Downtown Luxury Slum

We visited Amsterdam for the first time last year. And due to my ignorance, it was only during this visit that I learned that the Dutch had previously colonized Indonesia. The good thing that came out of this, was that the colonizers discovered some really tasty food in Indonesia and brought it back home with them, opening a number of Indonesian restaurants. After visiting one such restaurant in Amsterdam, I was excited to learn more about food in Indonesia.

To be clear, Indonesia is comprised of 6000 inhabited islands, over 600 ethnic groups, and a long history of international trade and colonialism, so this guide will only scratch the surface of what is possible. But in general, Indonesian food can best be described as rich, complex, and intensely flavorful.

So here’s my list of foods and drinks to look forward to, seek out, and try when you visit Indonesia.

Here are my Google Maps of Restaurants in Java and Restaurants in Bali. Hit the “Follow” button to save for later.

Rice

You won’t actually have to seek out rice, in fact, you will rarely find a meal that doesn’t include rice, as you’ll see as you continue reading. You’ll also see it growing everywhere, sometimes in postage stamp sized front yards.

Fruit

Indonesia offers a variety of fantastic tropical fruits. One that I was not familiar with was the snakeskin fruit so named because the peel really is reminiscent of snakeskin. The flesh looks and feels like a large clove of garlic with a large seed in it. I have no idea how to describe the taste so you’ll have to try it for yourself.

Coffee

Indonesia is one of the top coffee producing nations in the world. Java and Sumatra are just two of the varieties you’ve probably heard of from Indonesia. Yes, the island of Java is where the Starbucks Java Chip Frappuccino got its name.

Another specialty is luwak coffee (kopi luwak), known as the most expensive coffee in the world. It consists of coffee cherries have been eaten and fermented in the intestines of Asian palm civets . After defecation, the cherries are cleaned and the beans are removed and processed as usual. It has been nicknamed cat poo coffee (or cleverly, catpooccino) and from what I could tell, it tasted similar to other coffee but with no bitterness and felt slightly smoother.

Where to find luwak coffee in Indonesia:

• I tried it at Kumulilir, north of Ubud, which also had a Bali swing.
• If you book any tours or hire any drivers, they will almost all offer to take you somewhere to try luwak coffee so you shouldn’t have to work too hard to find it.

Sate

Generally speaking, sate is seasoned, skewered, and grilled meat served with a sauce.

• Sate lilit is the Balinese sate made with minced, spiced meat, that’s marinated in coconut milk and pressed onto skewers
• Sate plecing is a pork sate that served with sambal plecing, a sambal that contains chili peppers, shrimp paste, tomatoes, onions, and garlic, and sometimes sugar.
• Sate pentul is sate made with minced fish wrapped around rolled-up lemongrass stems and served with grated coconut.
• Sate padang is a West Sumatran beef sate served with a thick yellow-brown sauce, made from rice flour mixed with beef and offal broth, turmeric, ginger, garlic, coriander, galangal, cumin, and other spices.

Where to find good sate in Indonesia:

• Nasi Ayam Kedewatan in Ubud, Bali is a great spot for sate lilit, which is served as part of the nasi ayam campur.
• Street food vendors in Yogyakarta outside Pasar Beringharjo and around Jalan Malioboro are well known for their sate.

Nasi Goreng

Nasi Goreng is fried rice made with kecap manis (a thick sweetened soy sauce), shrimp paste, garlic, shallots, tamarind, and chili. Meat, vegetables, fish, and egg may be added.

Where to find good nasi goreng in Indonesia:

• Warung Biah Biah in Ubud makes great nasi goreng along with many other simple but excellent Indonesian dishes.

Mie Goreng

Mie goreng is yellow noodles stir-fried with garlic, onion, chili, cabbage, tomato, egg, and other vegetables, and some sort of protein.

Where to find good mie goreng in Indonesia:

• Warung Ngalam in Jakarta has fantastic Mie Goreng and other noodle dishes. Don’t skip this one!
• Warung Kampung in Kuta is a great little spot for local Indonesian specialties done well at affordable prices. We enjoyed nasi goreng, mie goreng, ayam goreng.

Gado Gado

Gado gado is a salad of streamed vegetables with a peanut sauce dressing.

Where to find good gado gado in Indonesia:

• Gado-Gado Cemara in Jakarta is reported to be a great restaurant for gado-gado.
• Warung Laba Laba in Ubud is also supposed to be a great place for gado gado and other Balinese food.

Nasi Campur

Nasi Campur is a rice meal consisting of steamed rice served with a variety of side dishes like grilled meat, shredded chicken, sate, tofu, tempe, bean sprouts, and sambal. It’s essentially an Indonesian tasting platter!

A variation of this in Amsterdam was my first exposure to Indonesian food.

Where to find good nasi campur in Indonesia:

• Nasi Bali Made Weti in Sanur, Bali is a basic food stall serving excellent nasi campur. Expect to wait.
• Warung Biah Biah in Ubud, Bali is a nasi campur destination.
• Gadri Resto in Yogyakarta is technically located within the residence of a prince. Get the nasi campur or any rice and chicken dish.

Babi Guling

This roast suckling pig is a traditional Balinese dish, found only in Hindu Bali, and not so much in other parts of Muslim Indonesia. The pig is stuffed with chili, turmeric, garlic, and ginger and slow-roasted on a spit over an open fire. After cooking, it’s served with steamed rice, vegetable salad, pork crackling, and a few other Balinese side dishes.

Where to find good babi guling in Indonesia:

• Babi Guling Selingsing Bu Suci is perhaps the best babi guling in Bali. You be the judge.
• Warung Babi Guling Pak Malen is a busy warung in Seminyak with amazingly flavourful babi guling.
• Warung Babi Guling Ibu Oka in Ubud is famous for its babi guling, but it’s quite uninspiring.

Balinese Specialties

• Bebek betutu is duck stuffed with spices, wrapped in banana leaves and coconut husks, and cooked in embers. Ayam Betutu is the chicken version.
• Tum ayam is a banana leaf parcel containing finely minced chicken flavored with herbs and spices that is steamed or grilled until the flavors co-mingle.
• Laklak is a pancake made with rice flour and served with melted palm sugar and grated coconut. It might be white or green from pandam leaves.
• Lawar is a salad of sliced green vegetables and pork or chicken meat, seasoned with chopped coconut, garlic, chili, and possibly animal blood. There is also a jackfruit version without meat.
• Pepes Ikan is whole, marinated fish wrapped in a banana leaf and steamed.
• Iga Babi is Balinese barbecued pork ribs.
• Jamu is a juice drink made with fresh turmeric root, ginger, and newly-soaked white rice that’s been ground and served with warm water, lime juice, and honey. I’ve used this recipe to make it at home and it is so amazingly refreshing!

Where to find these Balinese specialties:

• Chandi in Seminyak, Bali offers a great opportunity to dress up for a night out and try bebek betutu.
• Naughty Nuri’s in Seminyak and Ubud serve iga babi that Anthony Bourdain and I both tried. You should too.
• Ne Men Gabrug in Denpasar, Bali is a street-side snack spot where you can get laklak.
• Warung Amsha on the far east coast of Bali is a beachfront warung that serves the pepes ikan, among other things. Show up early or make reservations.
• Acaraki in Jakarta is a good place to try jamu.

Javanese Specialties

• Nasi brongkos is a specialty of Yogyakarta and resembles a stew with rice.
• Gudeg consists of young, unripe jackfruit that’s stewed for many hours with palm sugar, coconut milk, garlic, shallots, galangal, coriander seed, and other spices. It’s typically served with steamed white rice, chicken, hard-boiled egg, tofu, tempeh, and a spicy, crisp beef skin stew.
• Ayam goreng is fried chicken. Instead of being coated in batter or flour, it’s rubbed in a spice mixture made from garlic, shallots, turmeric, lemongrass, bay leaves, and galangal, and other spices before being deep-fried. Bebek goreng is the duck version.
• Ayam bakar is grilled chicken.

Where to find these Javanese specialties:

• Warung Eropa in Kuta, Bali serves bebek goreng that is highly rated.
• In the evening, head to the northern end of Jl. Malioboro in Yogyakarta for street food, including ayam goreng. There are also a number of gudeg spots in this area, though I didn’t find one I can recommend.
• Warung Brongkos Handayani is famous for its Nasi brongkos.

Sumatran Specialties

• Rendang is a beef coconut curry
• Nasi padang is a specific type of nasi campur from Padang. It consists of steamed white rice served with any variation of about 40 different types of meat, poultry, seafood, vegetable, and sambal dishes.

Where to find these Sumatran specialties:

• Poppies Restaurant in Kuta is a slightly upscale outdoor restaurant that offers rijsttafel (Dutch for nasi padang or rice table).
• Sari Minang in Jakarta offers Padang-style food served cafeteria style.

Non-Traditional Restaurants

• We didn’t make it to Sangsaka Restaurant in Kuta but it has outstanding reviews and looks to be a slightly upscale, Indonesian-fusion restaurant. It will be on my list for next time.
• Book a month ahead for a 9 course dessert tasting menu with wine or cocktail pairings at Room4Dessert in Ubud.
• I stopped by Watercress Cafe in Ubud a number of times. This Aussie-style cafe is a great stop if you’re not into the way the Balinese make coffee. Sisterfields in Seminyak is similar.
• Ragusa Es Italia in Jakarta is an ice cream shop that’s been in business since 1932. It doesn’t seem to have made any updates since then but is a worthwhile stop after visiting Merdeka Square or Istiqlal Mosque.
• Cafe Batavia is in a Dutch Colonial building in Kota Tua serving Indonesian food along with a few Dutch options. This is a great stop to relax with a coffee or cocktail.

Here are my Google Maps of Restaurants in Java and Restaurants in Bali. Hit the “Follow” button to save for later.