Usually, a variety of soto and soup in Jakarta are served to be eaten with a portion of rice. But, aside from those, there are a few dishes that can be eaten as is. These dishes often are served as snacks, but you can also choose to eat it with rice. They are bakso, bakwan malang, and tekwan.

Literal translation for bakso is meatballs, but meatballs dish in Indonesian is often served with soup broth. The popular and widely available bakso dish is made from cow meat. There are also other kinds that made from chicken, fish, or shrimp meat, but it can only be found in certain areas. Beside the meatballs itself, the dish has some additional ingredients such as bean sprouts, glass noodles, egg noodles, bean sprouts, and scallions as the topping.

Meanwhile, bakwan malang, sometimes also called bakso malang, is a signature dish from Malang, East Java area. It is as popular as ordinary bakso dish of a soup in Jakarta. It usually includes a variety of meatballs and fried food, such as meatballs, siumay, fried meatballs, fried dumplings, and tofu meatballs. Another difference is that the broth is cooked with beef bones and innards, so the texture is thicker as it contains more fat.

One other kind of soup in Jakarta is tekwan. It originated from South Sumatera, Palembang. The main ingredients are fish meatballs that are made from fish meat and tapioca flour. It is served in shrimp soup broth with a distinctive flavor. Vermicelli, julienned jicamas, green onions, celery, and black mushrooms are often included as complementary ingredients.

While both bakso and bakso malang taste more savory, tekwan has a slight sweetness that came from the fish meat and shrimp broth. Choose what will suit your preference more of an option for soup in Jakarta.

Not too hungry but not too full either? Then these three options are a perfect choice for you. Let’s join our Jakarta Walking Tour, and you might have a chance to taste these varieties of soup in Jakarta with us. See you around!