I don't know if the Indonesian food served in the Netherlands is as (not) authentic as Mexican food is in Texas, so I thought I should add the Netherlands qualifier. Please give me a primer on Indonesian food commonly served in the Netherlands.

Please tell me what is farily accessible, what isn't very spicy, and what doesn't have coconut milk (allergic; but peanuts are okay.) (Please don't lecture me on trying new, exotic foods. Some in our group are adventurous eaters and some are not.)

Thanks in advance.

It is not at all authentic, but it is tasty.

The best thing to do is when you go to a restaurant order a rijsttafel and explain that you have a coconut (kokos) allergy (that may be a problem - lots of dishes use coconut milk or coconut). If you want things hot/spicy then ask for pittig, if you don't then niet pittig.

You will get a wide range of dishes to try - you are all bound to find something you like - even if it is only the Saté and the bami (fried noodles) or nasi (fried rice). Oh and the pisang goreng of course.

After visiting the Netherlands last year (wonderful; we loved it, and will return as soon as we can), and eating one rijsttafel dinner, here's our assessment.

DH is Indian, and we eat quite a bit of ethnic food, not tremendously spicy, but perhaps somewhat more than many Americans. I love Thai, Malaysian, and of course Indian.

I would say that the rijsttafel in the Netherlands is authentic to the Netherlands - it's not like you'd get in Indonesian, but my impression was that the rijsttafel or Indonesian food has developed its own culture in the Netherlands, if that makes sense. (Or maybe I assuming that it has its own culture, just like now there's New Mexican cuisine, that's similar to Mexican, but also is it's own thing.)

We found it not spicy at all, or maybe one dish out of the many was spicy. In fact, I might have said the dishes, on the whole, were somewhat bland, from our point of view. A lot of the dishes seemed similar, either the same sauce or the same underlying meat or seafood. I guess we're glad we did it once, but we wouldn't do it again. (We might go out for Indonesian food, but would just order entrees and starters.)

I would say with a group that includes adventurous and non-adventurous people, a rijsttafel would work out quite well. And as hetijmij said, with so many dishes, everyone is bound to find things they like!

Rijsttafels are a purely Dutch invention and tend to be mild for the Dutch palate. That's why you have to say if you want it pittig.
Our local Indonesian serves us hotter stuff - nearer to what they themselves eat.

I have eaten with Indonesian friends and some of what they normally eat is mind-blowingly hot.

Thanks. What is a rijsttafel?

It's an Indonesian feast composed of many different small dishes - a kind of tasting menu. Google it.

It's probably the perfect thing for a group, as you can all try different things and avoid ones that don't appeal to you. But you should know that Indonesian food relies on coconut and coconut milk, peanuts, curries, and spices (though no rijstaffel I ever had in the Netherlands seemed even remotely spicy to me - we always asked for extra hot condiments).

I have trouble in Thai restaurants. Thank goodness I don't have a peanut allergy or I'd go hungry.

The rijstaffel (rice table) is really, really good, and when we were working on a trip to Amsterdam 9 years ago, the information from the Fodors Community was phenomenal! A couple of people suggested to me the restaurant tempo doeloe and it was really so good that we went twice, even though I kind of like to try different places.

Take a look at the link below -- info is in English and there's a link for the menu with explanations in English as to what each of the items are. I think it will help you a lot.

http://www.tempodoeloerestaurant.nl/en1.htm

Thanks, Surfergirl. In years past (when the econonmy was booming), I planned one or two big trips every year and the fodors commuity was terrific, from telling me where to park to restaurant recomendations, etc. This time around, there have been fewer answers to my queries....perhaps because I'm no longer a fixture here. (Maybe when the economy gets better, I will be!) Thanks again.

Most Indonesian restaurants stink of cooking oil, like a Taco Bell. The best they have is pork on skewers with a hot spicy peanut butter sauce, with rice. Delicious. The rijsttafel seems to be something that a salt and oil loving travel writer discovered. Instead, I suggest that each person order what they want and pass the plates. The main orders are on plates separate from your eating plate, and there is a huge bowl of rice for bedding your meal. The rice helps take some of the sting out of the spicy items.

To anyone claiming that "rijsttafel" is not authentically Indonesian: indeed it isn't. That's because "Indisch" is not to be translated as Indonesian, but as "eurasian". It's a colonial, mestizo cuisine of people of mixed Indonesian/Dutch descent. Indonesian food is something else altogether. Be that as it may, the "Indonesian" (and also Eurasian) way is not to eat everything a rijsttafel has to offer, but to take rice as a base, and combine a limited number of dishes, making sure spice, salty, sour and sweet are in balance. So a typical combination would be: rice + sayur (a "wet" vegetable dish, meant both as a side dish and a savoury "sauce" to wet the rice a little) , a meat dish like ayam kecap (chicken in soy sauce), acar ketimun (lightly pickled fresh cucumber) and some serundeng for sweets and crunchy texture and a sambalan, like sambal goreng buncis. That's it! Even at a feast, which the rijsttafel seeks to imitate, no one eats everything on a plate, but chooses a combination. Satay is typical street food, and so is nasi goreng (actually a breakfast of yesterday's leftover rice) Good "indisch" restaurants in Amsterdam are Djago (south) and Sukasari on Damstraat, that has female cooks, always much better than male cooks, imo. The place for best "indisch" food is The Hague, not Amsterdam. Even dishes that have chili in them should never be overpowered by them, but should have a balanced taste, enabling you to taste the entire spice mix that is in them (bumbu). If chili predominates, you know you're in the wrong place.

Those lucky enough to be in the Netherlands in May can head to the Tong Tong Fair in The Hague, a huge Eurasian gathering, where all kinds of food, both Indonesian and "indisch" are on offer to get a taste of the really real deal. The best "indisch" food is not served in a restaurant (too much adaptation to European taste buds), but at home.

Thanks. Can you recommend a good restaurant in The Hague.

Also, any tips on how to pronounce "rijsttafel"?

I have eaten at Dayang (Prinsestraat 65) and Ratu Raja (also on Prinsestraat, on #30, almost across) Dayang is more traditional, and really almost like a take away place, with only two small tables, but delicious food. Ratu Raja is the more interesting place, combining Indonesian tastes with French classic cuisine. This is not as far fetched as it sounds, it's very interesting and very well executed and it's really surprising that Ratu Raja hasn't won a michelin star. Yet prices are entirely reasonable. Worth a detour, as they say.

http://www.raturaja.com/

Also good is Keraton Damai on Groot Hertoginnelaan 57. This is the more traditional restaurant, compared to Ratu Raja. Quite authentic "indisch" family cooking.

Back from the trip and just wanted to say that we saw almost no Indonesian restaurants. We didn't seek out any specific one, but I only recall passing one. Thai was a different story - everywhere. There were two Thai restaurants on the block on which our flat was located.

there are Chinese-Indonesche (sp?) restaurants all over Amsterdam IME - lots in normal neighbordhoods well away from the tourist epicentres as well that would be authentic Dutch Indonesian eateries.

My tip - Do NOT just a Rijstaffel meal by how many dishes they include - dishes could include one with just peanuts - one with just rice crackers, etc - Touristed restaurants seem to advertise how many dishes but IME this is a poor indicator of how the food will taste.