Friends and I were talking about how in Miami there’s not a lot of Asian culture going on, much to our regret. So it was with special delight I got the news about Balinese celebrations of music, dance, and Indonesian tapas at the Kampong today to January 3. And there are activities too for a family outing. Here’s the scoop:

Nightly performances begin with a female offering dance, followed by a topang (mask dance) in an evening filled with traditional Balinese music and shadow puppetry under the direction of Dr. Andy McGraw of the University of Richmond and Balinese master artist Gusti Sudarta.  All performances are  accompanied by gamelan musicians.

The Kampong will open at 5 pm for visitors wanting to see the garden in daylight. Krakatoa Indonesian Cuisine will have Balinese tapas available for purchase from 5 pm – 6:30 pm. Performances begin at 6:30 pm. $35 adults/$15 children (ages 4-12 yrs), Dec. 29, Dec. 30, Jan. 1, Jan. 2, Jan. 3.  There will also be two workshops offered: Bamboo Instrument Making: Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2 pm $20 Shadow Puppet Workshop for kids: Friday, Jan. 2, 2 pm $5.  The Kampong is one of five tropical gardens and three preserves of the National Tropical Botanical Garden. It is on the National Register of Historic Places.

For more information visit the website  call 305.442.7169 or email: kampong@ntbg.org.

And if you want more Indonesian cuisine, don’t forget Indomania in the Beach where you can enjoy a typical rijstaffel.

Photo courtesy of ediblesouthflorida.com