Food is important to Solonese people who often discuss their favourite warung or eatery. As well as local specialities, food from across the Indonesian archipelago can be tasted in Solo. Packed with all kinds of eateries, from cheap street food to top knotch restaurants, visitors to Solo have a wide choice of where to eat. Check out my Googlemap to see the locations of some of my favourite places to eat.
Javanese cuisine in Solo
Nasi liwet, a Solonese speciality is rice (nasi) with cooked bamboo shoots and a light coconut sauce. It can be served with egg or chicken and is a nice light meal.
Nasi gudheg, originally from Yogya but widely available in Solo, is stewed jackfruit, beans, leaves and cow skin (yes really) in a sauce, served on rice. It can be eaten with chicken, egg, tofu, tempeh and others.
Soto is rice soup, often with beansprouts, and chicken or beef. Add some spicy sambal (chilli paste) and kecap manis (sweet thick soy sauce) and eat with fried tempeh and tofu. This is often eaten as a breakfast meal but can be eaten throughout the day and some places sell soto at night.
Bakso is meatballs, usually beef, served in a stock or soup with noodles and some leafy vegetables. Add sambal and kecap manis (as above). This meal makes a nice break from rice.
Gado-gado is a mixture of vegetables, egg and tempeh in a peanut sauce, served cold with krupuk (rice crackers) crushed on top. Another good way to avoid rice!
Lotek is similar to gado-gado but involves more leafy vegetables and tends to be spicier.
Nasi goreng is fried rice, usually cooked with egg and can be spicy. Variations include chicken, seafood, and so on.
Mi or mie is the word for noodles, which can be fried (mie goreng) or boiled (mie rebus, mie godok). Usually with vegetables and egg, can be spicy.
Ayam goreng (fried chicken), bebek goreng (fried duck) ikan goreng (fried fish) and other similar dishes follow a basic theme of fried main food item, served with rice, sambal (chilli paste), cucumber and cabbage leaves. These dishes are usually eaten without a spoon, using one’s fingers.
Ayam bakar (grilled chicken) and other grilled meat or fish is served and eaten in the same way as the fried versions above. The meat is grilled in a sweet sauce or kecap.
Ayam tulang lunak is served and eaten as above. This time the chicken is cooked until the bones are soft and you can actually eat them.
Bubur is rice porridge, available in both sweet (bubur sum-sum) and savoury (bubur ayam) versions. It can also be called jenang.
Nasi pecel is a slightly spicy peanut sauce over beansprouts and leafy spinach-like vegetables served on rice. This can be eaten with egg, tempeh, tofu and so on.
Sop buntut is oxtail soup, served with rice.
Selat is not salad. It is a selection of cooked but cold vegetables such as potato, carrot, served with a sweet sauce.
Gorengan are deep-fried snacks, such as tempeh, tofu, banana etc. Healthy stuff!
Krupuk are rice crackers, available in various shapes and sizes and eaten as an accompaniment to almost any food.
Srabi, a sweet snack and a Solonese speciality, are small pancakes topped with a sweet rice mixture and your choice of banana, papaya, chocolate or coconut.
Drinks
Teh is Javanese tea, a mixture of black and jasmine tea, served hot or with ice, sweet and without milk.
Kopi is coffee, served sweet, hot or iced, with or without milk.
Jeruk means citrus fruit and refers to a drink made of juicing a small orange, mixing with hot water and sugar, and serving hot or iced. Jeruk nipis refers to a lime rather than an orange, which is also used to make this drink.
Jahe means ginger and refers to a drink using ginger, hot water and sugar. Teh jahe is the combination of tea with the ginger drink.
Wedang is the Javanese word for drink.
Wedang ronde is a hot gingery drink served in a small bowl with a spoon. In the liquid there are several balls of glutinous rice with peanut butter inside, among other things such as peanuts.
Sekoteng is similar to wedang ronde but without the peanut butter balls, and sometimes with raisins or other dried fruit pieces.