When people see me eating, they always leave a remark that I am more fitted to be a food blogger instead of a travel blogger because I know how to appreciate my food. The good food at the expense of plummeting body weight. As a traveler with halal diet, Indonesia has been among the best for any culinary trip. I had a good time in Makassar, one of the best culinary cities of Indonesia and this entry will cover the top food to try in Makassar, Indonesia.
Top Food to Try in Makassar, Indonesia
Coto Nusantara
Since Indonesia and Malaysia have similar root, some food are similar yet taste differently. The first of all, is definitely my favourite ie. Coto Makassar, a traditional Indonesian dish originating from Makassar, South Sulawesi. My Makassarese friends brought me here in 2013, so I made a quest to revisit Coto Nusantara on my last day in Makassar. I had no idea where it was so I walked from Rotterdam Fort. It was a sweating 20 minutes before we were seated at the end of Coto Nusantara small shop. It had been refurbished since my last visit.
Coto Makassar is a bowl of rice dumpling packed in a woven palm leaf container with a stew of beef and can be mixed with innards such as intestine, liver, lungs, heart, tripe and cow brain. The stew is made of seasoning broth of ground peanuts. On the table, there are soy sauce, spicy condiments, salt, lemon, and crispy fried shallots. The shallots, spicy condiments and onion spring are mixed in the stew and it’s ready to be eaten. What I like most about Coto Nusantara is the thick broth and the mixed spices that give good taste to the stew.
Previous write-up on Coto Nusantara can be read here. Unfortunately, it is written in Malay.
Jalangkote
I couldn’t help but to roll eyes when I saw the name of snacks at one of the shophouses we passed by on the way to Bantimurung National Park. It is because Jalangkote means a bitchy dick in Malay language. Wait, how can I eat food with such a vulgar name? I did eat imagining it as curry puff as we were sent to a restaurant known as RM Muda Mudi to have a bite of local snacks, Jalangkote and Pisang Ejo.
Jalangkote is a puff-type pastries with mixed vegetable filling of carrot, potato, beansprouts and thin rice noodle. The look of jalangkote is similar to Indonesian’s curry puff, kue pastel. Only that jalangkote has thin pastry and is eaten with red chilli sambal. The jalangkote I had at RM Muda Mudi also had a slice of egg in the filling. The taste was not as bad as its name. It’s a snack I would eat for tea time.
Es Pisang Ijo
Another special cuisine for Makassar is Pisang Ijo. It is a dessert made of steamed banana wrapped in green-coloured dough. Pisang Ijo is served with a special syrup which is known as “sirap pisang ambon”. There is a mix taste of syrup, sugar and coconut milk that makes Pisang Ijo one of the favourite dessert among the locals. Pisang Ijo can be served hot or cold. While the green-flour dough was quick thick, I really loved the taste of the syrup. In fact, I would buy a container of the syrup if Makassar were my final stop for the trip. The special syrup can be found at any souvenir stores in Makassar.
RM Muda-mudi: Jl. Rusa No.45 A, Maricaya, Kec. Makassar, Kota Makassar, Sulawesi Selatan 90142, Indonesia
Es Pallu Butung
Es Pallu Butung is a twin sister to es pisang ejo. The ingredients for both es pallu butung and es pisang ejo are the same except that the former is not wrapped in green dough. Also both dessert use different types of banana ie. pisang raja for es pattu butung and pisang kepok for es pisang ejo.
Ayam Goreng Sulawesi
I had the opportunity to try another local cuisine known as Ayam Goreng Sulawesi (Sulawesi Fried Chicken) at two different restaurants in Makassar. The first restaurant was Ayam Goreng Sulawesi (Ny Hj Nursiah). Unlike the usual golden brown fried chicken, the Sulawesi fried chicken appears chocolatey brown due to its seasoning and marination. The bones were soft that I could even munch on them.
Ayam Goreng Sulawesi (Ny. Hj. Nursiah) – Jl. Sultan Hasanuddin No. 17 (Perempatan Jl Ince Nurdin No. 2) Makassar
Telp.: 0411 – 3624330
At the second restaurant, Restoran Ayam Goreng Sulawesi Baru, the brownish fried chicken was easily everyone’s favourite. The first and the second restaurant originate from the same ancestor, Ny. Hj Nursiah. However, I had bad experience at the second restaurant for my drinks never came after finishing my dinner.
Sup Konro & Konro Bakar Karebosi
Makassar is one of the best culinary destinations in Indonesia. In fact, the best lamb rib I have ever had was in Sup Konro & Konro Bakar Karebosi. Konro is a special culinary for district Anging Mamiri in South Sulawesi. Konro Bakar is a grilled lamb rib covered with delectable local peanut sauce. The most famous eatery for Konro Bakar is at Rumah Makan Sop Konro Karebosi at Jl. Gunung Lompobattang No. 41.
Putu Cangkir Makassar
Another food I discovered during my last visit to Makassar is Putu Cangkir. Makasarese version of Malaysian putu piring. It amuses me how travel makes me realize neighbouring countries share the similar food with name and taste variants. Putu Cangkir I had was nothing near to Malaysian putu piring. Putu is an adaptation of Indian snack as the basic steamed rice flour cakes in Sri Lanka and Southern India is also known as putu. Cangkir means plate. Putu cangkir looks like a turn over plate.
To make the putu cangkir, The rice flour is mixed with the palm sugar and put in the mould made of copper. I guess that is the traditional way to prepare the putu piring. Inside, a salty grated coconut is placed adding up to the taste. Putu cangkir can be served hot or cold and is usually eaten at night by Makassarese.
I still have to go back to Makassar to eat Pallubasa and Pallumara.
1 Comment
Awesome culinary in Makassar… nice