5 Must Try Local Indonesian Dishes

Why Local Indonesian Dishes Are the Best Reason to Eat Out in Bali

By The Bali Tragic.

Local Indonesian dishes represent some of the most flavourful, varied, and genuinely affordable food in Southeast Asia. If you’re not sampling the local Indonesian dishes when you’re in Indonesia, you’re seriously missing out – it’s one of my favourite things to do. Available at local market stalls, roadside warungs or fancy restaurants, Indonesian food is easy to find and it’s delicious and cheap.

Nasi Campur

Campur means mixed, and that’s indeed what you’ll find when you order this dish which is a real favourite with locals and visitors. Almost every restaurant has their own take on this dish, so it does differ from place to place. The centre-piece is white rice, surrounded by selections of beef rendang, grilled chicken, tempeh, fried or hard-boiled eggs, a selection of vegetables (Sayur Urab) and sometimes a satay stick. Served with a classic Balinese spicy sambal and a crunchy prawn cracker, it’s very tasty. This dish is simply a showcase of all the best food you’ll find across Bali. A great way to sample different foods.

Where to eat – Warung Krishna, JL Kutat Lestari.

Babi Guling

Being that Bali is predominantly Hindu it’s not surprising to find that one of the most eaten meals is this pork dish. In the past, a babi guling feast was reserved for big celebrations; today it’s one of the most sought-after dishes for locals and expats alike. The suckling pig is cooked for hours, slow-turned over a hot-coal fire. It’s coated in a spice mix of garlic, ginger, turmeric, and other ingredients which make up a paste called Basa Gede—giving a delicious spicy flavour to the meat and crispy skin.  Always served with white fluffy rice, stewed vegetables and a few pieces of crispy skin, the meat is melt-in-your-mouth goodness.

Where to eat – Warung Pan Joss Babi Guling, Bypass Ngurah Rai.

Local Indonesian Dishes

Nasi & Mie Goreng

This would have to be classed as a national dish in Indonesia. The nasi (rice) or mie (noodle) goreng is a local favourite and also for many of us who visit Bali. There are so many variations to this dish dependant on where you’re dining. Generally, it’s rice mixed with vegetables then topped with a fried or scrambled egg and dried shallots. Sides include pickles, prawn crackers, and sticks of either chicken or beef satay, with sliced tomatoes and cucumber on the side. When you find one you love, you’ll be hooked. My favourite is this one!

Where to eat – Warung Baby Monkeys, JL Sudamala.

Martabak

This is one of our favourite street foods to eat in Bali, sweet or savoury, watching this dish it being made is almost as good as eating it. Once your order is placed, the vendor will prepare the filling with eggs and vegetables. Then a ball of dough is placed onto an oiled surface, stretched until it’s very thin and fried in a shallow pan. It bubbles instantly then filled with the omelette mixture, sliced green onions and cilantro. It cooks fast, the dough is folded around the mixture until a neat rectangle is formed. Once cooked, it’s sliced into squares and served with hot chillies and pickled vegetables. The sweet version looks more like a giant crumpet, and with fillings such as chocolate, condensed milk and cheese. It’s a great dessert and a chance to dine with the locals.

Where to eat – try it at the Sindhu Night Market, JL Pungatan.

Dadar Gulung

This is my favourite Balinese dessert. Thick crepes, coloured green with pandan leaves, are filled with fresh coconut and palm sugar. They are so fresh and light and made even better with a dollop of vanilla ice cream! These are just five of the local Indonesian dishes worth seeking out — once you start exploring, you will find that the variety of local Indonesian dishes available even within a single street in Bali is extraordinary. Explore our guide to nasi campur and learn more about Indonesian cuisine on Wikipedia.

Where to eat – Warung Makan SMS Sanur. Jl Betngandang.  

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The best local Indonesian dishes are almost always found in the most unpromising-looking settings. A warung with plastic chairs and a laminated menu picture is frequently producing food of a standard that a well-designed restaurant with the same dishes cannot match, because the warung cook has been making the same three or four local Indonesian dishes every day for decades. This repetition — the same mise en place, the same spice ratios, the same heat and timing — produces a consistency and confidence of flavour that professional kitchen training rarely replicates. If you want to eat the best local Indonesian dishes in Bali, point at what the people next to you are eating.

Local Indonesian dishes also tell you something specific about the region you are in. The nasi campur you eat in a Sanur warung reflects the particular Balinese spice tradition: coconut, galangal, lemongrass, lesser galangal (kencur), and the base spice paste (base gede) that underlies almost all ceremonial and everyday cooking in the region. The same dish ordered in Lombok or Sulawesi would reflect a different local flavour profile entirely. Eating local Indonesian dishes attentively — noticing what is similar and what is different from one place to the next — is one of the most rewarding ways to engage with the extraordinary culinary diversity of the archipelago.

A practical note on ordering local Indonesian dishes in Bali: most warungs do not have printed menus in English, and the best approach is simply to look at what is on display, point at what appeals, and ask the price before sitting down. Portions are generous by international standards and prices are low. The custom is to eat quickly and without ceremony, which is not rudeness but simply the warung rhythm. Tipping is appreciated but not expected. And if the local Indonesian dishes you order arrive at a different time from those of your companion — this is normal. Food in a warung comes when it is ready, not when the table is complete.

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