“Among all of the foods, nasi goreng is a classic dish that became one of the plot devices,” said Muhammad Zaidy, one of the film’s producers, after a press conference of Aruna and Her Palate on Thursday in Central Jakarta. “It’s because Aruna misses a particular nasi goreng dish made by her late mbok [maid]. It also becomes one of her missions to find a similar dish when she travels with her friends while working.”

Along those lines, the team of Aruna and Her Palate film is collaborating with Cinema 21 movie theater network to make a fried rice dish, dubbed Nasi Goreng Aruna (Aruna Fried Rice), which will be sold in selected outlets. “It’ll be available before the movie is released. We’re targeting early September, so hopefully it’s ready by then and the nasi goreng can be enjoyed while watching the film,” Zaidy said.

Read also: Friendship and food in ‘Aruna and Her Palate’

Aside from Nasi Goreng Aruna, said to be special for using kencur (aromatic ginger) as one of the main spices, there are three other dishes that represent the main characters in the film, such as es kopi susu pandan (pandan ice milk coffee) from Nad, waffle dengan gula aren (waffle with palm sugar) from Bono and kentang goreng sambal manis (fried potato with sweet sambal) from Farish.

“All of them have their own stories,” Zaidy said. He added that, unlike Nasi Goreng Aruna, the drink and dishes will be available in all theater outlets.

Aruna and Her Palate will be released on Sept. 27 and stars Dian Sastrowardoyo, Nicholas Saputra, Hannah Al-Rashid and Oka Antara. (wng)

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