A Special Culinary Story of Jakarta (Betawi) Globally, Try it!

Soto Betawi/Jakarta

Jakarta (Betawi) as the capital of the State has a history that can not be separated from the various cultures that influence it. Since the Portuguese first came to Indonesia in the 1500s on the island of Maluku to independence from the Dutch colonial in 1945, Indonesia was influenced by various foreign cultures that came because of the spice trade such as Arabic, Malay, and Chinese culture. With a variety of cultural or multiethnic influences, it is not wrong if culinary Indonesia or Jakarta, especially as the capital of the State, influenced by various flavors of foreign cuisine combined with local enriching the culture of Indonesian culinary, especially the city of Jakarta.

Culinary and Restaurant Jakarta / Betawi.

If you are a traveler looking for typical Betawi food in Jakarta, there are several restaurants that are expert in Betawi cuisine. As well as Betawi culture that blends with Javanese culture and immigrants, so does the food. Betawi cuisine has combined cooking techniques from the land of Sunda, Java, as well as China, India and Arabs long established here from the Portuguese colonial period until the Dutch colonial era. Some popular Betawi dishes, including gado-gado, kerak telor, pletok beer, dodol and many more. All these culinary are easy to find in restaurants and food stalls, especially in the midst of Betawi neighborhoods such as Setu Babakan and around Condet, East Jakarta.

Betawi cuisine usually uses lots of lemongrass, pandan leaves and onions. The main characteristics are on the maturation of the ingredients first before mixing with the sauce. When cooking offal for example, the Betawi people will clean it first, then boil it into the spice mixture before put together with other side dishes.

In addition to the above dishes, culinary Betawi is dominated by meatballs and noodles of Chinese culture. There are also those inspired by Arabic foods such as egg martabak, also kebuli rice which has an Indian touch.