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An oasis for fine dining

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SCMP Reporter

Jakarta's Oasis Restaurant is world famous for serving Indonesia's national cuisine at its most elegant.

Twelve women, wearing the national sarong and kebaya, each serve a course of the renowned rijsttafel, a 'rice table' feast of spiced dishes including lamb stew, sate, fish, vegetables and curry.

The restaurant is a converted Dutch plantation owner's mansion which, during World War II, became the unofficial residence of the last governor general of the Dutch East Indies.

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In the entrance hall, guests are greeted by the sounding of a giant gong, a relic from one of Central Java's royal palaces dating back to the 18th century.

During the rijsttafel feast, minstrels serenade diners but the star of the show is the 85-year-old owner, Malia Soenario, who still oversees the restaurant. She has earned her nation's highest tourism honour, the Adikarya Wisata award, for her contribution to the capital's reputation for refined Indonesian hospitality and grandeur.

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For 25 years, she has welcomed kings, princes, film stars and international celebrities to her personal oasis of style and she shows no signs of retiring.

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