West Java Specialties

Many people visit Bandung, the capital of West Java province, to pamper their taste buds. You'll be amazed with what Bandung has to offer. From various food sold on street vendors to haute cuisine, every visitor will be able to find something to their liking here, in Bandung.

Sundanese (the people living in West Java are called Sundanese) has tempting refreshments. Sundanese food tends to be bland yet tasty unless you add sambal dadak (chili and other ingredients grinded together) to your food. If you're looking for more spicy taste, just add this sambal dadak with nasi timbel (steamed rice formed into a roll inside a banana leaf) and other specialties. This mouthwatering treat is too good to be missed! Usually sour vegetables soup (sayur asam) is accompanied by nasi timbel.

Sundanese people eat vegetables a lot. Sometimes they even eat raw vegetables (called lalap or lalapan) like cucumbers, tomatoes, coriander leaves, eggplants, cabbages, lettuces, and so on. Lalapan is usually accompanied by sambal dadak.

Probably one of the most well known dish, timbel, consists of nasi timbel, lalapan, sambal dadak, a piece of chicken (fried or roasted Sundanese style), fried beancurd, fried tempeh, a slice of jambal (salted fish). If you want to, you can add gepuk (slices of beef, mixed in traditional herbs, then fried), pepes (main ingredients such as fish, chicken, mushroom, etc. mixed with crushed and blended herbs, folded into a banana leaf, then steamed until they're ready to eat), sauteed greens, and others. Nasi timbel is a favorite among locals and visitors. Batagor baso tahu goreng (literally means, fried meatballs & beancurd) is one of the most well-sought specialty. Made from blended fish and beancurd, with a special peanut sauce, batagor?s popularity remains constant.

People with sweet tooth might fancy pisang molen (literally
means, molen banana), Indonesian traditional pastry filled with banana and cheese. For a variation, try brownies kukus (steamed brownies). Es cendol, made of blended/grinded rice, palm sugar, and coconut milk, is delightful on a hot day. While for a colder day, you might want to taste bandrek or bajigur.

Bandung also offers various milk products most notably, yoghurt. Basically there are two kinds of yoghurt in Bandung the thin one, and the thick one (French style).

Hot snacks ala Bandung are widely sold throughout the city. Among them are gehu-toge tahu- (beancurd with beansprouts and vegetables filling), pisang goreng (fried banana), cireng-aci goreng- (fried tapioca), and many more. You might be interested in trying other snacks such as, nangka goreng (fried jackfruit), peuyeum goreng (fermented cassava, fried), nanas goreng (fried pineapple), and so on. Ketan bakar (roasted sticky rice) and jagung bakar/rebus (roasted/boiled corns) are also recommended.

Nasi goreng (fried rice), although not originally from Bandung, is also a favorite. The ingredients vary, according to people's preference. Sometimes the rice is mixed with seafood (usually shrimps, pieces of cuttlefish, pieces of crab's flesh), chicken and vegetables, mutton and vegetables, salted fish, and so on.

Cakue, a dish made of flour dough then fried, also worths a try.

Bandung also has other kinds of restaurants, like Padangese (food from West Sumatra, very spicy in taste), Javanese (sweeter in taste), Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Western, Indian, and so on.

Feasting on Bali, the Isle of The Gods

Like the food of other regions in Indonesia, Balinese food is rice as the central dish served with small portions of spicy, pungent vegetables, fish or meat and served almost always with sambal or chili paste. Bali is a few of the regions in Indonesia whose majority of its people are non Muslims, thus babi guling or roasted suckling pig is a specialty, as is bebek betutu, smoked stuffed duck wrapped in bamboo leaves.

In Jimbaran area, for instance, you can sample seafood dishes while sitting on the beach. Visit this place in the evening, the cool atmosphere and caressing breeze will make your dining experience remarkable.

You might want to try these:

KEBAB PALACE
Jl.Kartika Plaza Kuta Center, Kuta - Bali

AYAM BAKAR WONG SOLO
Jl.Raya Kuta no.87, Kuta - Bali
Jl. Merdeka no.18, Denpasar - Bali

RAJA'S BALINESE RESTAURANT
Nusa Dua Beach Hotel&Spa, Nusa Dua - Bali

ANIKA BALINESE COOKING
Jl.Elang No.3, Tuban, Kuta - Bali

DEPOT LA TANSA
Jl.Diponegoro No. 240 A, Sanglah, Denpasar - Bali

BATUR INDAH
Panelokan Kintamani, Bangli

BENGAWAN SOLO & BAR
Jalan Imam Bonjol 386, Denpasar

CAFE DAHANDE
Jalan Raya Seminyak, Kuta

PUALAN INT'L RESTAURANT
Jalan Sanur Beach 37, Sanur

ULAM
Jalan Pantai Mengiat, Nusa Dua

PLAZA BALI SEAFOOD
Jalan By Pass Ngurah Rai, Kuta

BUNGA KELAPA RESTAURANT
Alam Kul Kul
Jl.Pantai Kuta, Legian - Bali

SELERA KURING
Jl.Sunset Road (Dewi Sri) No.88, Seminyak, Kuta - Bali

For Moslem tourists, don't worry or afraid that you cannot get 'halal' food in Bali, because there are also many food stalls and food center that are safe to be consumed by Moslem believers. Start from green beans, ketupat tahu (rice boiled in a rhombus shaped packet plaited young coconut leaves mixed with tofu), bakso (meatball), satay, rujak (spicy mixed fruit), satay lilit (usually fish twisted on a stick), pepes (burned/steamed wrapped fish), ikan bakar (roasted fish), and many others. These kind of food are very suitable to be served with pelecing kangkung (a hot spicy leafy vegetable), and hot sambal. Various kinds of traditional snacks are also tempting to be tested such as bubuh injin, laklak, jaja uli and many others.

The safest tips to choose restaurant, certainly is asking the restaurant officers. Must be noticed for Moslem believers that most restaurant in the hotels serve international menu which are often unavoidable using pork.

INDONESIA Street Food

Living in a country that has endless variety of food and drinks, Indonesians do eat out, but the majority does not go to restaurants. The local food scene relies heavily on street food. Indonesians savour the delicious meals offered by ubiquitous street vendors day and night for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Living in a country that has endless variety of food and drinks, Indonesians do eat out, but the majority do not go to restaurants. The local food scene relies heavily on street food. Indonesians savour the delicious meals offered by ubiquitous street vendors day and night for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Another popular soup-like street food is soto. It is mainly comprised of broth and vegetables. The meats most commonly used are beef and chicken, but there are also sotos with mutton and pork. It is usually accompanied by rice or compressed rice. Sotos are differentiated by the ingredients in them, such as soto ayam (chicken) and soto kambing (mutton).

There are many sotos in Indonesia, as different regions and ethnicities have their own ways of preparing the cuisine, such as soto Madura (from East Java), soto Betawi (from Jakarta), soto Padang (from West Sumatra), so to Bandung (from West Java), soto Banjar (from South Kalimantan), and coto Makassar (from South Sulawesi).

The other popular delicacy often sold by street vendors is satay. It is a dish consisting of chunks or slices of dice-sized meat (chicken, goat, lamb, beef, pork, or fish) on bamboo skewers, which are grilled over a wood or charcoal fire, then served with various spicy seasonings, mostly made of ground nuts. Satay may have originated in Java or Sumatra, but is very popular outside Indonesia too. Similar to soto bakso and soto, there are many types of satay from sate Madura to Padang, sate Iilit, sate susu, kulit, sate Ponorogo and many more.

Nasi goreng (steamed rice stir-fried with eggs, meatballs, chicken/beef/shrimp, assorted vegetables and often with sweet soy sauce seasoning) is also very popular along with nasi rawon (rice served with dark beef soup) originally from East Java. The dark colour comes from the meaty seeds of kluwak nuts. Usually served with uncooked mung bean sprouts and salty duck eggs, pecel (a mixture of vegetables and traditional crackers with spicy peanut paste). Madiun and Blitar in East Java are popular for their pecel and gado-gado (a mixture of vegetables, crackers and rice with peanut flavoured sauce). The taste is sweet in Eastern Java and salty in Western Java.

Cendol

Cendol is an exclusive beverage from Indonesia witch made from rice flour, it’s served with scraped ice and liquid java sugar. The taste is sweet and delicious. In Middle Java, this beverage it’s know as ES Dawet.

The rice flour it’s processed and mix’s with a green food dye and mold to special sieve until have shape like ball or tube. The food dye it’s being used it’s a natural from Pandan leaf, however now It’s use food dye from industry.
This beverage usually it’s served as serving closing or an interlude food.

Putu Cake

Putu Cake is one kind of Indonesian food cake witch contain java sugar and coconut scraped. Usually, it’s cooking into bamboo and on sale in night.

Almost, color from this cake it’s white and green. This cake is have been grow in Singapore, although name and shape it’s different, however the taste it’s same like in Indonesia.

RAWON

Rawon is a soup meal menu from Indonesia with special spice because it’s have a special ingredient, Kluwek(see KELUAK). Rawon, although know as special food from East Java, it’s well know in Middle Java to in east(like Surakarta).


Meal for rawon generarly is slice of cow meal. The special spice that meke this food is deferent is mix’s onion red and white, Lengkuas/Laos(the galangale),Ketumbar(coriander),Serai(lemon-grass), Kunir(see KUNYIT(java)), lombok(chilli), Kluwek, Salt, and vegetables oil. All this ingredient(except Serai and Lengkuas) it’s pounded, then it’s cooked, until the smell’s come. Then a mix of this spice put into boiling broth meat stew with that meat self. An exclusive black color it’s come from Kluwek.
Rawon it’s served with rice with small Tauge(bean sprout), onion leaf, Kerupuk(chips made of flour flavored with fish or shrimp), and Sambal(condiment us. containing chili peppers)

Bakso

Bakso is a meat ball food. In several place like Jakarta, Bakso it’s named and writed in Baso. It’s made from mix’s of cow meat and flour, but there’s some Bakso it’s made from chicken or fish. In serving Bakso usually mix with clearly gravy and noodles.
Bakso it’s very popular in Indonesia, a place where it’s Bakso central is SOLO and Malang or BAKSO MALANG. It’s belived that Bakso come from Chinese.

Nasi Uduk

Nasi Uduk it’s one kind food where made from main ingredient rice aron(half cooked rice) technique to process it and steamed with coconut milk, then it’s spiced with Pala(nutmeg), Kayu Manis(cinnamon (bark)), Jahe(ginger), Daun Serai(lemon-grass leaf) and Merica(pepper).

Then it’s serve with Emping(1 chips made of pounded new rice toasted and served with palm sugar. 2 fried chips made of Gnetum gnemon fruit.) Goreng(fried), Tahu(bean curd)Goreng(fried), Telur(egg) Dadar(omelette) or Telur Goreng(fried) witch already slicing, Abon, Tempe, Fried Onion, fried chicken, cucumber and SAMBAL.
This food usually sold in morning

Pecel Lele

Pecel Lele(or Pecek Lele) in Indonesia it’s a name of food where made from Ikan LELE(catfish). Usually it’s main fried catfish using cooking oil and be serve with Sambal Lalapan(Fresh Vegetables). Lalapan it’s can be from Kemangi(k.o. basil), cucumber, cabbage, long pea, an Sambal.

Pecel Lele is a cheap food. And it’s very popular in Java as alternate from chicken food especially fried chicken.

Nasi Becek

Nasi Becek it’s a special serving from Nganjuk, East Java, Indonesia. In home place this food as know as SEGO BECEK.

Sego becek is serving what is resemble with Kari/Goat Kari. The ingredient from this food is resemble with SOTO BABAT, however this food it’s gave a piece of SATE KAMBING(goat). It’s used a goat meat for ingredient and not forget it to add a piece of red onion to give a special taste from this food.

As a whole, the taste maybe like with others type where grow up in SOLO, Middle Java. It’s disposed sweet and not salty, it’s deferent with general East Java serving where it’s disposed salty.
The seller of this food usually can be easy get in Jalan Dr. Soetomo in Nganjuk with a cheaper cost surely.

Soto

Soto, Sroto, or Coto is an Indonesian food where it made from meat broth and vegetables. The meat witch mostly in used is cow and chicken, however pig and goat it’s used to. A various place in Indonesia is have one own soto kind, with defferent ingredient, for example SOTO MADURA, SOTO BETAWI, SOTO PADANG, SOTO BANDUNG, SOTO SOKARAJA, SOTO BANJAR, COTO MAKASAR. It’s also be named according to ingredient, for example SOTO AYAM(chicken), SOTO BABAT(inner organ meat), SOTO KAMBING(goat).

Because there is some soto kind in Indonesia, each have a deferent way to serve. Soto can be serve with a various kind of side dish, example Kerupuk, Perkedel(croquette of spicy ground meat and boiled potatoes or other starch), Emping Melinjo(1 chips made of pounded Gnetum gnemon seeds), Sambal, pea sauce and others. As we know staple food’s of Indonesian is rice, so soto usually served with rice as main menu. However there some deferent in that main menu. Almost Soto served apartly with rice, like SOTO BETAWI, SOTO PADANG, and others. However, there is also served with mix’s Soto and rice, like SOTO KUDUS. And what is more, there is also serve with Lontong or boiling rice with banana leaf cover, foe example COTO MAKASAR. Then, there is served with noodles , and not rice as main menu, like SOTO MIE BOGOR.

GADO-GADO

Gado-gado is one kind an Indonesian food’s witch a boiling vegetables and mixed to be one, with spices or sauce from steaming ground nut with egg slice and on the top sowed fred onion. A few EMPING(1 chips made of pounded new rice toasted and served with palm sugar. 2 fried chips made of Gnetum gnemon fruit) GORENG(fried) or KERUPUK(chips made of flour flavored with fish or shrimp. kerupuk-belinjo chips made from the fruit of the belinjo. kerupuk-kerak chip made of hard-boiled rice and fruit. kerupuk-kulit crackled water-buffalo) it’s be added to.


Gado-gado can be just eat like salad with spice/nut sauce, however it can be eat with rice or sometime with LONTONG(food consisting of rice steamed in a banana leaf).

PECEL

PECEL is an exclusive food’s from Madiun, East Java witch made from boiling vegetables like spinach, Tauge(bean sprout), Kacang panjang(long pea), kemangi(k.o. basil, turi(ornamental shrub or small tree with white or red pea like flowers) leaf, krai(one kind of cucumber), or the other vegetable where it presented with splashing SAMBAL(mix’s contain coconut and chili papers) PECEL. The concept of this food is like a European salad.

Sambal Pecel it’s deferent with salad, it’s have a deferent ingredient to. The main ingredient is ground nut and chili where It’s mixed with others like leaf from Jeruk Purut(k.o. nubbled), onion, Javanise sour, paper, and salt. Pecel It’s usually presented with REMPEYEK(k.o. crisp) like Rempeyek Kacang(coconut) and Rempeyek Udang(shrimp). In other ways Pecel it’s Presented with warm rice and Jeroan(meal from inner organ from animal like cow or chicken). The way to present I’ts use plate or in folding leaf where it’s can be said PINCUK. This food is like a Gado-gado, although there is some different in the ingredient where it used. The taste where it’s very stinged hot become a special feature from this food.
So come and tasted this food.

TUMPENG

One kind of Special Feature from Indonesian food. Tumpeng it’s a way to presented a rice with meal and vegetable in The Cone Shape, and it can be said as NASI TUMPENG.

A rice tickle where it use for usually it’s yellow rice, although in some time it’s use a white rice or we can said it NASI UDUK. The way to presented this special javanise rice or Betawi people of Javanise descent and usually it’s made when they do some ritual pray or we can said KENDURI or in celebrate event. Although, most of The Indonesian People know this activity.

TUMPENG usually presented in TAMPAH ( traditional contain in Indonesia specially in Java) and it’s use a banana leave to covering in bottom.
The event where including NASI TUMPENG it’s can said a “TUMPENGAN”. For example in YOGJYAKARTA, in that city was grow up a TUMPENGAN tradition in night before The Indonesian Independent Day (17august), The Proclamation of Indonesian Independent Day, to prayed safety of country.
There some tradition unwritten is suggest that classifier from cone it’s presented to person who have a highest profession in that place (like headmaster or else) from people who in there. It’s mean to showing their respectfully to that person.

The Indonesian Food

Indonesian food is a compounding food culture from some place in Indonesia or other.
It’s have a deferent character in every kind of that food depend from their place and it’s bring on of influence from cultural in their place come from.
In The long of history, Indonesia it’s already be come a location of trade between two continent. It’s make a lot of spices bring in, food ingredient and cooking technique from Malaysian, Indian, Middle East, Tionghoa(China), and Europe. All of this it’s mix with special feature of Indonesian traditional food and make a lot of variety where it can’t be find in other place. The Spain and Portugal, moreover before Dutch have been bring a lot of product from a new world into Indonesia.

In the west and middle of Indonesia, staple food usually it’s cooked in morning and to eat in middle of day. In a mostly of family in Indonesia they doesn’t have a several food time, where all family member in there. It’s cause food’s in Indonesia made for along time, although have to be placed in room temperature, during some hour. Then the food’s bring to boil again for dinner. The Indonesia Food it’s usually presented with a rice, several kind of meat and vegetables it’s presented as complement of rice. One kine of spices where it often presented is SAMBAL.


In The East of Indonesia, where in that place the food it’s influence from Pacific Culture, it’s more often sago as carbohyfrate source.

The popular food in Indonesia it’s not really different with Asian. The food where have soy souce spices with TAHU and TEMPE it’s popular to. Tempe it’s very well in tropical like Indonesia.