(AseanAll) — The Ambassador of Indonesia to Cambodia, Dr. Santo Darmosumarto, opened the Indonesian Food Festival at Summer Bay Beach Club and Cabins in Sihanoukville on Saturday (15/2). The culinary festival, which took place from 15-19 February 2025, offered delightful, authentic Indonesian delicacies to the resort's guests.
In his remarks, Ambassador Santo applauded the management of Summer Bay Beach Club and Cabins for their initiative to showcase Indonesia's cuisine to locals and tourists in Sihanoukville. "This is a wonderful opportunity to introduce the rich and diverse flavors of Indonesian cuisine to our Cambodian friends. Sharing food is sharing culture," he said.
Various typical Indonesian dishes were available during the opening of the festival, including "betutu duck" from Bali and rendang from Padang. There were also traditional appetizers and desserts. To ensure the authenticity of the food served, the resort's management brought Chef Suyitno Sunaryo straight from a "sister hotel" in Jakarta.
The organizing of the Indonesian food festival in Sihanoukville is particularly meaningful when considering the city's growing Indonesian community. According to the Cambodian Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training, as of 31 December 2024, there were over 131,000 Indonesians living and working in Cambodia, a third of them most likely in Sihanoukville.
Ambassador Santo expressed hopes that the food festival would also contribute towards the strengthening of economic ties between Indonesia and Cambodia. Indonesia's F&B has grown immensely in the last two years, demonstrating the local Cambodian consumers' fondness of the Indonesian taste.
In 2024, the bilateral trade reached $1.1 billion, a significant increase from $699 million in 2020. This growth highlights the increasing demand for Indonesian goods, including food products. Indonesian brands are slowly becoming household names in Cambodia.
Events like these lay the groundwork for future bilateral collaborations in trade, tourism, and investment. At the same time, there is also hope that getting together over good food would also further strengthen the social and cultural bonds between the two nations.
