A touch of history at Dolf Rik’s

An artist as well as a chef, Dolf is as known for his art (shown to his right) as he is for his delicious entreés.

by Jay Patterson
The group of islands which are collectively called Indonesia covers more square miles than most of the countries on earth. They are scattered over the South Pacific, and therefore have a mind-boggling diversity of languages, dialects within languages and a cultural diversity which could be explored for years. One would still not be familiar with the ‘total’ Indonesia, though.
Aside from the indigenous cultures, there have also been influences from outside. This country has been Hindu, Buddhist and is now officially Muslim. Part of the Srivichaya empire, which included mainland South-East Asia, it later came under the influence of Muslim traders who also successfully converted the Islands to Islam.
During the great European conquests, these highly desirable and rich islands were fought over by the various European powers. The spices, abundant wildlife, gold and the famous diamonds of Kalimantan were powerful magnets to a Europe which was constantly spreading her tentacles over the earth. In the end, the Dutch won and this paradise came under Dutch rule.
Along with culture came culinary diversity. With a cornucopia of ingredients and a tropical climate, people did not have to meet ‘deadlines’ in the kitchen. Time could be taken in the preparation of food. Preparing a meal could take a whole day or even two. This allowed the cuisine of the islands to develop into one of the world’s most complex and subtle diets.
Indonesian food is probably not as well known as that from other Asian countries because the emigration rate was low compared to that of the Chinese and Japanese. Indian food had been taken over the globe by the British and the popularity of Thai food is only recent as the Thais only began emigrating to other countries in the 1970’s.
The Thai impression of Indonesian food is that it is the same as that of India. Indian food is not popular with the majority of Thais. They find the spice mixtures too ‘pungent’ or plain smelly. Most Thais don’t realise that Thai food and Indonesian have a lot in common, especially the chilli sauces which the Thai call Nam Prik and are known to the Indonesians as sambal.
I once had a class in which the Indonesian Ambassador to Thailand’s daughter studied. I had told her of my fondness for Indonesian sambals. The day the course concluded, she brought me bottles of the different types of sambal which her mother had made for me.
The Thai students in the class were very leery when I suggested they take a whiff of these. “Acharn”, they said in Thai. “We don’t like Indian food.” But after one smell one could see them salivating. “But this smells like nam prik”. All charm was then turned on as my students tried to wheedle the gifts from me.
Few people realise that some of the best Indonesian food outside of Indonesia can be found in Pattaya.
Dolf Riks was born in Indonesia and spent much of his youth there. Usually, growing up in a foreign country as the child of expatriate or colonials gives the person an unusual ‘inside’ and ‘outside’ view of the country’s culture. When Dolf was 14, he and his family were interred in a Japanese concentration camp. Listening to Dolf’s stories of what the people in the camp ate, it is not surprising that he should appreciate good food. Pattaya Mail staff are always spellbound by Dolf’s stories and the fact that he can recount these experiences with such philosophical equanimity makes listening to them an educational experience rather than a ghoulish horror story. Dolf spent three and one half years in the camp before and after liberation returned to Holland. Having lost so much time he and his siblings studied diligently to make up for the time lost in the camps. Dolf studied navigation and studied the Indonesian language in a more methodical manner than he had while living in the country.
After finishing his education in Holland, he began working with a shipping company and returned to Asia in 1952.
Dolf’s two loves are painting and cooking and in 1961 he finally settled down in Thailand. Living in Bangkok for 7 years, he devoted himself to painting, and in 1969, moved to Pattaya. Dolf has been a local institution since then.
His first restaurant, Dolf Riks, became world famous. Diners at Dolf’s restaurant included international calibre artists, actors, and writers. Dolf’s restaurant was the place to go for those visiting Thailand.
Just having the chance to talk with Dolf makes a visit to his restaurant an experience. But the food. Ah, the food!
We were so busy talking with Dolf that we almost forgot to order. The menu includes European, Thai and Indo-nesian food.
We agreed that there could be only one choice. The Indonesian Rijstaafel. Ordering this ‘comprehensive’ meal would give us an overview of the many types of food from the Indonesian kitchen. This meal consists of rice and a host of accom-panying dishes of many different origins. There are 2 types of rice; white rice garnished with crisp fried onions and cucumbers and yellow rice (or Khao Mok in the Thai language). This rice is yellow and cooked with herbs and coconut milk.
Served with the rice is a variety of curries. A chicken curry from the Spice Islands with coconut cream, a beef curry with rich gravy made from an indigenous black nut. This is an East Javan speciality. An Indian style meatball curry completes the rich savouries.
Next was Sayor Lodeh, a clear vegetable soup which is similar to Thai Gaeng Som with an Indonesian accent. An accompaniment was eggs with ginger and soy sauce gravy. Several indispensable Indo-nesian sambal complete this culinary rainbow.
Sambal Goreng Udang, shrimps in a spicy sauce with fragrant beans known as Setor in Thai, Sambal Bajak a combination of chillies and shrimp paste, lemon grass and indigenous white nuts. This is accompanied by Acar Campar, a mixed pickle.
These are served together, but one should try a bit of this and that and not dump everything on the rice at the same time as it makes for a faceless melange of tastes and is considered insulting to the cook.
This is probably the most exotically delicious and interesting meal one could find in Pattaya. The cost of the Rijstaffel is less than 200 baht per person.
The classic Indonesian Sateh may be ordered separately.
Service is excellent with Dolf supervising the cooking and his partner Khun Buathong and family managing the restaurant.
A visit to Dolf Rik’s restaurant is a must for all visitors to Pattaya.

Recipe: BOEJA

One needs half a cup of Darjeeling tea or Chinese fermented brick tea (whatever that is); 10 cups of hot water; half a cup of butter; salt to taste and one cup of heavy cream.
The tea is soaked in hot water for a while, then boiled for about ten to fifteen minutes for Chinese tea and less for Darjeeling tea. Strain the tea and put it in a churn (one may use a blender). Add the other ingredients, mix for three minutes and serve immediately in cups.
The author says that you can do it the easy way by putting a lump of butter, salt and cream in a cup and pour on the boiling tea. This is the common way for Tibetan travellers to make their beloved beverage.
There is much more in this delightful and refreshingly written book. The first part is devoted to customs, religion, folklore, food and food habits, while the latter part contains the recipes of original Tibetan dishes, as well as dishes which according to the author are adaptations from neighbouring countries. There are recipes for soups, vegetable dishes, dumplings, breads and sweets. There is a recipe for a fabulous New Year’s soup, called “Boetuk” which contains all kinds of familiar ingredients, like tomatoes, onions, spices, lamb, marrow bones, soy sauce and small dumplings.
Food in Tibetan Life.
Ringjing Dorje 1985
Distributed in the US by The University of Virginia
Box 3608 University Station
Charlottesville VA 22903
ISBMN 0 907325 22 X (Hardback), ISBN 0 907325 26 2 (Paperback)