Jakarta (ANTARA News) - A "Wonderful Indonesia" restaurant offering specific Indonesian culinary, will be opened in Hefei, Anhui Province, China, on April 16 this year.

The opening of the restaurant would be the start of Wonderful Indonesian promotion internationally by introducing Indonesian dishes, I Gde Pitana, deputy in charge of international tourism marketing of the tourism ministry, said, here, Sunday.

The restaurant will offer among other things delicious beef rendang of West Sumatra, nasi goreng (fried rice), satay, soto ayam (a kind of chicken soup), ox tail soup, and rawon (dark beef soap) of East Java.

Some 30 Indonesian dishes and traditional beverages will be available in the restaurant.

The 400-m2-large restaurant will have two Indonesian chefs.

The population of Anhui is around 80 millions, and eight million of them live in Hefei.

The restaurant will both promote Indonesian dishes and "Wonderful Indonesia" tourism branding, Pitana said.

A culinary diplomacy is the most effective soft power to promote the countrys tourism, he added,

Vinsensius Jemadu, the ministrys deputy assistant in charge of tourism promotion in Asia and the Pacific, said the restaurant is opened in cooperation with a Chinese investor who has been engaged in restaurant business.

If the restaurant business in Hefei runs successfully, the ministry plans to open 10 Wonderful Indonesia restaurants in other locations. (*)

Editor: Heru Purwanto
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