The TV show opened with Indonesian culinary expert Bondan Winarno and his youngest daughter, Gwendoline Amanda Wirastari, standing in front of Prambanan Temple on the outskirts of Yogyakarta. The morning sun filtered though the temple towers, creating a serene, majestic tableau.
The father and daughter scoured the temple and briefly explained its history. Afterward, they went to Pasar Lempuyangan in Yogyakarta to enjoy jadah manten, a traditional sweet and savory snack made of cassava, brown sugar and coconut.
“I love this so much,” Gwen said, smiling at the camera.
Father and daughter were filming an episode for the first season of “Taste of Indonesia,” a TV program that showcases the riches of Indonesian cuisines on the Asian Food Channel.
Based in Singapore, the AFC is a 24-hour cable and satellite TV channel that features Asian foods and lifestyles.
In Indonesia, AFC is broadcast by major cable TV providers, including First Media, Indovision, Aora and Telkomvision.
Through AFC, the “Taste of Indonesia” is being aired in Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Brunei, Hong Kong, Mongolia and Indonesia.
“A survey showed that AFC beat all other channels when the ‘Taste of Indonesia’ was aired in prime time,” according to Foo.
The research, conducted by AGB Nielsen in Malaysia, showed that approximately 3.2 million viewers watched the first screening of the show in that country alone.
“It shows that our viewers are enthusiastic to see more and more Indonesian [culinary] programs,” Foo said.
Reruns of the show are now being aired on AFC in eight countries on Fridays at 8:30 p.m. Jakarta time.