How Chinese is Chinese food?

Chinese-Indies restaurants in the Netherlands have become such a significant part of Dutch culture that they are officially part of Dutch immaterial heritage. They have become so commonplace, we almost forget that the dishes and interiors of these restaurants themselves have a story to tell. Do you have any idea what the actual purpose is of those gold cats waving at the door?

In the 1950s going to a Chinese restaurant was for many people in the Netherlands their first experience of ‘eating out’, not least because it was reasonably priced. These restaurants offered a mix of Chinese and Indies dishes.

The first Chinese eating place ‘Cheung Kwok Low’ was opened in 1920 in Katendrecht in Rotterdam. At the time it was mainly frequented by dock workers who came to work in the Netherlands because the Stoomvaart Maatschappij Nederland (Netherlands Steamship Company) was looking for cheap labour. As dock worker or stoker on the big ships, they often did heavy work in the harbours of Amsterdam, Rotterdam and elsewhere.

After World War II Chinese restaurants changed in character. Most Europeans from the colonial society settled in the Netherlands after the war and Indonesian independence, bringing with them different eating habits. The military who had served in Indonesia between 1945 and 1949 also wanted to eat Indies food now and again.

The demand for Indies dishes resulted in Chinese restaurants putting them on the menu. Chefs with experience of Indies food were taken on to prepare the ‘new’ dishes, such as Saté, Gado and Nasi Rames, and to teach the Chinese chefs.

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