Celebrating with Whimsy

How else to celebrate marriage to a mad scientist but with a molecular dining experience? Uli and I spent over three hours eating a seventeen course meal at an small, inventive Jakarta restaurant Namaaz, where we found something to marvel at in each and every course. Thematically, each course had something to do with the chef's Indonesian childhood. he came out to explain each item and to share in our delight at the unexpected takes on traditional dishes. Let me give you a taste...

Course #1: An edible pen and piece of paper (flavor chicken curry) with the Indonesian writing basics equivalent of "See Jane run." Delightful. Crackers in the pencil sharpener and can opener in the pencil case.

Uli looks doubtful, but he did roll them up and eat them!

Course #2: A special orange soda (called Green Spot) with basil caviar.

Course #3:  Hard noodles with edible plastic packet of spices.

Course #4: Coins in different flavors to which broth was added to make soup.

Course #5: Commemorating memories of snail races, this was squid stuffed into a shell together with a spicy, edible black spoon.

Course #6: Looks like a sea urchin but it was actually a rice dish once you cut it open!

Course #7: Remembering sucking the juice from honeysuckle, this yummy nectar was served in a test tube from which you had to slurp the jelly.

Course #8: Edible cigarettes! The first ones were dipped in dry ice so that we could smoke them. These were served with spicy sambal ashes and also to eat.

Course #9: Looks like a donut and tea, right? Nope. Add the donut to the teabag with some hot water and it turns into beef curry!

Course #10: Commemorating swigging, this was a chicken on a dried bean skewer.

Course #11: Fish on a salted cutting board and served up in a cold, steaming salad (below).

Course #12: Something spicy and extremely yummy.

Course #13: Corned beef served with rice and egg in an unopened can.

Course #14: Icecream with caramel "toothpaste" to put on top (guaranteed to cause cavities).

Course #15: Something with melted candy as topping (sweet).

Course #16: Pacman marshmallow eating a raspberry.

Special Course served up for our anniversary!

An edible ring!

Course #17: Making a green balloon (connected to an Indonesian children's song).

Blowing it out of the candy mixture.

Adding liquid ice and smashing it up...

Eating the green balloon with its other colors (flavored capsules of watery substance).

The two of us, still smiling after eating so many fun foods!