Bandung Culinary, From Various Street Food to Haute Cuisine

Many people visit the capital of West Java province to pamper their taste buds. You'll be amazed with what Bandung has to offer. From various food sold on street vendors to haute cuisine, every visitor will be able to find something to their liking here.

One of the most well known dish, timbel, consists of nasi timbel, lalapan, sambal dadak, a piece of chicken (fried or roasted Sundanese style), fried beancurd, fried tempeh, a slice of jambal (salted fish). Nasi timbel is a favorite among locals and visitors. Batagor baso tahu goreng (literally means, fried meatballs & beancurd) is one of the most well-sought specialty. Made from blended fish and beancurd, with a special peanut sauce, batagor's popularity remains constant.

People with sweet tooth might fancy pisang molen, Indonesian traditional pastry filled with banana and cheese. For a variation, try brownies kukus (steamed brownies). Es cendol, made of blended/grinded rice, palm sugar, and coconut milk, is delightful on a hot day. For a colder day, you might want a taste of bandrek or bajigur. Bandung also offers various milk products most notably, yoghurt. Basically there are two kinds of yoghurt in Bandung the thin one, and the thick one (French style).

Hot snacks a la Bandung are widely sold throughout the city. Among them are gehu-toge tahu (tofu with beansprouts and vegetables filling), pisang goreng (fried banana) and cireng-aci goreng (fried tapioca). You might be interested in trying other snacks such as, nangka goreng (fried jackfruit), peuyeum goreng (fermented cassava, fried) or nanas goreng (fried pineapple). Ketan bakar (roasted sticky rice) and jagung bakar/rebus (roasted/boiled corns) are also recommended.

Nasi goreng (fried rice), although not originally from Bandung, is always the locals' favorite. The ingredients vary, according to people's preference. Sometimes the rice is mixed with seafood (usually shrimps, pieces of cuttlefish, pieces of crab's flesh), chicken and vegetables, mutton and vegetables, salted fish, and so on.

Get Around

If you have multiple destinations in mind, you'd better rent a car for a day (or two). There are taxi services in major streets and malls. Other parts of the cities mostly use public transportation called angkot, which are only recommended if you actually live in Bandung.

Get There

Fondly called Parahyangan meaning, Land of the Gods, Bandung has both metropolitan and homey atmosphere at the same time. Full of eateries, factory outlets, and malls, many people find going on a trip to Bandung both enjoyable and memorable.

Ways to reach Bandung from Jakarta may be as many as to Rome, so to speak. You can ride trains, buses, or use the many shuttle services with hourly schedules. Flights are less favored because the time it takes to travel to Soekarno-Hatta Airport  and check in may take longer than travelling by car.