for customers to choose from: The Sultan and I, Lolita, and the Blue Marilyn. We say go for the gusto and have The Sultan and I at a well-worth-it 70 Euros per person.

This exotic offering includes about fourteen dishes and all deserve to be savoured slowly, from the soft shell crab, mango and pineapple tamarind salad to the French baby hen in an East Javanese begana sauce of roasted coconut, cumin and coriander. The food has a bit of heat to it, nothing alarming, so be sure to have one of the recommended wines chosen to complement the dishes.

Once the feast was over, we left the flavors of the kitchen behind and walked into the invigorating night of the city, away from sultry idea of Indonesia and back to the cool of a very real Amsterdam eve.

[Photo: Janice Tober/Jaunted]