‘Meer Dan Babi Pangang’ Release

Genre: documentary
Length: 71 min.
Language spoken: Dutch, Cantonese

In More Than Babi Pangang, the Chinese-Dutch documentary maker Julie Ng investigates the success and imminent demise of the Chinese-Indonesian restaurant, based on Golden House, her father’s restaurant in Rozenburg. What starts as a search for the origins of the dish babi pangang, grows into a personal and emotional exploration of her cultural and culinary identity as a Chinese Dutchman. Why do Chinese-Indonesian restaurants serve dishes that Chinese people don’t eat at home? What does that say about adaptation, perception and the way in which cultures relate to each other? And why is it that many Dutch people think of ‘the Chinese’ mainly as babi pangang – a dish that has emerged from the cross-pollination of three cultures: the Chinese, the Indonesian and the Dutch. The dish has an Indian origin and name, was adapted by Chinese restaurateurs and is fully tailored to the taste of their Dutch customers.

More Than Babi Pangang is an ode to the first generation of Chinese Dutch people who worked hard to build an indispensable part of the Dutch street scene. At the same time, it is an invitation to look beyond the takeaway menu.