Living in Italy, and after a weekend in overpriced Switzerland, the Netherlands is a refreshing change of pace when it comes to international cuisine. Central Apeldoorn is full of ethnic dining options, and highly recommended is the Bumbu Desa Indonesian Restaurant.
Famous in the Netherlands (so we are told) is the Rijsttafel – Rice Table. That was our goal when we set out this evening, and so we were directed to Bumbu Desa by our hotel. It was such a nice evening out though that we decided to dine al fresco, as we enjoyed the late sunset being at such a high latitude offers this time of year. As such we skipped the Rijsttafel and went for traditional menu offerings Nasi Rames and Loempia, and vegetarian Nasi Vega.
We were totally blown away. The food was such an amazing change from what we are used to, exciting, and full of flavor. The last time we had food like this was during our February 2014 trip to Penang, but this was distinctly different, as we’ve never experienced Indonesian food before. Honestly, we both inhaled our enormous portions, but we thoroughly enjoyed the full experience.
As much as the food, we enjoyed the service. Our server was very gracious, put up with our total lack of Dutch linguistic skills, and enthusiastically translated the menu items. Twice he came back from the kitchen to ensure our requests were being understood correctly.
Monday night is a VERY slow night in central Apeldoorn, so had we been seated inside, we’d have had the entire place to ourselves. Underrated, we give Bumbu Desa five stars as the best (and only) Indonesian food we’ve ever had.
Intentionally International 