Eat local and rein in the parties, Indonesian officials told

Indonesia has ordered officials to eat local street food at meetings instead of fancy foreign fare and to stop holding lavish parties - the latest moves by the new government to crack down on bureaucratic excess.

Snacks such as cassava, steamed corn and yam cakes should be served at official gatherings and the number of guests invited to high-ranking bureaucrats' parties should be limited to 400, a minister said.

President Joko Widodo, who took office last month and is a modest figure from a humble background, has made reining in official spending and trimming back the graft-ridden nation's bloated democracy a key goal.

He has already slashed travel and meeting budgets for next year, and last week sought to lead by example when he flew economy class to Singapore for his son's graduation, winning widespread praise online.

Announcing the latest moves late on Thursday, Yuddy Chrisnandi, the minister for bureaucratic reform, ordered officials to "stop anything that is excessive".

He said that gluttonous officials were at risk of developing high cholesterol and high blood pressure, and that buying local snacks would help Indonesian farmers.