Meer dan Babi Pangang

• Date:
• Time: Time depends on the date
• Location: Filmhuis Den Haag

Prior to the Meer dan Babi Pangang screenings on 19, 22 and 25 February, we will screen the short film Living in Limbo. On February 21st, we welcome director Julie Ng for a Q&A.

In Meer Dan Babi Pangang, Chinese-Dutch documentary filmmaker Julie Ng explores the success and impending demise of the Chinese-Indonesian restaurant, focusing on Golden House, her father's restaurant in Rozenburg. What begins as a search for the origins of babi pangang evolves into a personal and emotional exploration of her cultural and culinary identity as a Chinese-Dutch person. Why do Chinese-Indonesian restaurants serve dishes that Chinese people don't eat at home? What does this say about adaptation, perception, and how cultures relate to each other? And why is it that many Dutch people primarily associate "Chinese" with babi pangang—a dish born from the cross-pollination of three cultures: Chinese, Indo, and Dutch? The dish has Indo origins and a name, was adapted by Chinese restaurant owners, and is fully tailored to the tastes of their Dutch customers.

Meer Dan Babi Pangang is an ode to the first generation of Chinese-Dutch people who, through hard work, built an indispensable part of the Dutch streetscape. At the same time, it is an invitation to look beyond the takeaway menu.

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