Sop Kaki Kambing (goat leg soup)

With a similar flavor profile to Soto Betawi, but a bit more of an adventurous dish, sop kaki kambing is an Indonesian dish for meat lovers, and particularly for goat lovers. Walking into a warung that serves sop kaki kambing, it reminded me a lot of walking into a restaurant in Kenya or Tanzania that serves nyama choma. There were a couple fresh skinned goats hanging from a rafter of the tent, and little by little, the meat was sliced up, cooked, and then displayed at the front of the restaurant.

When you eat sop kaki kambing, you first have a chance to choose whatever parts of the goat you want to eat, which are already pre-cooked. I was hanging out with Ken from Cowokrakus, and we chose some goat feet, eye sockets, and goat brain. All the different goat ingredients were added to a bowl, then covered a lightly creamy and buttery soup.

Where: Sudi Mampir Restaurant; Address: Jalan Biak Jakarta; Open hours: Around 5 pm – Midnight daily; Prices: We paid 208,000 IDR ($15.52) for two bowls of lots of organs soup and sate.

Ketoprak (peanut sauce salad)

Another common Indonesian dish based on peanut sauce is ketoprak, a Jakarta originating dish that includes pieces of tofu, and rice vermicelli noodles, all flavored with sweet salty peanut sauce.

When I was in Jakarta, one day I went to one of the most well known spots in the city for ketoprak, a small little shop in the neighborhood, that stays busy from the moment they open – and they often have a long line around mealtimes. After making a batch of their special peanut sauce, they fried some tofu, chopped it on a plate with some bean sprouts, doused it in the peanut sauce, and finished it with a fried egg.

Where: Ketoprak is available all over Jakarta, but for a famous version go to Ketoprak Ciragil; Address: Jalan Ciragil II Blok Q No. 24, Kebayoran Baru, Jakarta; Open hours: 9 am – 6 pm daily; Prices: 20,000 IDR ($1.49) per plate.

Sop Konro (beef ribs soup)

I ate a lot of unbelievably delicious food when I was in Jakarta, and there are so many amazing restaurants, but eating sop konro for the first time was one of those dishes that just blew me away – the combination of fall apart tender cooked meat along with fresh herbs and sambal, it was breathtaking.

Again, famously known in Indonesia as a Makassar dish from southern Sulawesi, sop konro are beef ribs which are simmered in a variety of fragrant spices includes coriander, galangal, lemongrass, cinnamon, nutmeg, and bay leaves. When you eat sop konro, the meat will literally just slide off the rib bones.

Where: Sop Konro Karebosi is a restaurant located in the Kelapa Gading are of Jakarta, that serves outstanding sop konro. They also serve konro bakar, grilled beef ribs, which were equally as stunning. Address: Jalan Boulevard Raya TA 2 No.38, Kelapa Gading, Jakarta; Open hours: 10 am – 10 pm daily.

Bakso (Indonesian meatballs)

One of the most widely available street food dishes (and in restaurants as well) and loved by nearly everyone, including President Barack Obama who grew up for some time in Jakarta, is bakso (or also known as baso), Indonesian meatballs.

There are two main versions of bakso available, one is the Chinese style and the other is the more local Indonesian style – both are delicious. The recipe for bakso typically includes minced meat mixed with some tapioca starch – and it is the tapioca starch which gives the meatballs their serious bouncy and addictive texture.

You can typically choose your choice of noodles, from thin white rice noodles, and yellow egg noodles (I’m a fan of egg noodles), and the bakso are then either served with the noodles and soup, or dry with soup on the side. This is a non spicy Indonesian dish, but there are always chilies and seasonings for you to add to your own bowl.

Where: Bakso Akiaw 99 is a popular Chinese style bakso restaurant in Jakarta. Address: Jalan Mangga Besar Raya No. 2B, Kec. Tamansari, Jakarta; Open hours: About 4 pm – 11 pm daily; Prices: I paid 93,000 IDR ($7.07) for a few bowls of meatballs and noodles.