Bandung has a reputation as one of Indonesia's best cities for eating, and for good reason. Indonesians travel here for the weekend mainly to eat and shop, and the city has a deep culture of street snacks, bakeries, cafes and Sundanese home cooking. Sundanese food differs from the sweeter cuisine of central Java: it leans on fresh raw vegetables, chilli paste, grilled and fried fish, fermented flavours and fragrant herbs. This guide explains the dishes, the places to look and a few rules for eating happily.
The Sundanese table
A classic meal is built around rice, often served wrapped in banana leaf as nasi timbel, with fried or grilled chicken or fish, tofu and tempeh, a plate of lalapan (raw or lightly blanched vegetables) and sambal, the chilli paste that comes in endless varieties. Dishes you will see include karedok, a raw vegetable salad with peanut sauce, pepes, a parcel of fish or tofu steamed in banana leaf, and sayur asem, a sour vegetable soup. Many restaurants serve in a lesehan style, with low tables on a platform, and in garden settings in the hills, which is a pleasure when the weather is cool.
The snack city
Bandung is famous for snacks that started as street food and became local brands. Batagor, fried fish dumplings served with peanut sauce, and siomay, steamed dumplings with potato and cabbage, are staples. Cireng, fried tapioca dough with a spicy dip, and colenak, a toasted fermented-cassava sweet with coconut and palm sugar, are old favourites. Surabi, small coconut-milk pancakes, are sold from hot pans on roadsides and make a cheap breakfast. Mie kocok, a beef noodle soup with tendon, and seblak, a spicy soupy dish of crackers, are the comfort foods locals recommend. Ask your guide or hotel for their favourite stall.
Coffee, tea and the highlands
West Java's highlands grow both tea and coffee, and Bandung has taken to specialty coffee with enthusiasm. The city is dotted with roasters and cafes, many of them in converted houses or garden spaces, particularly in the Dago and Braga areas. Look for beans labelled with the highland regions south and east of the city. Tea is just as important: a cup in a plantation setting, fresh and unfussy, is part of the standard tour of the Ciwidey hills. Sweet iced tea and ginger drinks are standard at roadside stalls.
Where to eat
Braga and the old town concentrate cafes, bakeries and restaurants in a walkable area, and the Dago ridge offers hillside restaurants with views. Lembang is known for dairy treats and garden restaurants, and Ciwidey offers strawberry and tea-country snacks. Night markets and street stalls appear in the evening around many neighbourhoods. Many food stalls are halal, since Bandung is largely Muslim; if you seek pork or alcohol, look for specific restaurants that serve it, and note that alcohol is limited in many places.
Staying healthy
Choose busy stalls with high turnover, where food is cooked fresh in front of you. Eat hot dishes while they are hot, be cautious with raw vegetables if your stomach is sensitive, and avoid tap water and ice of unknown origin. Bottled water is cheap and widely available. Carry hand sanitiser and tissues, and bring any medication you take for upset stomachs. If you have allergies, especially to peanuts or shellfish, learn the Indonesian phrases or ask your hotel to write a note, since peanut sauce and shrimp paste are common.
Food in your itinerary
The cultural walk through markets is a good first food lesson with a guide, and the private city tour can include snack stops if you ask. Many volcano and tea tours include lunch, usually a Sundanese set meal, so check what is covered and whether you can request vegetarian options. On a rainy day, a cafe crawl in the Braga area or a long lunch in a hillside restaurant is as worthwhile as any sightseeing.
A simple eating plan
Start the day with surabi or a hotel breakfast, take a batagor or siomay as a mid-morning snack, eat a full Sundanese lunch, enjoy a coffee or tea in the afternoon and finish with mie kocok, colenak or a bakery treat. Leave room for one meal at a garden restaurant in the hills, where the setting is half the point.