Indonesia is comprised of over 17,000 islands, hundreds of different ethnic groups and about 300 regional languages are still in use. Diversity of cultures and cuisines are just some of the riches of the country.

Gado-Gado (top left) is one of the favorite Indonesian dishes enjoyed by a large percentage of the population. It is comprised of mixed vegetables, eggs, and bean sprouts and is covered by a layer of spicy peanut sauce (to individual taste). It is both nutritious and very delicious.

Sate (in this case chicken sate) like gado-gado is enjoyed by the majority of the population under a wide variety of names usually related to one of the ethnic groups (not usually the one in which you buy it). For instance in Jakarta the most commonly marketed variety of sate is Sate Madura. However, wherever you buy it under any of the regional names used, it is highly delicious and usually served with steamed rice or lontong (bar-shaped rice steamed in banana leaves). The lontong is cut into slices, usually one per stick of sate and they are eaten together.

Rendang (bottom left) is another universal favorite. It is one of a wide variety of excellent Indonesian dishes from West Sumatra or Padang. Padang restaurants are probably the most prolific of any type of restaurant found in Indonesia. They are very popular because the variety of dishes seems endless, especially to the newcomer to a Padang restaurant, because the waiter/waitress seems to be continually bringing more plates of food to the table from the time you sit down till you leave.

You are not expected to eat it all, this is just the traditional way of serving the food. Each person chooses what dishes they prefer to eat, it's kind of like a mini-buffet at your table. This is one of the reasons for its popularity, everyone is usually satisfied with the variety provided