Forget the western food when you come to Indonesia. Bali offers a lot of delicious food you cannot resist when you first have tried it. Try some of these dishes while you are in Bali and you will not regret it, only leaving you wanting more.
Nasi Goreng
Of course Nasi Goreng is on the list. This meal is definitely a signature dish of Indonesia and is most likely to appear on any menu cards. The dish consists of stirred rice with eggs, chili, veggies and meat, if you preferred to add it.
Mie Goreng
Mie Goreng is another one of Indonesia’s signature dishes. The dish consists of fried noodles and with the same complementary ingredients as Nasi Goreng and just as enjoyable.
Babi guling
Babi Guling can be translated directly to “suckling pig” and it’s the juiciest and mouth watering roasted pig you can find anywhere. This dish is truly a Balinese dish as pork is uncommon in the Muslims regions and the Hindus on Bali really understand how to cook this tender and sensational meat.
Bakso
Bakso is a preferred meatball noddle soup among many locals. Its made with fried shallots, celery, boiled egg, wontons and of course meatballs as the size of golf balls served in chicken broth soup.
Soto
Soto is a traditional Indonesian soup based on chicken/beef broth. Its possible to find many variants of this soup depending on which region it comes from but that does not make it any less delightful.
Satay
Satay might be one of the most popular dishes in Indonesia. You will find Satay on the menu in almost any local or Indonesian restaurant or at street vendors. Satay is meat skewers cooked over coals. You will always see a person who blows the smoke away with a hand-hold fan. Satay is served with peanut sauce.
Gado-Gado
This vegetarian dish might be one of Indonesia’s best-known and most popular dishes. The dish is a vegetable salad with tofu and tempe finished with the very delicious peanut sauce on top.
Sambal
Okay, so sambal might not be a dish but that does not make it less important for the Indonesians, it might actually be the most consumed sauce. Sambal is a chili-based sauce you can find on any table in an Indonesian restaurant. Its very common to complete the dish with a spoon of this tasty chili-based sauce.
Kerupuk
This is actually not a dish either but if you order any dish is it most likely that you will get kerupuk served with it. Kerupuk is crackers and Indonesia have many kinds of different one. Try the prawn, fish garlic etc. The choice is up to you.
Tempe & Tahu
This is another vegetarian delicious treat. Tempe and Tahu (tofu) is soy beans and can come in various preparation – fried, stuffed and battered. You will either find these as a snack or accompaniments in main dishes.
Gorengan
This is more a snack than a dish in Indonesia but it is the most popular one you can find. Gorengan means fried foods and that’s exactly what this snack is entirely about. The snack can be bought many places but it is specially the street carts or street vendors you can find them. The variety is wide, everything from fried tempe, tofu, bananas, sweet corn and vegetable fritters.