Category: All about Indonesia

The Capital City Specialty, Nasi Goreng Jakarta

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First timer in Indonesia? Try Nasi Goreng Jakarta. If Indonesians are asked any kinds of food to recommend to foreigners, no doubt the answer will be nasi goreng or fried rice. Fried rice peddlers are easily found in almost every part of Indonesia, usually at night. They will be pushing their cart around the neighborhood and waiting for to be called by customers to buy their fried rice. Aside from fried rice, they usually have other options like fried noodle and boiled noodle. As it is a very popular menu in Indonesia, it also can be easily found in restaurants.

There are countless types of fried rice in Indonesian, some of them are named based on the area they are residing, like Nasi Goreng Jawa, Nasi Goreng Aceh, or Nasi Goreng Jakarta. Some of them are named by the ingredients, like chicken fried rice, mutton fried rice, seafood fried rice, rendang fried rice, and many more.

While there is also fried rice in different parts of the world, Indonesian fried rice has their own uniqueness, which is using an ingredient that most of the other countries didn’t have, kecap manis or sweet soy sauce. The texture of sweet soy sauce is thicker than the ordinary soy sauce and has a sweet flavor from palm sugar. Sweet soy sauce is an essential ingredient to cook many other Indonesian food such as satay, tongseng, semur, and many more. However, there might be some versions that only use original soy sauce.

If you stay in Jakarta, of course you don’t want to miss finding the capital city version, which is Nasi Goreng Jakarta. Fried rice is a convenient choice to be eaten any time and anywhere in Jakarta. It is a perfect menu for dinner, lunch, or even breakfast. The key to having perfect fried rice is to use an overnight left-over rice as it will provide a crunchy texture. It also has a unique dark brown color from the sweet soy sauce.

While most of the populations are fond of spicy flavor, some sellers will naturally add chili to add some spiciness, so if you have a low tolerance of spiciness, you might need to request the chili to be left out in your fried rice. Now enough with the description, join our Jakarta Food Tour to try the authentic Nasi Goreng Jakarta firsthand. No need to be fancy, just prepare your tummy!

Kerak Telor In Jakarta, a Delicacy for Delightful Fiesta

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Crack some eggs, add some spices, roast a little, then Kerak Telor will be ready to serve. It is another indigenous cuisine from Jakarta, a Betawi traditional omelet from chicken or duck eggs, but in crunchy version, thus the name is Kerak Telor, from kerak or crust, and eggs or telor.

Asian is well known to eat rice with almost everything, even snacks. But the main difference in Kerak Telor, instead of steamed rice, glutinous rice is directly added to be roasted along with eggs and other ingredients, such as dried shrimp, along with other spices, producing a crunchy sensation.

Using eggs as the main ingredients, you can choose between chicken or duck eggs. Some people prefer using duck eggs as they have more savory taste. Kerak Telor is known to be easily found around Central and West Jakarta, near Jakarta’s landmark, National Monument or Monas. Other than in those areas, the dish is not easily found elsewhere because it is rarely found in restaurants’ menus. Kerak Telor is usually sold by a street peddler who carries their bakul or traditional basket on their shoulders by walking around the city.

There are some convenient ways to find Kerak Telor peddler, one of them is visiting Jakarta Fair, it is an annual festival held every year to celebrate the capital city’s birthday. There will be many Kerak Telor sellers setting up their stalls around the area. It usually starts around the middle of June and will end in the middle of July. It is called Pekan Raya Jakarta, or in literal translation, Jakarta Fair. There will be many kinds of activities, including shopping, concerts, and many more.

However, if you want to try Kerak Telor even though the annual event hasn’t started or already ended, you can still find it around Jakarta area. Not every Jakartans know when and where to find an original Kerak Telor, but you can leave it to Jakarta Walking Tour Happy Walkers for guidance. Join our Jakarta Food tour, and we will gladly help you find a route full of delicacies as you stay in Jakarta. Have an unforgettable journey to find the authentic taste of Jakarta with us.

Find A Bowl of Soto Betawi on A Sunny Day by Walking Around the City

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If the weather is scorching hot, find Soto Betawi to the rescue. It is said that eating piping hot food in hot weather will lower your body temperature. For weather like in Jakarta, which is almost always sunny with average temperature around 27-33 °C throughout the year, the perfect lunch menu is soto. It is a soup-based dish that is extremely popular around Jakarta and the rest of the archipelago.

There are so many variants of soto in Indonesia, some said between 16 until 40 kinds of soto can be found in Indonesia, from Sabang to Merauke. In Jakarta, of course Soto Betawi is the main star. Even though it is called Soto Betawi, it is first introduced by a Chinese descendant, Li Boen Po in 1971. He created this name because there were already many kinds of soto in Indonesia. Soto Madura, Soto Kudus, Soto Sulung, Soto Bogor, Soto Bandung, and many more for example. So, in order not to lose on the competition, he decided to use the name that didn’t exist before. And since native people of Jakarta is from Betawi ethnicity, he named it Soto Betawi.

The main difference of Soto Betawi from other variants of soto is in the broth, which is using milk as the ingredient. It also contains almost every part of cow’s body, from its meat, offal, liver, and the rest. For many restaurants, they usually provide options if you only want to eat only the “daging” or flesh, without offal or other parts.

Not only using milk and coconut milk as a broth, but there are also many spices and other ingredients to add in. Along with beef, diced potato, and slice tomatoes, with also ghee as a main ingredient, Soto Betawi is rich in flavour. The savoury and slightly sour taste are perfect to taste in a sunny afternoon. If you have a sweet tooth, you can add sweet soy sauce to add the sweet flavour.

Don’t miss the chance to taste the delicious Soto Betawi by walking around the city. Our Happy Walker Agents will help you experience a delightful journey to find what the best delicacies that the city can offer. So, see you on the next Jakarta Food Tour!

Explore A Tasty Culinary Experience for Food in Jakarta

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If you are travelling to Jakarta, don’t ever skip to try various Food in Jakarta. Jakarta is known as a “melting pot”, which many people from various ethnicities with different cultures meet, resulting in a rich and abundant culinary option that you can choose.

Start from the west part of Indonesia, there are many Sumatrans residing in Jakarta, therefore you can easily find Padangnese restaurants, at almost every corner in Jakarta. Rumah Makan Padang or Padang Restaurant offers many menus and a unique experience where they will present you with many options on the table and you can just pay for what you eat there. Meanwhile, sate Padang are usually sold by street vendors at night.

Moving a bit to the east, Java as the most populated island and Javanese as the most widely spread ethnicity in Indonesia, Javanese food can be found almost everywhere in Indonesia. Soto, sate, bakso (meatball), pecel, fried rice, and fried noodle are only just a few examples. Food from other islands such as Borneo, Sulawesi, and many more also exist as an option for Food in Jakarta, nonetheless, not as popular. Aside from traditional Indonesian food, you don’t have to worry if you find those are not suitable to your taste. Western cuisines, Chinese food and fast-food chain are readily available if you prefer to choose a familiar taste. Availability for Food in Jakarta also comes with many options, from fine dining locations to fast and cheap street food often served by pedagang kaki lima (carts or modified bicycles), or in roadside warungs (modest local restaurants).

While many kinds of Food in Jakarta are originated from cities outside Jakarta, the city itself also have interesting delicacies that it can offer. Betawi as a native in Jakarta, also have some popular specialty dishes. They are gado-gado, soto Betawi, kerak telor, and nasi goreng Jakarta. All of them are made with different kinds of ingredient, with different flavors, and by different techniques. From sweet, sour, salty, and spicy, you name it. Seasoned by variety of unique spices that can only be found in Indonesia, a taste that of the country that you can always remember.

A mouthwatering experience that you can imagine. So, are you ready to join us exploring nook and cranny of Jakarta to find the best culinary experience? Say less, don’t hesitate anymore! Book a Jakarta Food Tour with us, and Happy Walker Agents will be ready to guide you.

Soto

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soto in jakarta

Soto is one dish that is found throughout the archipelago but have their own specific regional variation. There are dozens of varieties of soto, but this soup dish is mainly composed of broth, meat, and vegetables. Soto spices include the shallot, garlic, turmeric, root, galangal, ginger, coriander, salt and pepper.

Black Soto Rawon

Soto Rawon – East Java. Black broth come from Kluwek spice (Pangium edule -red)

Soto is usually garnished with sohun (rice vermicelli), bean sprouts, sliced boiled eggs, chopped spring onions and Chinese celery. The soup is usually accompanied by rice or rice cakes (ketupat or lontong) and eaten with potato cakes (perkedel), shrimp crackers (kerupuk udang) or gnetum seed crips (emping).

Source                  : “The Ultimate Destination of INDONESIA”
Copyright            : Indonesia Culture and Tourism Ministry (2011)
Disclaimer click here         

Do you want to taste delicious Soto in Jakarta? Let’s join our all-you-can-eat Jakarta Food Tour. We will bring you to the best soto restarurant in town. Contact us here

 

Gudeg

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Credit picture here

Jakarta is a home for foods of Indonesia. This is the best thing of capital city like Jakarta, you could find almost every characterize dishes from different regions in the archipelago. Gudeg, a specialty of Yogyakarta, is a dish made of young jackfruit stewed in coconut-milk, palm sugar, and traditional spices. The jackfruit dish is very slowly cooked in a clay pot until very tender, which may take up to several hours. Several teak (jati) leaves are added to give the jackfruit its reddish chocholate color.

The accompanying dishes are also cooked in a similar way, such as chicken, boiled egg, tofu, and tempe (fermented soybean). To balance the sweetness, there’s the spicy Sambal Goreng Krecek or buffalo skin also cooked in coconut-milk.

Tempe Bacem

Tempe Bacem

There are several variants of gudeg, such as: Gudeg Kering (Dry Gudeg), which is served with areh or thick, concentrated coconut milk; Gudeg Basah (Wet Gudeg), served with a more diluted areh; and Gudeg Solo, which is much lighter almost light pink in color as opposed to the traditional dark chocholate color.

Chicken Egg Gudeg with Jackfruits Gudeg as its background

Chicken Egg Gudeg with Jackfruits Gudeg spotted on the background

In Yogyakarta, the best way to enjoy this regional specialty is by eating at many lesehan stalls that line the city’s streets. Lesehan means sitting on mats and these establishments are basically sidewalk cafes where seating is provided right on the mat-covered sidewalks.

Source                  : “The Ultimate Destination of INDONESIA”
Copyright            : Indonesia Culture and Tourism Ministry (2011)
Disclaimer click here         

Do you want to taste amazing Gudeg in Jakarta? Let’s join our all-you-can-eat Jakarta Food Tour. We will bring you to the best gudeg stall in town. Contact us here

 

Four Types of the Best Satay in Jakarta

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The Best Satay in Jakarta -3

Satay in Jakarta is one of the most popular dishes in town. It starts with the street food stalls then slowly becomes all day-dishes which served in the restaurants. Among these satay stalls and restaurants, there is four types of the best satay in Jakarta. In my experience as Jakartans, we separate type of satay based on the meat and the sauce. Let’s check it out.

What is Satay?

I need to explain this basic question before we go any further. What is Satay? Basically, satay is Indonesian style of barbecuing. Meat grilled on indirect heat that comes from the burning charcoal. Yes, charcoal make satay tastes more flavory. In Jakarta, we also use spices and seasoning on satay sauce. Sauce is the key.

The Best Satay in Jakarta #1 : Chicken Satay

This is the most popular satay in town: Chicken Satay. We use peanut for the sauce. Blended peanut, sweet soy bean ketchup, chilli (off course!), and mashed onion. Duh, we don’t need to make it at home. There is many Chicken Satay seller in every corner of Jakarta. Everyone love it!

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Chicken Satay with Peanut Sauce

Nowadays, chicken satay has new favorite sauce. We called it “taichan satay”. Eighty percent of the sauce comes from red chilli. When we barbecue the meat, we will not use soy bean.  It just oil and lime to keep the meat stick with white colour. Taste:  spicy, salty, and savory.

The Best Satay in Jakarta #2 : Mutton Satay

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Mutton Satay in Jakarta

Let’s change chicken with mutton. Grill slices mutton, put soy bean and pinched green chilli on your plate. Voila! You made mutton satay. It is simple dish for mutton lover. Please don’t eat mutton satay too much since it will give you high blood pressure.  

The Best Satay in Jakarta #3 : Padang Satay

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Padang Satay

Padang Satay made from cow tongue. Yes, I talk about that cow and that tongue. Honestly, Padang Satay will not taste like cow tongue at all. Some people seems surprise when I told them what kind of meat it is – of course after they ate Padang Satay. It is chewy and has strong spices on the sauce. The sauce is traditional flavor from Padang city, West Sumatera. Padang Satay sauce has yellow color that comes from turmeric. Anyway, do you ever try cow tongue before?

The Best Satay in Jakarta #4 : Lilit Satay

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Sate Lilit on fine dining restaurant

“Lilit” means twisted in English. It is the closest translation but not 100 percent correct. So I will keep the original name on my writing: Sate Lilit. Sate Lilit is Indonesia culinary that comes Bali island. It made from minced fish, vegetable and mixed spices. In Bali, they also mix it with pork but I don’t think pork will acceptable in Jakarta. Most of the population in Jakarta is moslem and moslem don’t eat pork.

I never found Sate Lilit on Jakarta’s street food stalls. Sate Lilit always sold in restaurant since you need refrigerator to keep satay dough fresh. After we make the satay dough, we need to put it on tiny bamboo stick then its ready to barbecue. Make the dough twisted on bamboo stick. See, twisted!

Two exceptional. Maranggi Satay and Kikil Satay

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Maranggi Satay

There is two more kind of satay that I know but rarely found in Jakarta. First, Maranggi Satay made from beef and has similar sauce with Mutton Satay. You will find it easily sold in West Java area but less seller in Jakarta. I don’t know why, it tastes good though.

Second, Kikil Satay. Kikil is cow’s foot. 

sate kikil

Kikil Satay (image source: twitter @malbekasi)

 

It might be not everyone’s favorite part from the cow. Once, I found this Kikil Satay sold by travelling satay seller around my neighborhood area. Sold for the kids since it’s cheaper than ‘actual beef’. The sauce is quite similar with Chicken Satay, all grinded peanuts and sweet soy bean ketchup. 

 

Where to find the best satay in Jakarta?

Easy question, tricky answer. Hmm… where to find the best satay in Jakarta? I’ve been eat here there everywhere since I open food tour with Jakarta Walking Tour. Honestly, the best satay that I ever eat is sold on the street. Less expensive and fresh.

IMHO, the winner for the best mutton and chicken satay is….Sate Jaya Agung in the corner of Sabang Street, Central Jakarta. Yes, they win two best satay in town. They use only breast part for Chicken Satay. So tender. For Mutton Satay, they use lamb. So in Sate Jaya Agung Jakarta, it is actually Lamb Satay not Mutton Satay. Super juicy.

The winner of Padang Satay is Sate Mak Syukur in West Sumatera. Hahaa..sorry, it is far away from Jakarta but I said no lies. When I checked on google maps, Sate Mak Syukur has some branch in East Jakarta and South Jakarta. I never try it and can not believe they can bring ‘the magic hand’ to Jakarta. Different chef different taste. I don’t want to not ruin the memory of Goddess taste of West Sumatera Satay.

Do you need assistance to find the best satay in Jakarta? To save your time and avoid scam, you can book our food tour with all-you-can-eat experience. Four hours eating, and Satay is on the list. If you want to know more about this program just drop me an email here: tahu@jakartawalkingtour.com. (:

What is Martabak?

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It is for you who crave about Indonesian cuisine. Martabak is one of the most popular street food in Jakarta. There is two kind of martabak, sweet martabak and savory Martabak.

Sweet Martabak is a Bangka Martabak

Sweet Martabak actually is an American pancake, but Indonesians people make it thick. Sweet martabak made from flour, fresh milk, chicken egg, sugar, and butter. We cook the batter and put topping after it cooked well. Sweet Martabak has popular name: Bangka Martabak. People believe that sweet martabak is originally coming from Bangka island, Bangka Belitung Province near South Sumatra Indonesia.

what is martabak

Nowadays, businessman/woman take martabak to a new level. They modified it and put ‘fancy’ topping such us toblerone chocholate, cheese, oreo, red velvet, ovomaltine, and so on. But for you who like original local foods, just leave those fancy topping. You can try Sweet Martabak with “Wisman” Margarine. Banana and cheese topping is our favorite choice. Yumm!

Savory Martabak is a Duck Egg Martabak

Egg Martabak made from duck egg, chicken egg, cow meat, local spices, and onion leaf. They also made Martabak skin from flour dough and the sauce from vinegar. If you buy Martabak on the street, the seller will make it directly in front of you. It is an ‘interesting show’, like this on the video (start from 02:30) :

Where to buy Martabak? All you need is…asking.

For you who stay in Jakarta, you can find martabak easily in every corner of Jakarta’s street. If you are not familiar with Jakarta, please ask security, hotel receptionist, or anyone around you. They usually know something about this. Another option, you can try to order through local motorbike taxi apps like Gofood and Grabfood. They will bring Martabak in front of your door room. Don’t know how to use the apps? Again, ask local people around you.

what is martabak

Martabak seller on the street

Local Tips when you buy Martabak by yourself

We have a tips for meat lovers. Actually, you can ask more meat to put on your Duck Egg Martabak with additional price. It will bring more texture and flavor on your Martabak. Just give Martabak seller couple bucks only for additional meat. Trust us, it works!

where to buy martabak

Interesting fact about Duck Egg Martabak : it could be your night snack or even your dinner.

Why? It because some people like to eat martabak with white rice. We can not order Martabak in small portion so local people use to buy it when there is gathering with friends or family. It could be snack for 3 – 4 person, or meals if you are going to add white rice on your plate. Who can say no to Martabak? NO ONE. Everybody like MARTABAK!

Another Way of Using Spices: Drink It!

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jamu benefits

Indonesia has various types of spices or “rempah-rempah” which known worldwide since 16th century. Apart for cooking ingredients, spices that grow in Indonesia could also be used for different purposes, such as for the ingredients of herbal drinks or “jamu”.

Jamu is a kind of herbal drink and that people of Indonesia, mainly Javanese believed can cure some illnesses. Some of the most popular jamu are rice galanga drink or “beras kencur”, turmeric tamarind drink or “kunyit asam” and curcuma zanthorriza drink or “temulawak”.

Rice Galanga Drink
Beras kencur or rice galanga drink is a type of drink made with rice and galanga as the main ingredients. White or brown sugar is often used as the sweetener. It has a light brown color and had a sweet taste. Rice galanga drink is believed to be having some medicinal use, such as increasing appetite and vitality, and also reducing fatigue.

Turmeric Tamarind Drink
Kunyit asam or turmeric tamarind drink is a herbal drink made from turmeric, tamarind, brown sugar and water. It has an orange color and taste a bit sour. It is believed that drinking kunyit asam can aid digestion problem, maintaining body weight, and relieve menstrual cramp.

jamu benefits

Curcuma Zanthorriza Drink
Curcuma zanthorriza or temulawak is a kind of spices similar to ginger. The drink is made with mixing the curcuma zanthorriza extract with water. The medicinal use of the drink includes reducing cholesterol, preserve liver function, and prevent cancer.

Where is the place to drink jamu in Jakarta?

Jamu sellers. Image Source: Solo Pos

These jamu usually available in traditional markets and offered house to house by a peddler carrying bottles on their backs in residential complexes. Nowadays, some restaurants also provide them in their menu. There is also one restaurant in West Jakarta that only serve jamu in their menu. However beside curcuma, turmeric, tamarind, do you want to know more about other spices in Indonesia? Join the journey of Jakarta Walking Tour to discover more about it and “spice” up your life a little bit. 😉

The Best Food in Jakarta

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Since snacking with Jakarta street food become everybody’s favorite, some entrepreneur takes it to a new level. They sold it as a real meal inside mall in Jakarta, sold alongside fine dining’s menus. Let say it as Jakarta Most Favorite Meals, here are those.

1. The Best Food in Jakarta : Bakso

Beef in round shape, which called ‘meatball’ or ‘bakso’ is Jakartans favorite. Meatball is minced meat rolled into a small ball that is cooked by boiling it. Meatballs in Jakarta served in broth soup with noodles, vermicelli, bean curd, sliced celery leaves, and fried red onion. Usually, Jakartans eat meatball along with chili sauce and crackers.

city tour jakarta

Bakso in Jakarta

Where to find bakso seller?

You can find meatball easily in Jakarta. A lot of brands, meatball side dish with widely range of prices. Not only can be found at roadside stalls, mobile and street vendors, you also can found bakso served in fine restaurants inside the mall. Try to find restaurant that has bakso menu on its signboard. But well…sometimes street sellers are the best. 

2. The Best Food in Jakarta : Sate (Satay)

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Goat Meat Satay in Jakarta

Satay is a dish of seasoned, skewered, and grilled meat served with soybean sauce that sprinkled with grilled chili or peanut sauce. In Jakarta, usually satay is using chops of goat meat in cube shape or chicken meat to be barbecued. As a popular Jakarta street food, satay is usually sold at night. We don’t know why, but looks like satay is a rare option to be a lunch menu for Jakartans. Don’t worry if you can’t hardly wait to eat satay in daylight, you can go to a mall and find restaurants that sold satay in any time of the day.

3. The Best Food in Jakarta : Nasi Goreng (Fried Rice)

Even though fried rice or ‘nasi goreng’ is sold in every corner of Jakarta, almost all Jakartans can cook it well with their own secret recipe. If you want to find delicious nasi goreng, don’t go to a restaurant in hotels, just go to tent stalls (warung tenda) or roadside stalls that has nasi goreng as its top menu. We think, you should try local food that is cooked by local people, not a Western master chef. For example, you might want to try ‘nasi goreng kambing’ or ‘mutton fried rice’ around Kebon Sirih, Jakarta Pusat. They served one of the best nasi goreng with mutton curry recipe in town.

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Nasi Goreng

And, where is the second best nasi goreng in Jakarta? It is in your local friend’s house, ask your friend to cook nasi goreng for you. If you’re lucky, maybe you will get her or his secret recipe. 😉 So, which one of those you would like to try? Make sure you try the best food in Jakarta during your stay in Indonesia. Local herbs and spices melt in your mouth, yumm~