The sizzling sound of fried shallot from the night traveling hawker and the pungent aroma of garlic and chilli seep in to my nose. I watched the Abang worked his hands around the wok masterfully. He added the extra chilli paste into the mixture of stir-fried garlic and shallot and the aroma immediately punched me in the nose. My stomach growled from hunger. The night traveling food carts are normally seen around Indonesian housing complex, and is the biggest part of Indonesian street food culture.
I can say that street food vendors play an important role on how I experience food in my life. Growing up, I was surrounded by myriads of
K.F. Seetoh, Founder of Makan Sutra demonstrated how to cook Hokkien Noodle
hawker vendors as my family lived in a housing complex provided for civil servants in Kemanggisan, West Jakarta area. Everyday I would see traveling hawker carts selling meatball soup, chicken noodles, fried rice, murtabak, siomay , lamb spiced soup (tongseng) and many more, went pass around my house. Their unique yells when calling out customers always make my mouth waters. When I had the chance to study abroad, the homesick I had was not of my home or how my room felt, but it was the hawker foods.
I am quite lucky to be able to travel to several parts of the world and had the chance to see and taste street foods from other countries. There is certain satisfaction to see one’s culture through their local foods; what flavors influence their lives and how much It plays the part in their lives.
That is why when I heard that Singapore is having “World Street Food Conference” from May 31 – June 9, 2013 in F1 Pit Building & Paddock, I can’t help but feel very excited. Imagine sampling street food from around the world, from our beloved country, Indonesia, and several Asian countries to Peru and the US! It would be something of my dream!
The “World Street Food Conference 2013” in Singapore would be the first in the world. It is aimed to connect and explore the possibilities to bring the street food culture into the recognizition it deserves, as well as celebrating the richness and vibrancy of this world’s unique treasure. It also aims to profesionalize the industry and create opportunities for culinary professionals. KF Seetoh, the founder of Makan Sutra Singapore said, “WSFC is really about what a humble plate of sate can do for jobs, education, society and business.” It’s true. Hawker vendors are culinary professionals. When we see the Abang nasi goreng preparing the humble meal for us, he is actually contributing to job creation and the economy. We never thought of it that way, right? We should start , I think.
I had the opportunity to speak to Bapak Bondan Winarno, Chief of Jalan Sutra, and ask him about why Indonesian food is not recognized internationally compares to those of Thai or Vietnam food, to which he said, “ We have been focusing in promoting Indonesia as a destination, but neglecting to recognize how rich our food culture and promoting it as our rich cultural heritage. For example, if you go to Semarang, I bet you that my list of culinary places will outnumber the destination attraction it has been promoting.” He also added that it is about time that we bring the richness of our street food culture to International platform and that Indonesian travel and food bloggers play an important role in promoting them to the world.
Bondan Winarno, Chief of Jalan Sutra Community
Indonesia will take part in the World Street Food Conference this year. William Wongso, an Indonesian culinary expert, will be presenting Indonesian street food at the Dialogues in the conference. The event will consist of three parts: The World Street Food Jamboree, where up to 40 of the world’s best hand-picked hawkers will showcase their food; The World Street Food Dialogue – a two-day of leadership, networking and ideas conference on June 3rd and 4th; and The Awards event to recognize up to 16 top street food industry players.
The event is ticketed. For those of you who would like to see the Food Jamboree, single-day passes are priced at SGD28 and include SGD8 administration fee , SGD 20 worth of food coupons and access to all demonstration and live music performances. Those who are interested in the two-day Dialogue program, the tickets range from SGD630 (early bird) to SGD750 per person. For more information, you can visit here
The event is organized by Makan Sutra and supported by Singapore Tourism Board.
