When I was in Yogyakarta (also known as Jogjakarta or Jogja for short), I spent 5 days with Aggy and her family. They hosted me and took time off to show me around, shared their culture and insights into their lives. Best of all, they brought me to dine in restaurants in Yogyakarta ensuring that my stomach was kept full all the time!

Food is the easiest way to get to know a place so here is the Yogyakarta Food Guide where you can find where and what to eat in Jogja.

1) Nasi Gudeg

NasiGudeg



Yogyakarta is also known as the city of Gudeg as it is the city’s speciality. Domestic tourist from other parts of Indonesia will flock here for this dish when they visit the city.

Nasi means rice and gudeg is actually jackfruit. A plate of jackfruit rice consists of white rice, kampong chicken, beef skin in spicy bean sauce and a scoop of sweet soy jackfruit.

As much as I like jackfruit, mixing it on a plate with a savoury dish just tastes odd. I prefer eating the jackfruit that I can purchase from the fruit stall.

You would need an acquired taste to enjoy it but hey, it is the speciality so give it a go!

Where to find?

RM. Gudeg Sagan located at Jl. Prof. Dr. Herman Yohanes No. 53 (Sagan), Yogyakarta, DI Yogyakarta 55121

This is one of the best restaurants to try this dish. This restaurant started selling Nasi Gudeg as a street food stall and because business was so good, they begin to expand to a proper restaurant today. 

2) Tempe

Tempe1

This is a popular food that originates from Java. It is made of soybeans and through the fermented process, it binds soybeans together turning it into a staple source of protein known as tempe.

The one I had in the picture above is known as tempe bacem. It is tempe boiled with palm sugar and spices, then deep fried for a few minutes to achieve the sweetness. It is best eaten with glutinous rice. If you want that bit of spiciness to go with it, eat it together with some raw green chilli. It can be eaten as a main dish during mealtime or as a snack on its own.

JavaneseTraditionalTea

Pro-tip: Order a pot of traditional Javanese tea to go alongside with this Yogyakarta traditional food as you sit on the mat provided for the ultimate authentic Javanese experience.

Where to find?

Jadah Tempe Mbah Carik located at Jalan Astomulyo (Kaliurang, Pakem), Sleman, DI Yogyakarta 0274

You can also find this snack along most of the streets

3) Leker

What's inside a leker
What’s inside my leker

Leker is thin layer of crispy pancake with your choice of fillings inside. You can choose from fillings like chocolate, bananas, strawberries and condense milk.

The one I ate was filled with chocolate and sliced bananas. It was absolutely yummy! It was a pity I only had one because it was a pre-dinner snack and I wanted to save my stomach for other food. Now I wish I can go back and eat more of this!

Snacking on Leker
Snacking

Where to find? 

You can find this snack easily on the busy street food stalls. 

4) Mushroom restaurant

Fried mushrooms
Fried mushrooms
Spicy mushroom soup
Spicy mushroom soup
Mushroom spring rolls
Mushroom spring rolls
Mushroom penyat
Mushroom penyat

If you are a mushroom lover, you will love this restaurant! Every dish in the menu (except for the drinks and desserts) are made of mushrooms. Yes, those photos you see above are all made of mushrooms!

I am a huge mushroom fan (think Super Mario). My favourite dishes in that restaurant has got to be the mushroom satays. It smelt like meat satay, it tasted like grilled satays but when you bit on it, it’s mushroom satay!

Mushroom5

The food in the restaurant is rather affordable and best of all, it is delish! Go for it, Super Marios!

Where to find? 

jeJamuran located at Niron Pandowoharjo (Sebelah Utara Perempatan Beran), Sleman, DI Yogyakarta55512

Apparently, there are more than one mushroom restaurants in Yogyakarta but this is the best of them all! 

5) Bubur Campur

Bubur Campur

Bubur Campur is also known as mixed porridge. It’s mashed up sticky rice with ingredients added to them creating different flavours and colours. This is often eaten in the morning as breakfast.

Some of them are sweet, some are slightly savoury. Since it was my first time trying, I had no idea how different each of them tastes so I decided to be adventurous enough to ask for whatever that is available. I ended up having 5 different kinds of porridge in my bowl.

Bubur Campur
This is how it was being sold. The woman will scoop the porridge out from those big pots.
selling out fast!
selling out fast!

Honestly, before I ate it, I was doubtful about that bowl of mushy sticky rice. I wasn’t sure if I would like it. Being in my adventurous self, I ate it and it was delicious. I liked that it was flavoursome, sweet with a tinge of savoury. I don’t mind a second serving in fact! :p

Where to find?

Murni Bakery located at Jl. Bintaran Kidul No. 30, Yogyakarta, DI Yogyakarta

6) Wedang Uwuh

Wedang uwuh

Technically this is not a food but this drink is worth mentioning!

Wedang uwuh, the Javanese to English literal translation means trash hot drink. What? Trash?! Are you serious? Yes! But, it may sound trashy but do you know that this is considered a health drink in Java? I know, I was just as skeptical in the beginning well.

Ingredients in Wedang uwuh

Taking a closer look at the ingredients inside the drink. It consists of a piece of ginger, some clover barks and cinnamon leaves. You can also sweeten it with the palm rock sugar but that is completely up to your choice.

The colour of the clover leaves turn the hot water red and the taste of ginger will tend to overpower the taste of cinnamon while palm sugar gives a hint of sweetness in the drink.

When I tasted the ginger in the tea, the taste bud sent a signal to the brain that this must clearly have some health benefit! How funny the Asian brain process ginger = good for body theory.

This is the drink you will not want to miss when you are in Yogyakarta for sure!

Where to find?

I drank it at one of those standalone traditional Javanese food restaurants at Warung Makan Lombok Iko “Mbah Wiji” located at Jalan Pakem Turi Km. 1 (Mangunan, Harjobinangun), Pakem, Sleman, Yogyakarta, Indonesia 

I also found a bakery shop that sells the pack of ingredients, all you need to do is to add hot water into it and voila, you have your own cup of trashy tea! They should have this drink in any of the Javanese restaurants.

What other food/ restaurants have you tried in Yogyakarta that you could recommend? Comment below!

Pamela Loh

Pamela, born and raised in Singapore. She is a dreamer, explorer, traveller and local tour guide.

A perfect day for Pam would be being on the road, having beers and endless of great conversations that shape a wider perspective.

Come say hi!

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10 Comments

  1. I am so happy to see you were enjoying the local food with Aggy. She must have been the beast food guide ever. I can just imagine. All of these dishes look extremely yummy and I know how good they can taste as I was in Indonesia as well. My favourite dish was leker and martubak (I don’t know if I spelled it correctly). Martubak was a sweet pancake sold in the street. So freaking yummy and cheap!

    1. Hello Agness… Yes, you bet! The only thing I worry when I am there is my waistline! :p
      Oh yes, Although I never got to tried it in Indonesia, but I ate Martabak here in Singapore before, it was good but I believe the price definitely looks better and much more attractive in Indonesia. 😀

  2. I’ve not read this post! Woohoo! I am so glad you loved your food experience in Yogyakarta 🙂
    You sure are an adventurous eater, my parents were happy you were happy to try anything served in front of you haha! Still so many places to visit Pam, must come back here again 😀

    1. Are you luring me back with the food?? I would love to try the street food proper the next time I go and I want to stay in the retreat place which you mention, away from the city and going back to the very basic!

  3. Wow, cool Pamela
    You’ve tried the dishes more than I did.
    I’m going back to Jogja on October 19, I’ll try Mushroom restaurant. 🙂
    Nice review.

  4. […] This drink is probably the most popular drink in Yogyakarta. “Uwuh” means trash but it doesn’t mean that this drink is trashy. The story behind this drink is that after cooking, usually people would have many leftover herbs. Instead of throwing those herbs away, they collected it, boiled it with water and this drink was created. The drink itself is red and has many herbs inside like ginger, cloves, kapulaga, cinnamon stick, rock sugar. I took my friend Pamela to taste this drink, and you can read her experience on it. […]

  5. I just went to Yogya with your guide and I have definitely tried all of them except the mushroom one (because we didn’t have enough time)!

    I can definitely vouch for this guide! Awesome job Pam!

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