Bandung dining & entertainment

Bandung is a heaven for food lovers who enjoy new experiences. There are a lot of varieties, not only local cuisine but international ones. You can find any food you want for any kind of taste. Do note, that most eateries in Bandung focus on creating new variations, not making sure it tastes good.

Everybody has their own favourites. One page is not enough to list all food stalls, food courts, restaurants and cafes in Bandung. Here are some lists that are popular or have a long history.

Local Delicacies

• Bakso Tahu & Siomay is a steamed meat with/without tofu. It is served with peanut paste, sweet soy sauce and a lime. It is suitable for a snack, eat at anytime. In almost all streets you can find somebody selling this food with a wheeled stall (gerobak). The popular place is called Siomay Pak Lili at Jl. Geger Kalong Girang that has sold this food for 15 years.

• Batagor is similar to bakso tahu/siomay but it is fried instead of being steamed. It is served similar with peanut paste and sweet soy sauce. Served also as a snack. Legends are Kingsley at Jl. Veteran, selling this food already for 28 years, and Batagor Riri at Jl. Burarangrang 41 (in front of the BCA building).

• Martabak is a fried stuffed pancake. There are two types: sweet and salty. Sweet martabak is a thick pancake stuffed with chocolate/cheese/banana/sugar. The salty martabak is a thin fried pancake stuffed with eggs, some vegetables, mushrooms, chicken/beef. The most popular ones are Martabak Lodaya and Martabak San Fransisco at Jln. Lodaya.

• Soto Bandung is a soup with beef meat, soy beans and some vegetables. The old food stalls selling this food is at Soto Ojolali, Jl. Cibadak (near alun-alun), since 1940s.

• Lotek is a mixed boiled vegetables, served with peanut paste and some chillies. The hotter the better. The famous place is Lotek Kalipah Apo, Jl. Kalipah Apo, every day 9AM-16PM. Have been selling this food for already 48 years. One plate is about Rp. 4500, very cheap.

• Mie Kocok is a noodle soup, served with beef foot, beef skin and tauge. If you don't fancy with these parts of beef, then you can ask not to have it and you can still taste its appetite. The famous place is a street vendor, Mie Kocok SKM, at Jl. Sunda.

• Mie Ayam is a noodle soup served with chicken and it comes with a variety of topings. The famous place is at Mie Naripan, they serve varieties of good noodles there. Another good place is at Bakmi Mangkok Mas in Jl. Setiabudhi.

• Nasi Timbel is the famous Sundanese dish. It is a tube-shaped rice that has a distinguish flavour, because it is cooked inside a banana leaf. It is usually served with lalapan (raw vegetables), fried tofu & tempe, fried chicken and chili paste. You can find this type of dish in most of Sundanese restaurants. The well-known timbel food stall is located nearby Istiqomah mosque. Another good place is at Nasi Timbel Dago at Jl. Dago. One plate cost about Rp. 20.000.

Legendary Eateries

Have been around for years and still famous for their delicious food:

• Sate Kardjan, Jl. Pasirkaliki, every day 24h. Lamb satay speciality, since 1970. Try sate buntel (a grilled minced lamb meat), tongseng (lamb meat in a coconut milk soup), nasi goreng kambing (fried rice with lamb) or sate cempe (satay from 10 month old lamb).

• Bubur Ayam Mang Oyo, Jl. Sulanjana (near Gasibu) and several branches. It's a chicken porridge. Nice for starting your day.

• Kedai Ma' Uneh, Jl. Terasana I No. 132 Pajajaran. It's in an alley in front of Pajajaran sport complex. Delicious Sundanese food.

• Baso Lela, Jl. Awiligar, everyday open until 9 PM. It's new but getting popular. It's in the hill side of Bandung with a nice view to the city. Try yamien, a dried boiled noodle, mixed with soy sauce. There are sweet yamien and salt yamien. Try also chicken noodle and the strawberry juice as a dessert.

• Santosa, Jl. Aceh, everyday open from 5 PM until 9.30 PM. It's a nice hawker open tent, favourite place not only for students from many universities in Bandung, but also for youngster in Bandung. Open since '60s. Try the fried kway teow/noodle/rice. They are using a special wok to enhance the taste.

Located opposite of kotamadya office, near KONI Jabar dorm.

Chic Restaurants

For those who want a breathtaking view, eat in a local Sundanese village or have romantic international cuisine. Don't expect the taste to be half as good as the view and experience though.

• Kampung Daun, Jl Sersan Bajuri Km 4.7 No 88 Villa Trinity Complex (you need to drive with your own car there). Sundanese food. Designed with natural elements as you eat at a hut in the middle of padi field, small waterfall and river. At night it's really amazing to walk along candlelit pathways. Eating out really means eating out here.

• Sierra Cafe & Lounge, Jl. Bukit Pakar no 33. Located on the hill of Dago Pakar in Bandung, Sierra delivers a relaxing and indulging ambience with a breathtaking view of Bandung's city light. International cuisines (Western, Japanese and Thailand).

• Kedai Nyonya Rumah, Jl. Naripan 92. Indonesian cuisines. The interior design is very relaxing, giving a nice eating experience.

• Tizis Restaurant, Jl. Kidang Pananjung 3. European dishes with homemade bread & pastries A well-known expats place to dine.

• Coca Suki, Jl. Ir. H. Juanda (Dago) 173. A branch of Thailand restaurant Coca

Sundanese Restaurants

Sunda is the ethnic name of the local people living in West Java. Sundanese food has some distinctive features than other ethnics. It mainly consists of fried fish, pepes ikan (steamed fish in a banana leaf), raw vegetables and chili pastes. To try these type of foods, there are numerous Sundanese restaurants. Some with famous name has many branches in Bandung and the vicinity. Some of the popular ones are:

• Sindang Reret, Jl. Surapati No. 53, Tel. (+62)-22-2501474. The other branche is outside the city in the north: Jl. Raya Cikole Km.22 Lembang, Tel. (+62)-22-2786500. The good one is the branch restaurant (see the Lembang Trip).

• Ponyo, Jl. Malabar 60, Tel. (+62)-22-7301477. There are many branches outside the city.

• AA Laksana, Jl. Soekarno Hatta 494, Tel. (+62)-22-7509303. There are 2 other branches: Jl. Jakarta 21 and Jl. Cihampelas 30. A big self-service eatery with long tables already filled with plates of food. Take what you want and ask the server to count the plates when finished.

Drink

As the sale of alcoholic drinks is to be banned at public restaurants (although you can find them in upscale public restaurants), it will be difficult to find liquor, except at bars, night clubs, hotels and 24-hour mini markets. However, drinking fresh icy yoghurt or juice is very tempting, especially after spending a day in a hot sun. These are some famous drinking places to try:

• Yoghurt Cisangkuy, Jl. Cisangkuy (near Gedung Sate complex). It has many flavours of fresh yoghurt with fresh fruits. Very suitable as a resting place after walking in the hot weather.

• Es Cendol Elizabeth, in front of the Elizabeth bag shop at Jl. Otto Iskandar Dinata and Jl. Cihampelas. Cendol is an Indonesian drink made with coconut and coconut milk, served with ice cubes and sweet brown sugar.

• Bandoeng Melk Centrale (BMC), Jl. Aceh 30, in an old Dutch colonial house. It's speciality is a fresh milk.

• Rumah Kopi, Jl. Awiligar (near baso Lela). It literally means "coffee house". They serve many kinds of coffee at cheap prices.

• Susu segar Lembang, at many street vendors in Lembang. It is outside the city, but it can be nice to stop if you do a sidetrip to Lembang.

• Es Sekoteng Bungsu, Jl. Bungsu 29. Es sekoteng is a grated ice cube with avocado, young coconut and kolang-kaling (some local preserved fruit).

In Malaysia and Singapore, bandung is also known as a drink, but it is not related to the city of Bandung at all. From an unconfirmed story, the pink rosewater-and-syrup concoction bandung drink was named after banned and dung by a British official during the colonial time, because of the bad taste as he said.