Garoeda

It may be the name of an Indonesian airline and of a mythical creature, but it’s also the name of many Indonesian restaurants around the globe. Probably my favourite (not having been to Indonesia yet) is Garoeda in The Hague. It’s a bit tired around the edges but the location (just off the Royal Palace) and the architectural details inside, make it a nostalgic and very yummy food destination. Obviously the number of dishes to choose from are mind boggling, so I aways go for their Rijsttafel.

The rijsttafel was created to provide a festive and official type of banquet that would represent the multi-ethnic nature of the Indonesian archipelago. Dishes were assembled from many of the far flung regions of Indonesia, where many different cuisines exist, often determined by ethnicity and culture of the particular island — from Javanese sateh, tempeh and seroendeng, to vegetarian cuisine gado-gado and lodeh with sambal lalab from Batavia and Preanger. From spicy rendang and gulai curry from the Minangkabau region in Sumatra, to East Indies ubiquitous dishes nasi goreng, soto ayam, and kroepoek crackers. Also Indonesian dishes from hybrid influences; such as Chinese babi ketjap, loempia, and bami to European beef smoor.

It seems it’s temporarily closed (?), so I will need to pop over there to check soon if there is a worthy successor in The Hague.

Garoeda,
Kneuterdijk 18A, 2514 EN Den Haag, Netherlands