Soto Betawi (Jakarta soup)

Jakarta is the biggest city in Indonesia, and people who live in Jakarta come from the furthest regions and islands of the country. The food directly reflects this, and walking down the street you’ll find a restaurant serving Padang food, Manado food, snacks from Eastern Java, and the list goes on and on.

But if there’s one dish that’s one of the most famous dishes, known for being homegrown right in Jakarta, it’s soto Betawi, literally meaning, Jakarta soup. Soto in Indonesia is a type of soup, and every region of Indonesia has their own version, and Betawi are the people of Batavia, the Dutch colonial name for Jakarta.

Soto Betawi is usually prepared with beef, which is boiled with aromatic herbs like lemongrass and Indonesian bay leaves, and flavored with candlenut, galangal, garlic, and shallots, and finally often a combination of both fresh cow milk and coconut milk are added to make the soup creamy. The soup is usually served in a bowl, topped with some crispy fried shallots, and eaten with a plate of rice, and some Indonesian pickles (known as acar). Eating Soto Betawi when I was in Jakarta was one of the culinary highlights for me. It’s truly an incredible dish that you can’t miss.

Where: One of the best places in Jakarta to eat soto Betawi is Soto Betawi Haji Husein. Address: Jalan Padang Panjang No. 6C, Kel. Pasar Manggis, Jakarta; Open hours: 7 am – 2 pm from Saturday – Thursday (closed on Friday); Prices: 110,000 IDR ($8.34) for 4 bowls of soto and rice.

Siomay (dumplings)

Soimai is a popular Indonesian food snack that has roots in China, but has been transformed as an Indonesian dish. Typical vendors that sell siomay have a steamer full of different ingredients including siomay, tofu, and a variety of fishcakes and stuffed items. Siomay can either be made with fish or sometimes shrimp or pork.

The siomay are dished onto a plate, and the Indonesian flavor touch is that they are served with a sweet and savory peanut sauce and some sambal to bump up the heat.

Where: In Glodok, Jakarta’s Chinatown, you’ll find many bicycle vendors that sell hot plates of siomay. But also throughout Jakarta it’s a popular street food.