Category: Street Food in Jakarta

Es Kelapa, A Healty Choice of “Energy Drink”

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Es Kelapa, a perfect choice to quench your thirst on a sunny day. As the largest coconut palm growing area in the world, coconut or “kelapa” is just a common ingredient in Indonesian delicacies. Not only in food, but in drinks as well. From the tree itself, coconut can be used for many functions, from the leaves and branches that can be used to create some decorations or another useful items, to the fruit and liquid that can be used in varieties of food creations.

Coconut iced drink or Es Kelapa is one of the variations of drink’s version. What’s special about Es Kelapa is the liquid came from the coconut water itself. The water already has a slightly sweet flavor, but some people may add sugar to add the sweetness. Inside the coconut water, a few pieces of coconut meat are added. The traditional Es Kelapa contains coconut water, its meat, sugar, and ice cubes. However, there are some other versions that use red syrup to add sweetness, contrasting with the white coconut meat. In some restaurants, there is sometimes also a fusion from orange juice and coconut meat.

Like the trees that can be easily seen when you land in Indonesia, Es Kelapa sellers or vendors can be easily found almost everywhere. By the roadside, in some food courts in malls, and in restaurant menus. The coconut meat has a nice chewy texture, especially if they use young coconuts. Combined with sugar and iced cubes, it is a perfect option to freshen your body in a hot weather.

Not only popular to drink in daily basis, Es Kelapa is also known as a popular appetizer for iftar, the meal taken after Maghrib prayer in Ramadhan. The number of Es Kelapa sellers will be doubled than any usual days. It says that consuming coconut water will have many benefits for the human body, hence a few energy drinks’ brands claimed to use “real” coconut water in their products to promote the benefits.

Join us in our Jakarta Food Tour, walk around a little on some corners of Jakarta, take a break to drink Es Kelapa with us, and see for yourself. A healthy choice of energy drink with less chemicals and artificial flavors.

Soda Susu, A Fizz of Colorful Happiness

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Soda Susu is not just an ordinary soda drink. It is a combination of carbonated drink and sweetened condensed milk, completed with a spoonful of iced cubes. Thanks to its sweet flavor and the freshness from ice cubes, it is also often called Soda Gembira, which means a carbonated drink that will uplift the drinker’s mood.

Soda Susu usually has a reddish color from red syrup, and the white color is from sweetened condensed milk. However, as varieties and brands of carbonated drinks are growing larger, the color sometimes will depend on the carbonated drink and the brand that the maker uses. It can be clear, red, black, or other colors.

 As a popular drink in the city, Soda Susu is easily found either in restaurants, cafes, small stalls, or at the side of the streets. It is usually sold along with mineral water, iced tea, fruit juice, and other cold drinks. It is a perfect choice for hot and sunny weather to refresh your body and mind.

If you have a sweet tooth, you will almost certainly like the taste of this drink. The sweet flavor comes not only from the carbonated drinks, but also the syrup and sweetened condensed milk. Some people might find it too sweet, but ice cubes are a great combination and will tone down the sweetness.

Just a little fact that although the name is Soda Susu, which is literally means milk soda in English, fresh milk is almost never used as ingredients, as it will not blends well with the soda. So, the milk is only referred to the sweetened condensed milk.

If you are staying in Indonesia, and in some days, you are having a bad experience or not in a good mood, try this so-called happiness soda, that said to be your instant mood booster on those gloomy days.

 Join our Jakarta Food Tour from afternoon through evening, walk around with us to taste various kinds of delicacies. Take a short break, sip a fizz of the happiness soda, Soda Susu, and we will be ready to continue our adventure.

Wedang Ronde, A Bowl of Chewy Glutinous Rice Balls That Warms Your Night and Day

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Wedang Ronde is not only pretty, but also tasty. If you are served with a bowl of Wedang Ronde, you can see colorful round balls, poured with a sweet ginger soup, sprinkled with peanuts, and a few small square cuts of white bread. It is rich in appearance and flavors. It has a sweet and slightly spicy flavor from the ginger broth, savory taste from the sticky rice ball’s fillings, and a crunchy texture from peanuts, served hot.

Wedang Ronde is originated from China, with different name, tangyuan. It is called Wedang Ronde in Javanese, in which wedang means something that is served hot, and ronde which means in a round shape, the shape of the glutinous rice balls. In Indonesia, the glutinous rice balls are colored with food coloring to make the dish more interesting in appearance and more appetizing.

Even though the original version has a few varieties of filling, sesame paste, red bean paste, or sugar cane candy, Indonesian version of Wedang Ronde filling is mostly mashed sweet peanuts. At first bite, you can feel the soft and chewy texture of the glutinous rice balls. The second you get to the filling, you can feel the crunchy and sweet taste of the peanuts inside the glutinous rice balls.

A Wedang Ronde peddler usually walks around a housing complex while clinking a bowl with a steel spoon to make their presence heard. Customers who want to buy it can call the peddler to stop by at their door. The dish can also be found on the menu of some restaurants or small food stalls by the side of the street.

Because it is always served with a hot or warm ginger soup, it is perfect to consume when the weather is cooler. On rainy days, or on cold nights for example. However, if you are craving some hot dish on a hot day, just go for it.

Join our Jakarta Food Tour with us, a best activity to do at afternoon through evening, where many kinds of street food peddler starting their business, and maybe you can find and enjoy a bowl of hot Wedang Ronde with us to warm your body when the night comes.  

Es Teler, a Hint of Freshness to Awaken Your Appetite

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Es Teler, in literal translation is drunken ice, but with zero amount of alcohol in it. The word “teler” or drunken, came from a customer who commented that the ice drink made them drunk as it is too delicious. But in fact, Es Teler is a name for a variaton of fruit cocktail mixed with shaved ice. It originated from es campur or mixed ice, added with a few of new ingredients, thus, became Es Teler.

As a tropical country, there are so many variations of tropical fruit drinks in Indonesia. A few cuts of avocado, young coconut, grass jelly, and jackfruit can be found inside one portion of Es Teler serving. With added sugar, coconut milk, sweetened condensed milk, and pandan leaf, it has a fragrant aroma and a sweet flavor. Its colorful appearance will awaken your appetite.

Es Teler is perfect to drink for Jakarta’s hot weather in dry season. Es Teler menu can be found in restaurants, as well as by the side of the street, sold by street peddlers in their carts. And because majority of Indonesian population are Muslim, especially around Ramadhan or the fasting month, many people are selling Es Teler as takjil or appetizer before iftar comes. It is to freshen the throat before eating a full meal.

The original creator of Es Teler, Tukiman Darmowijono was selling es campur in a small cart in some street in Jakarta in the 1970’s. After starting to sell Es Teler, his business had been grown rapidly ever since. In this present day, his stall is still standing in the heart of Jakarta, known as Es Teler Sari Mulia Asli.

With a price as affordable as IDR 23.000 or around $1.5 USD, you can have a glass of fresh and sweet Es Teler on your table. Not only Es Teler, but you can also choose to have other menu of ice fruit drinks such as avocado ice only, coconut ice only, or just a simple orange juice.

Join our Food Tour, and we will take you to experience a refreshing journey. Taste a glass of Es Teler, a drunken ice that will not make you drunk, but make you sober instead!

A Sip of Refreshing Drinks in Jakarta Amidst the Heat

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Refreshing Drinks in Jakarta are all you need to ward off the hot weather in Jakarta. Indonesia is a tropical country, which only has two seasons throughout the year, dry season and wet season. Especially in Jakarta, the weather is particularly hot during the dry season. To sooth their throat amidst the hot days, Indonesian came up with varied creations of iced drinks, therefore, iced beverages are easily found almost everywhere in Indonesia.

The most popular iced drinks are iced tea and iced coffee, as Indonesia is one of the largest producers of tea leaves and coffee beans. Most restaurants, food courts, or warteg includes iced tea and coffee on their menus. Aside from those two options, as a tropical country, there are also many kinds of iced drinks made from tropical fruits, es teler, es cendol durian, soda susu, and es kelapa are a few examples of Drinks in Jakarta.

Es teler is some kind of Indonesian fruit cocktail, it is usually consisting of avocado, coconut milk, grass jelly, jackfruit, and other fruits, added with ice. While for es kelapa, only consists of coconut meat, coconut water and ice, sometimes with sugar. Another variant of fruit drink is es cendol durian, durian fruit combined with a kind of snack made with rice flour, shaped with a sieve, mixed with sugar and coconut milk. There is also soda susu or soda gembira. Some kind of drink made from milk, red soda, and ice. Most of them have a sweet and refreshing flavor.

Not only iced drinks, hot and warm drinks are also popular as an option for Drinks in Jakarta. Hot tea and coffee are no question. In addition, there is a drink named wedang ronde. It is a product of assimilated culture from China. Wedang ronde came from Chinese traditional dessert, called tangyuan. Made from ball shaped glutinous rice, served in ginger broth. Wedang is the name for hot drinks in Java, while ronde refers to the round shape of glutinous rice balls, hence the name, wedang ronde. It is perfect to drink on rainy days or cold nights in wet seasons when it is always raining.

By only imagining Drinks in Jakarta, you can already feel the sweet and refreshing taste in your mind. Join a mouth-watering experience on our Jakarta Food Tour. Walk a little, and stop for a while for a refreshing Drinks in Jakarta to recharge your energy. Once you are ready, let’s continue our journey!

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!

Indonesian Style Salad, Gado-gado Jakarta

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Set aside your salad, choose Gado-gado Jakarta instead. Gado-gado is derived from “digado”, or usually eaten not with rice, but with lontong (rice cake) instead. It is made from many kinds of ingredients, which contain various kinds of green vegetables, from lettuce, cabbage, cauliflower, long beans, cucumber, and bitter gourd.  Also combined with tofu, corn, and tempeh, with peanut sauce as the dressing, it adds a nice combination of flavors between sweet and savory. Most of the ingredients are boiled, and you can request the level of spiciness from the vendor. The ingredients may vary according to the location.

Indonesian culinary are rich in spices, condiments, and flavors. While it is enjoyable to eat, depending on the ingredients or the cooking process, eating too much of certain food can lead to health problems, too much fried food for example, is not good for your body as we need nutritional balance. So, Gado-gado Jakarta is the right choice for you. Only one thing that you need to pay attention to. Make sure that you are not allergic to peanuts, as some people may have it and resulting in a terrible reaction, or you can confirm to us before about what you can and cannot consume during our Jakarta Food Tour.

Gado-gado Jakarta or better known as Gado-gado Betawi in some areas, can usually be found in the mornings. Gado-gado is one of Betawi cuisine, native ethnic of Jakarta. Several sources stated that the founders are from Tugu Village community, situated in North Jakarta, who were originally of Portuguese descent. There might be some different version around Java area. Gado-gado is popular among Jakartans.  Usually sold by street vendors on the side of the main roads and often sold out right before afternoon comes. However, if you want to find places that sell Gado-gado Jakarta on the normal working hours, some restaurants or warung makan may have it on the menu.

You can ask locals or search independently about these restaurants or warung makan, or feel free to make inquiries to our Happy Walkers Agents during Jakarta Food Tour. We will gladly guide and provide you with useful information about delicacies around Jakarta. Don’t hesitate anymore, come join our Jakarta Food Tour and we will gladly help you find and try not only tasty, but healthy Gado-gado Jakarta.

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.