Below are some tips on what local cuisine you should taste in our Jogjakarta food and cuisine guide. Be aware that for even more general information on local Indonesian food and restaurants you should view our Indonesian restaurants guide. Take the time while visiting to do a bit of shopping in Jogjakarta too.
Food & Cuisine in Jogjakarta
Local Delicacies
Gudeg and other delicious dishes
When in Jogjakarta, do try the exotic local cuisine. The immensely popular gudeg is a curry made of jackfruit, chicken and egg, served on a bed of rice. Though it looks all brown and gooey, it tastes wonderful if prepared well. Among the many specialty gudeg restaurants, the popular ones are Gudeg Wijilan, Gudeg Tugu, Gudeg Juminten, Gudeg Bu Tjitro, and Gudeg Bu Ahmad. Jalan Janturan offers a unique gudeg experience, it invites you to enjoy your dinner in its traditional style kitchen. This experience is called Gudeg Pawon.
Another delightful dish is ayam goreng mbok berek (the fried chicken of mbok berek). This is made of free-range chicken, fresh coriander and garlic and served with crispy crackers. Nasi langgi, better known as sego langgi, is essentially warm rice served with a variety of accompaniments. Stalls in Gandekan Street serve it best.
Sweet snacks
Kipo are the delightful sweet snacks made of green tapioca dough and stuffed with sugar and grated coconut. Sample these at Kotagede. Bakpia is another sweet bite-sized snack made from green beans paste wrapped in filo pastry. Bakpia Patuk, the most popular bakpia, is found in Pathuk Street, which often referred to as Jalan Aip K.S. Tubun as well. Jadah Temple is a rice cake and sweet bean sandwich that you can buy from Kaliurang. If you like a fruity snack, try es rujak or rujak es krim, which is a fruit salad made with sliced mangoes, sweet papayas, apples, pineapples and cucumbers. These are seasoned with palm sugar, chillies, salt, limejuice and ice cream. You can enjoy its sweet, spicy and savoury flavours all in one go. Known for their es rujak are the Jalan Kaliurang fruit stalls near the UGM campus. They are open late mornings to early afternoons only so you have to catch this local delicacy quick.
Angkringan
Angkringan is a shop that sells a variety of foods like Nasi Kucing or cat rice that is a portion of rice served with sambal (chillies) or oseng-oseng packed in a paper or banana leaf. One angkringan you can visit is Angkringan Lik Man or Angkringan Tugu north of Tugu station, in Jalan Wongso Dirjan. This is usually open from 2 pm or 6 pm until 1 am or even 4 am.
Pasar Tiban Kauman
During the holy fasting month of Ramadhan, the open market at Kauman sells delectable treats in the form of snacks and dishes. The food is meant to be consumed before dawn in preparation for the fast. You'll enjoy buying freshly prepared local foods against the backdrop of ancient Javanese architecture adorning the streets. The market opens at 3 pm and is wrapped up by 6 pm. While you can buy the food, consuming it here before dawn even if you are not fasting is not considered appropriate.
Eating Out in Jogjakarta
Jogjakarta is has some great food at great prices with some dishes that work out to be as low as $0.25. There is plenty of choice with hundreds of hawkers preparing street food right in front of you but be selective, not all of it may be great. The coffee here is unique. Kopi joss is strong Javanese espresso with a burning ember dipped in it. For gudeg, another choice is Gudeg Tugu close to Kranggan market, which opens between 7 pm and 1 am. A traditional meal consists of rice, shredded chicken, gudeg, brown hard-boiled egg, areh sauce and spicy hot sambal goreng krecek.
Besides street food, you will find many fine dining Jogjakarta restaurants and not-so-expensive family dining options serving a variety of cuisines ranging from traditional Asian to American fast food.
