Soto

Posted on August 10, 2017 by Vera T

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.

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

Jakarta Food Tour Experience with CTB Global

My motto is to travel efficient; this includes tasting local delicacies in a smart way. That’s why I often look for a local food tour, especially in Asia, to taste as much different dishes as possible during a night. During my trip through Indonesia together with my daughter I wanted to do a food tour in Jakarta. I booked a Jakarta food tour with Jakarta Walking Tours which is managed by Vera.

This was a great choice as she knew the places to go eat very well and explained each dish into detail. Hungry yet? Join me on a Jakarta food tour!

Before you start with your Jakarta Food Tour make sure you don’t eat too much during the day. You will be eating four hours and you do want to taste as much as possible. If you worry about getting sick of street food: please don’t. Everything is fresh and cooked on the spot so the risk is very low.

Continue reading here: Jakarta Food Tour with CTB Global

Jakarta Food Tour Experience when Fasting Month

It is Ramadan. Indonesia is home to the largest population of Muslims in the world. Over 12{9e84ad3adf7f6649419c3d34c511cc75d18ba3101b1ac61299241cdd2f2cd7ab} of the world’s Muslims live here, and about 100 of them are sitting to my left and to my right on short, green plastic chairs, in a street-side restaurant with a roof made of stretched-tarp. They stare at their food, waiting for the clock to strike 6:00 p.m. Many awoke early to eat breakfast at 4:00 a.m., and then went without food and water for the last 14 hours. It is oppressively hot and humid, especially with all of these hungry bodies packed into a room that traps heat, testing everyone in their last few minutes of fasting.

Everyone but me. I am on a food tour. During Ramadan.

So I begin with the soup, and I move onto the Tempe Bacem. All but one person eyes me with contempt. It doesn’t matter that I’m the infidel. What matters is that everyone is hungry. And I’m eating. (There was one other person, a Muslim man who seemed in his early 60s, who kept sneaking little pinches of white rice into his mouth, refusing to chew so that his secret might be safe.) I’m a fan of sacrifice, but in a world where few ever remove their mask, I love that guy.
Continue reading here: Jakarta Food Tour

Gudeg

Posted on July 29, 2017 by Vera T

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

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

Gado-Gado

Posted on July 27, 2017 by Vera T

Gado-gado is very popular salad with many regional variations. It is sold everywhere, in the most exclusive restaurants and hotels or by a humble street hawker. This vegetable concoction originates from the Betawi of Jakarta, but known as national dishes as well.

Gado-Gado consists of blanched spinach, long beans, bean sprouts, shredded cabbage, sliced fried tofu, and boilded eggs cut into wedges. A warm salad with tangy peanut dressing, gado-gado is sometimes eaten with rice or rice cakes (lontong). The peanut sauce is made from deep fried peanuts blended with an assortment of herbs, such as lime leaves and chilies that gives it a fresh, spicy taste. Indonesian peanut sauce is a delicate balance of tastes that blends and adapts itself to the various ingredients it complements. Peanut sauce must not be too thick or too runny.

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

Do you want to taste amazing Gado-gado in Jakarta? Let’s join our all-you-can-eat food tour in Jakarta. We will bring you to the best gado-gado stall in town. Contact us here

Four Types of the Best Satay in Jakarta

Posted on April 2, 2017 by Vera T

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.

: Padang Satay Sauce

: Soy Bean Barbecue Sauce

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!

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

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

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

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

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.

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?

Posted on December 16, 2016 by Vera T

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.

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.

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!

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!

The Best Food in Jakarta

Posted on May 14, 2015 by Vera T

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.

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)

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.

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~

Snacking with Jakarta Street Food

Posted on February 9, 2015 by Yupa

While you are visiting Jakarta, traveling for a business trip, visiting relatives, or even to take a city tour Jakarta with us, and suddenly your stomach is growling, it is time to recharge your energy. Don’t see any restaurant nearby? Don’t worry! You can still find Jakarta Street Food (or foods!) in almost every corner of the street to save you 😉

Jakarta Street Food : Gorengan To Save Your Day

What is gorengan? It is a term for any fried food material. “Goreng” means “fried” in English. Don’t be surprise if you find Indonesians like fried food a lot. Almost every thing can be fried in here. From tofu, tempe (fermented soybean), banana, pineapple, cassava, anything! You name it. Maybe it’s not much, but gorengan is not bad to fulfill your empty stomach. You can get 1 type of gorengan for IDR 1 k, cheap isn’t it? Yup, gorengan is the cheapest Jakarta Street Food you can find in this big town. Believe me.

A Plate Full of Gorengan

Jakarta Street Food : Kue Putu, The Attractive Ones

Another Jakarta Street Food choice is to enjoy kue putu (steamed rice roll cake filled with sugar palm). It has a green color. It is so pretty that you can resist. It is not as easy to find kue putu sellers as much as you find gorengan sellers, they usually sell it in a residential area, there are something in their cart that emits a unique sound to notify someone that they are passing by. The sound is like a train’s honk, but softer and long enough you don’t know when it will stopped.

Nice Looking Kue Putu

Kue Putu Served With Grated Coconut

Jakarta Street Food : Fruit Rojak to Refresh Your Body

So, what have you chose? Gorengan? You eat too much and the result is a sore throat? Then try rojak. Maybe it will relief you. Rojak or “rujak” as we call it in Jakarta, is a street snack that contains sliced mixed fruit that grow in Indonesia. You can choose many kinds of food to eat at once. From sliced yam bean, mango, ambarella, pineapple, apple, until watermelon. Usually eat with “sambal” or grinded chilli and salt because Indonesians like spicy food.

Rujak Seller with the “Gerobak”

Jakarta Street Food : Martabak, Meal or Snack?

Martabak is everyone favorite. Martabak divides in two categories, sweet and savory. Sweet martabak less favorable than savory martabak that made from duck egg, onion leaves, and cow meat. We are not sure it consider as a meal or snack. From Jakartans point of view, meal should goes along with white rice. Duck egg martabak with white rice, then it becomes our dinner. Martabak as a snack maybe when we eat it together with friends and family. We can not buy martabak in small portion, we need to buy the whole thing that usually too much for one person stomach.

: Savory Taste: The Duck Egg Martabak

: Banana Sweet Martabak

Question. Where to find all those street food in Jakarta? Actually, you can find it in every corner of Jakarta. But for the best street food choice, you can join our Jakarta Food Tour every night in Jakarta. Check your bucket-food-list within one night with us. See you around!

Jakarta Walking Tour

Look Jakarta closer through walking

Category: The Best Food in Jakarta