Makassar, My Unbeatable Foods Paradise

You’re very welcome to envy me as I was born in Makassar, the city which most people call as Indonesia’s foods paradise. Ooow, let me revise it a little bit. It’s not Indonesia, it’s world’s foods paradise. I’ve been to many places, trying the signature foods of them, but again the best is always my hometown’s!

Putting many of my friends’ requests into reality, I develop this list of must-try Makassar foods! I can see that big smiles now. Actually I’m quite confused, which ones should be selected to be put into this list. The reason is simply because there are so so so many foods to be included. But don’t worry, to prevent you from excessively drooling, I separate the list into two; main dishes and finger foods. So, ENJOY AND PREPARE TO SLOBBER :)

1.    Pangsit Mie Palu (Non-Halal)

       Jl. Sangir 31 / Jl. Gunung Merapi 172D

       

 

 

Serving noodles with roasted pork, pork belly, steamed chicken, and wontons in a single bowl; your taste bud will surely be pampered with the amazing taste of each of the elements. Actually, this noodle stall is famous for their pork belly or we usually call it Babi Tore. Yes, it’s the first one serving this impressively tasted additional ingredient. Usually, people will order extra portion for their pork belly!

2.    Pangsit Mie MT (Non-Halal)

       Ruko Metro Tanjung Bunga

 

Serving pretty similar dish to the previous one, this noodle stall is also one of my most favorite! Basically, the major difference between these two stalls is their noodles. This latter one has thicker noodles. Besides, their fresh orange juice is also a must-try!

3.    Kios Asun (Non-Halal)

       Jl. Sangir 35D

  

Kios Asun is my family’s most favorite stall to go for Mie Kwantong (fried Kwantong noodle) and pork fried rice. Mie Kwantong is basically very thin and crispy pan-fried noodles mixed with thick sauce that’s quite similar to Capcay. Asun’s sauce is very rich as there are so many ingredients combined including pork, meatballs, veggies, chicken, and their super luscious fried meatballs! Another exceptional dish here is their pork fried rice which also has very rich toppings. For all the dishes, you might request to have them served with innards. Yes, if some consider innards as disgusting, lots of Makassar people extremely love them!

4.    Soto Banjar Sangir

       Jl. Sangir 35B

 

Who says delicious Soto Banjar can only be found in Banjarmasin? Wait until you try this and you might think twice before saying that. I don’t completely know all the ingredients mixed in this dish as well. The only thing I know is it tastes wonderful. The soup itself is the mixture of egg, pecan, and other traditional seasonings. As the toppings, you’ll have beef, chicken, boiled egg, potato chunks (perkedel), and ketupat. Besides Soto Banjar, this stall also provides delicious Nasi Campur. The ingredients of Nasi Campur in Makassar might be different with the one coming from your city. We have meat, boiled egg, corn fritters, sambal goreng, abon, and rawon.

5.    Sop Sodara / Sop Saudara Sulawesi

       Jl. Sulawesi (traffic light)

Sop Sodara or sometimes also called as Sop Saudara is one of the famous signature dishes of Makassar. Simply said, it’s beef soup with vermicelli, served with rice. People sometimes enjoy it with salted egg and potato chunks (perkedel) as well. For this dish, just mention all innards you know from beef and you can always get it here. The stall also sells Sop Konro and Sop Kikil, whose broth are similar to Sop Saudara but the meat is different.

6.    Coto Ranggong

       Jl. Ranggong

 

So this is the most well-known traditional dish of Makassar. I guess everyone must have known this. Again, this is also beef soup and serves innards as well. However, this one does not use vermicelli, and is usually served with either ketupat or buras. For you who don’t know buras, it’s basically rice cooked with coconut milk.

7.    Bakso Marthen

       Jl.Tupai, Jl. G. Merapi, Jl. G. Latimojong

Though this meatball is sold at small stalls by the road side, you should never underestimate the taste. Before you even try it, you can see how people really love it from its stalls, which are always fully occupied. My most favorites are their bakso hitam/kasar and goreng pangsit (wonton). My high school friends and I never miss eating this meatball every time we are going back to home town.

      

8.    Kedai Malindo

       Jl. Landak Baru

 

This Surabaya-originated stall is actually quite similar to Kopitiam as it sells the mixture of Malay, Singaporean, and Thai foods. The outlet in Makassar is also as successful as the one in Surabaya. My most favorite menus here are Cobra Bread (prata bread with chicken curry and medium-well sunny side up), Choco-cheese Tissue Bread (sweet and thin prata bread topped with condensed milk, milo, and grated cheese), Martabak bread (similar to Martabak with prata skin), and surely Teh Tarik! For me, it’s one of the best Kopitiam ever as the dishes are luscious and the price is so so affordable :)

9.    Surya’s Crab with Padang Sauce

       Jl. Nusakambangan

Surya restaurant has been very well-known since long long time ago as the one served the best crab in Makassar. Many people from other cities even bring their crab as gift, and they do have special packaging for that. The two most famous sauces of Surya are Padang Sauce and Oyster Sauce. Both of them are ultimately delicious and perfect to be enjoyed with the super fresh crab.

10.  Dinar

       Jl. G. Latimojong / Jl. Lamadukelleng

Makassar is indeed very famous for its Seafood. As the area is surrounded by sea, it’s very easy to find fresh seafood! Dinar is one of the most well-known Seafood restaurants in Makassar as it has been established for quite long time. Actually, it was firstly known for its fried chicken. However, currently their seafood is people’s favorite as well. They also have a branch in Jakarta, located at Pluit. For Dinar, I highly recommend Kaneke Bakar Rica (Grilled Sweetlips Fish with Rica Sauce), Kudu-kudu Goreng Fillet (Fried Boxfish Fillet), Fried Chicken, Terong Balado (Eggplant with Balado Sauce), and Kangkung Balacan (Water Spinach with Balacan Sauce).

11.  Sukaku Seafood

       Jl.Botolempangan 63

For non-Makassar people, one of the uniqueness of Makassar’s seafood is the various sauces served to be mixed and enjoyed with the food (as seen in the picture). Sukaku is one of the seafood restaurants in Makassar with the best choices of sauces. My most favorite dishes here are their Sunu Goreng Fillet (Fried Grouper Fillet), Sapo Tahu Jamur (Mushroom Japanese Tofu), and Sapo Tahu Seafood (Seafood Japanese Tofu).

12.  Ratu Gurih Seafood

       Jl.Sulawesi / Jl. Lamadukelleng

 

 

 

Though Ratu Gurih is also a seafood restaurant, the dishes I love the most from them are mostly not seafood, surprisingly. I recommend their Oxtail Soup, Roasted Chicken, Tahu Kipas Isi Udang (Fried Tofu with Shrimp Filling), and finally Crispy Squid for the seafood. Besides foods, they are also famous for their Es Sarang Burung Wallet (Bird Nest Ice).

13.  Apong Seafood

       Jl. Diponegoro

Besides Surya, Apong is another crab specialist in Makassar. Moreover, Apong is one of the seafood specialists as well. Same with Surya, Apong also provides several choices of sauces for their crab.

14.  Cobek – Cobek

       Jl. Boulevard Raya / Jl. Amanagappa No. 7 

    

In spite of Makassar’s location, which is in Sulawesi, this city does serve amusing Penyetan dishes, which you can find in Cobek – Cobek. Yes, the restaurant concept does look like a Javanese one. If you say that you don’t wanna try it as the ones in Java must be better, you’d better taste the dishes first before mentioning that statement. Additionally, considering the spiciness of Makassar’s chili, the taste of the sauce is of course doubtless! Must-try menu here are Urap-urap, Corn Fritters, and Fried Empal.

15.    Nasi Kuning Riburane

         Jl. Riburane

      

Similar to Nasi Campur, Nasi Kuning from different cities might also consists of different ingredients, and here is the Makassar version, which is surely the one that I think is the best among all cities' Nasi Kuning I've ever tried. The toppings are boiled egg, topak lada (chayote in coconut milk soup), empal, paru, sambal goreng, and shredded beef. Try it and don't blame me if you get addicted.

Finally, you reach the end of the long long list :p. Let me guess what you have in mind now. Yeah, you might want to go checking your free schedule, then immediately plan your Makassar culinary trip. Actually, there are still many more impressive dishes, which I cannot mention one by one. So just hurry visit Makassar and give all of ‘em a try. I’m very welcome to answer your questions or even being your guide :) 

      

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Inputs & comments: jessicagaby@ymail.com