The biggest food story in Indonesia last year had almost nothing to do with food (or at least anything that could be considered edible). The country was captivated for months by the ever-twisting court case of Jessica Kumala Wongso—a young woman who was sentenced to 20 years in prison for murdering her friend with cyanide-spiked iced Vietnamese coffee at an upscale Central Jakarta cafe. And because this is Indonesia, the cafe itself, Olivier in Grand Indonesia, quickly became a popular spot to sip coffee and take a selfie. 

It’s a pretty disappointing year when the top food story is a murder case. Besides Locavore, a sustainably sourced collaboration between Ray Adriansyah and Eelke Plasmeijer, being named as one of Asia’s 50 best restaurants. What else happened in 2016? 

“2016 was generally pretty shitty for everyone,” said Sebastian Subakti, the owner and head chef of Taco Local and Bao Ji. “For the restaurant industry especially.”

Indonesian eateries, driven by the demands of social media exposure, spent much of 2016 chasing the food hype train. Many casual diners still fancy themselves expert “foodies” in cities like Jakarta and Bandung, and food photos are the norm on Instagram, Snapchat, and Path. It’s created a situation where a trend can rise up seemingly out of nowhere and suddenly dominate your feed (or even worse.. the market).

“Hopefully the number of people who know what they want to eat instead of those who just follow the trends will increase so the food industry can really grow,” Sebastian said. 

Here’s some of the trends that dominated Indonesia’s culinary scene last year: 

Food Deliveries 

The rise of on-demand food delivery services has made it even easier for new trendy takeout joints to crop up in a matter of weeks. But the same delivery services are also a lifeline for struggling stand-alone mom and pop shops. 

Diners tend to prefer malls over one-stop eateries (because traffic is so bad) so many independent places outside malls are turning to apps like GO-Jek to find hungry people. 

“Thank God for GO-Jek though, they are responsible for more than 40 percent of our sales,” Sebastian said. “But then again you know what that means, right? It’s 15 percent for them out of that 40 percent, which still makes it equally fucking hard for us in the end.”

The Rise of Brunch 

Indonesia has some of the best coffee beans in the world, so it’s no surprise that coffee shops continue to be wildly popular. And what compliments coffee better than brunch? For every annoying, gimmicky dish that grabs attention on social media (*cough* avocado toast *cough*), there’s an amazing spot like Locavore, in Bali. The rise of brunch, experts said, has everything to do with coffee. 

“[Look at all] these brunch places that have been popping up all over the city,” Sebastian said. “I mean, we all know that it all started with the third wave coffee shop culture. What best to compliments those cups of coffee? Brunch.”

Asian Comfort Food is Still Going Strong

Abroad, chefs like David Chang, Danny Bowien, and Eddie Huang have popularized the concept of Asian comfort food, but here in Indonesia it’s an obsession—especially if it means adding Korean or Japanese ingredients to traditional methods and flavors. Local eateries are often looking to combine popular East Asian flavors with popular Indonesian dishes, said Chris Kerrigan, of GOODS Cafe. 

“Since we’re here in Asia,” said Chris. “Experimentation with local ingredients to prepare them in a different way than they would be used traditionally, rather than in a full on ‘fusion’ way.”

Kimchi, dashi, and salted egg are now plastered on nearly every menu in Jakarta. It’s also helped spur a switch from the lazy restaurant staples of pasta and sandwiches to rice bowls and share plates—a change that will hopefully foster a new appreciation of the varied flavors of the archipelago. 

But It’s Also Changing

Street food is Indonesia’s version of comfort food. And the cuisine is slowly leaving the streets behind. But for every high-class martabak, every gourmet Indomie, or savory tahu bulat, there’s a million overpriced additions to street food. Think Indomie with cheese and garlic that costs the price of 10 packs of instant noodles. Sure, it’s creative, but it’s also way too expensive, said Noel Reynaldo, F&B Manager of H Group. 

Quality, Semi-Casual Eateries Are Great, But Some Trends Need to Die 

OK, so this new gang of semi-casual, high-quality restaurants is helping turn the market away from pre-packaged, high volume establishments. But there is also a new emphasis on presentation and hype that’s working against the industry. 

“A food blogger once gave me some pointers,” Noel said. “He said if I wanted my food to sell, I should add more things like melted cheese or soft boiled eggs to the menu. So the customers can play around with it. Cheesy, right? Hopefully in 2017 we can lay off that kind of bullshit.”

So if you want better food in 2017, remember, the best dishes are meant to be eaten—not photographed and played with.