As you might expect from a nation of over 17,000 islands, Indonesia is a food lover’s paradise. However, it remains a relatively undiscovered region which forever lives under the gourmet shadow of its northern rivals: Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam. Most people—if they have any notion of Indonesian cuisine at all—may associate it with nasi goring (fried rice) or satay (meat cooked and presented on skewers with peanut sauce), but despite the fact that both of these dishes can be delicious, it does a great disservice to an archipelago containing hundreds of different cultures and a wide range of flora and fauna. There has also been a long history of immigration and integration, so Chinese cooking and influences are very strong—as to a lesser extent are Indian and Arabic flavors. However, these influences and styles vary greatly across a country which stretches more than 2800 miles from Medan in Sumatra to Jayapura in Papua. For those who truly want a gastronomic tour with a difference, there can be few things more adventurous and intriguing than traveling through Indonesia’s regions and sampling the different local culinary specialties.