Bogor is one of the satellite cities of Jakarta and is known as Jabodetabek, an abbreviation of Jakarta, Bogor, Depok, Tangerang, and Bekasi. It is a bedroom community that offers the feel of a small-town neighborhood within driving distance of the big city. Only 37 kilometers away from Jakarta, it is an ideal place to spend the weekend and to relax and unwind after stressful workdays.

For those who want to indulge on delicious food, you have come to the right city. Bogor has made itself the home of Asinan Bogor. Even if a lot of sellers from surrounding cities have tried to copy the recipe, no seller can beat the flavor of the original Asinan Bogor. What is The Asinan Bogor? It is a fruit pickle, and a vegetable pickle.

Of course, there are other kinds of food that you can find only in Bogor. The food that can be found in many open-air eateries and many street corners are delicious. Locals don’t mind the place, but if you are not Anthony Bourdain, who can eat any food, anywhere, in the world, and you have a concern about food sanitation, then it is better for you to eat at restaurants that serve similar food. You can easily find a food vendor by noticing a long line of customers waiting for their turn to be served.

In general, the cuisine in Bogor ranges from traditional Sundanese to Indonesian to western cuisines that have been adapted to suit Indonesians’ taste and methods of cooking.  One can find “soto” or Indonesian curried soup; “bakmi” or noodles, which can be “bakmi goreng” or friend noodles, “bakmi kuah” or noodle soup, a Chinese food that has been  adopted as one of the Indonesian dishes; “sop” or soup. Ask about the food before you place an order as sometimes, the name does not represent the food itself.  The name can be used as a catchphrase, invented by the food creators to make themselves stand out from the crowds; an example is “bubur buah” or fruit porridge, which is actually a fruit yoghurt dessert.

What are they?

1.  Asinan Bogor or Bogor pickles. The shop serves three different kinds of asinan Bogor: asinan buah or fruit pickle, asinan sayur or vegetable pickle, asinan campur or mixed pickle. A fruit pickle consists of shredded cabbage, yam bean or jicama, unripe mangoes, semi-riped papaya, shredded carrots, sliced pineapples, bean sprouts, whole red-skinned roasted peanuts, Tientsin cabbage or sawi asin, tofu, and noodle cracker. For the dressing, add ground toasted dried shrimps, ground red chili, granulated cane sugar, water, lemon juice, salt, and vinegar. If you like spicy food, you can add more ground chili to it—the spicier the better, especially when you eat it in hot weather. It is very refreshing; you will sweat a lot, but you will love it.

 

 

2. Bubur buah or fruit yoghurt consists of sliced fresh fruits on which is poured over a thick sauce, a mix of ice cream and yoghurt.

 

3. Doclang Bogor is another of Bogor’s specialties. It is usually eaten for breakfast. It consists of fried tofu, steamed potatoes, boiled egg, lontong—a steamed rice cake wrapped in a patat leaf (Phrynium capitatum) or a leaf that gives a different aroma than the usual banana leaf—topped off with a crunchy, sweet peanut sauce, and then garnished with fried shallots.

 

4. Bebek Dubes is duck served grilled or fried, with or without honey, and garnished with green chili sauce, sliced cucumber, lettuce, and sliced tomatoes. It is, of course, served with steam rice.

 

5. Toge Goreng or fried bean sprouts consists of egg noodles, fried tofu, oncom, and red chili and is garnished wih tauco, an Indonesian-style condiment made of fermented soybean paste.

 

 

6. Sop Duren Lodaya or Sop Duren, literally translated as “Duren Fruit Soup,” is actually a fruit ice. Duren or durian is one of the favorite fruits in Indonesia. It has a strong smell, but aside from that, it tastes delicious. However, most foreigners do not like it because of its smell. Sop Duren is served with duren fruit puree and cooked mung bean and is garnished with a slice of pandan bread.

 

7. Soto Bogor is a curry, a beef curry with cow internal organs, such as the brain, lung, spleen, tongue, and intestine.

 

8. Sop Buntut is an oxtail soup with the savory taste of lamb broth. Added to the soup are carrot, cabbage, and broccoli.

 

 

9. Laksa Bogor is a chicken curry. There are two laksas in Indonesia: Laksa Bogor and Laksa Betawi. Laksa Bogor has oncom in it, and Laksa Betawi has udang rebon or tiny shrimps. Oncom is a fermented food made from nuts or beans and is eaten mostly in West Java. The main ingredients of laksa are rice cake, rice, vermicelli noodles, bean sprouts, hard boiled egg, tofu, and Lao basil. Coconut cream curry is then poured on top.

 

10. Roti Unyil “VENUS.” Roti unyil is a little-sized bread. “Roti” means bread, and “unyil” refers to its size. The name “unyil” comes from the main character of a famous Indonesian children’s television series. Roti unyil comes in various flavors, both sweet and savory, such as chocolate and cheese, smoked chicken, and pineapple and coconut. The cute shapes of the bread also play a part in its popularity.

 

 

The following are the food vendors and “warung” or traditional cafes:

1. Asinan Sedap Gedung Dalam, at Jalan Sukasari I, Jalan Siliwangi No. 27 C, Jawa Barat, Indonesia. It is an asinan shop specialized in asinan only. It serves “asinan campur” or mixed pickle, “asinan sayur” or vegetable pickle, and “asinan buah” or fruit pickle. It is the most visited shops. Customers come from many cities to buy the food as “oleh-oleh” or presents for friends and family.
2. Bubur Buah from Rahat Cafe in Jalan Jend Sudirman No. 51,
3. Doclang Bogor Pak Odik in Jalan Pasir Kuda, Bogor, is a warung or a traditional cafe.
4. Bebek Dubes (The Ambassador Duck) in Jalan Siliwangi No. 6 Bogor.
5. Toge Goreng Ibu Evon at Gang Besi (Jalan Suryakencana behind the CIMB Bank), Bogor.
6. Sop Duren Lodaya in Jalan Bangbarung Raya Nomor 69, Bogor.
7. Soto Bogor Pak Salam in Jalan Siliwangi (after the crossroad of Jalan Siliwangi and Gang Aut), across The Mandiri Bank.
8. Sop Buntut Mang Endang (Incu Ma Emun) in Jalan Sudirman No. 60
9. Laksa Gang Aut at Gang Aut by the crossroad of Jalan Suryakencana Bogor).
10. Roti Unyil “VENUS” in Jalan Pajajaran Komp. Ruko V-Point No. 1, Bogor.

Cultural Note:

1. Jalan in bahasa Indonesia means street.
2. Gang, usually abbreviated as Gg, is a term used for a  narrow passageways. The gang has a name like a street.
3. Ruko is an abbreviation of Rumah Toko. It is a typical store in Indonesia that combines a store and residence. Usually, a business establishment is located at the first floor and a resident lives in the second floor.
4. Incu is a Sundanese word for grandchild.
5. Mak or Emak is a Sundanese word for mother.