Discover a variety of mouth-watering Bandung specialties, from Seblak to Mie Kocok, which combine traditional and modern flavors in every mouthful.
Bandung, a city famous for its natural beauty and cool temperature, also has a very rich and diverse culinary heritage.
Bandung’s specialties offer a variety of unique flavors, from spicy, savory, to sweet. Here are 10 Typical Bandung Foods that you must try, each mouthful brings its own story and memories.
1. Seblak
Seblak, a typical Bandung food that cannot be missed, is known for its appetizing spicy taste. This food starts from wet crackers cooked with chili, garlic, and galangal spices.
Galangal seasoning provides a distinctive, quite pungent aroma, making seblak very popular among the people of Bandung.
Over time, seblak has developed with various additional toppings such as noodles, meatballs, eggs, sausages, and even chicken feet. This variation makes seblak a flexible food that can be adjusted to taste.
2. Karedok
Karedok, often considered as the raw version of Gado-gado, is a refreshing Sundanese salad.
Unlike gado-gado which uses cooked vegetables, karedok uses fresh vegetables such as bean sprouts, cucumber, eggplant, and long beans coated with spicy peanut sauce.
You can adjust the spiciness of karedok by adding cayenne pepper that is ground with peanut sauce. Enjoy karedok with additional crackers or rice for a more complete taste sensation.
3. Batagor
Batagor, short for Baso Tahu Goreng, is one of the most popular fried foods in Bandung. Made from a mixture of mashed tofu and meatballs, this mixture is stuffed into dumpling skin and fried until crispy.
Its savory and crunchy taste makes batagor a favorite snack that is often served with peanut sauce and lime. The spicy and fresh taste of peanut sauce is the main attraction of batagor that makes it hard to resist.
4. Tutug Oncom Rice
Nasi Tutug Oncom is a unique Bandung specialty because the rice served is mixed with crushed oncom. Oncom provides a strong salty and savory taste, making it a very delicious dish when served with side dishes such as fried chicken or fish.
Tutug Oncom Rice is usually served warm to get the best taste. This dish is best eaten with chili sauce, which adds to its deliciousness and flavour. However, be careful because if left too long, this rice can contain compounds that are harmful to the body.
5. Cuanki
Cuanki is a typical Bandung food that is often sold using a cart. The name “Cuanki” comes from the abbreviation “Cari Uang Jalan Kaki,” which reflects the way cuanki traders look for buyers.
This food consists of meatballs, siomay, tofu, and fried tofu doused in savory broth. The topping is very delicious, especially if you add fried onions and sprinkle with celery leaves.
Cuanki is the right choice for those of you who want to enjoy a light but still filling meal.
6. Surabi
Surabi is a traditional snack that is not only popular in Bandung, but also in several other areas in West Java. This cake is made from a mixture of rice flour and coconut milk cooked in a clay mold over hot coals.
The baking process using a stove gives the surabi a crispy texture on the outside and soft on the inside. Surabi can be enjoyed with various toppings, such as brown sugar, spicy oncom, or eggs, providing a delicious sweet, savory, and spicy taste.
If you visit Bandung, don’t miss the opportunity to taste surabi with its various variations.
7. Pounded
Gepuk is one of Bandung’s signature meat dishes that you must try. Unlike rendang or dendeng from Sumatra, gepuk uses beef that is cooked by beating it until tender and then cooked with coconut milk until it thickens and turns brown.
The combination of sweet, savory, and slightly spicy flavors makes gepuk a very delicious dish. Gepuk is best eaten with warm rice, making every mouthful a pleasure in itself.
8. Peuyeum
Peuyeum, or cassava tapai, is a food made from cassava fermented with yeast. This food has a distinctive sweet and slightly sour taste.
Peuyeum can be enjoyed directly or grilled, then doused with grated coconut and brown sugar water, becoming a food called Colenak.
Peuyeum and Colenak are very popular choices of typical Bandung snacks, especially among tourists who want to experience the traditional taste of this area.
9. Bandros
Bandros is a traditional Bandung cake made from a mixture of rice flour and coconut milk. This cake is cooked in a concave mold, resulting in a texture that is crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.
Bandros is usually sprinkled with grated coconut before serving. This cake can be enjoyed with sugar, salt, or coconut oil to add a savory and delicious taste. Bandros is often served with afternoon tea, making it the perfect cake choice for a relaxing time.
10. Shake Noodles
Mie Kocok is a noodle dish that is perfect to enjoy in the cold air of Bandung. This food is made from yellow noodles served with sliced beef tendon, meatballs, bean sprouts, and spring onions.
The savory and creamy beef broth blends with the noodles, creating a very rich taste. The process of making the noodles, which are “shaken” in hot water, adds to the authentic taste of this dish.
Mie Kocok is a very fitting choice to warm the body during the cold weather in Bandung. Bandung’s culinary delights are truly endless, with a variety of foods that offer rich and varied flavors.
From spicy ones like seblak, to sweet and savory ones like bandros and peuyeum, every typical Bandung food has its own story and uniqueness.
So, if you visit this city, make sure to taste all the typical foods mentioned above and bring home some Typical Bandung Souvenirs to experience the sensation of Bandung’s mouth-watering culinary delights.
