About Solo's cuisine

A small *rijsttafel* at a private party in the Netherlands

In general, the cuisine of Solo is a combination of fried, coconut-milk based, and sweet-savory. Many of the dishes caters to vegan, and especially for Moslems (i.e. halal foods). Solo's culinary life is 24 hours, with some foodstalls starting to open at 2 a.m. and already closed at 5 a.m. We will try to inclue most of the culinary in the conference's meals, but if some of the food listed here isn't served at the conference, you should ask the meal that you'd like to try to your host for dinner.

National: The national dishes of Indonesia includes fried rice, gado-gado, satay, and soto (chicken/beef soup) which varies in taste from city to city, and many of them have become common across South East Asia and beyond. As many as the dishes are the types of sambal (chilis), kerupuk (crackers), beverages, (sweet) soy sauce, and side dishes (like soy-based tempe and tofu). Rice is omnipresent in many forms (such as lontong, ketupat, porridge, etc), as well as tea and coffee. The drinks are usually sweet, but you can ask the drink to be sugarless, and you can choose between cold (ice cubed) or warm beverages. Some Indonesian fruit and vegetable dishes such as fruit rujak, gado-gado, karedok, pecel, lalab, capcay, tofu and tempeh are known as healthy foods with low fat and high fiber.

International influence: Other than traditional Javanese food, Surakarta's restaurants offers plethora of cuisines from around the world, thanks from hundreds of years of exposure from Indian, Chinese, and Western food, ranging from Indian currys (gulai and opor) and murtabaks, Chinese noodles, meatballs and its diverse cuisine, Spanish/Portuguese rissole and pastel, to Dutch poffertjes, pannekoek, spekkoek, rissole, kaastangel, klappertaart, and stroopwafels.

Outward, Indonesia contributed a lot to global cuisine, mainly due to the Spice Islands fame during the Europe' Age of Exploration. Cloves, nutmegs, and other spices from the Moluccas islands have become staple spices in global cuisine. In Europe, and in particular in the Netherlands, the Indonesian cuisine also had influenced Dutch cuisine. Rijsttafel invented during colonial era are the example of Indonesian feast that still popular in the Netherlands and its colonies.

Traditional: The authentic traditional Indonesian home cooking is freshly made and consumed daily with minimal or no processed, canned or preserved foods, which means there are minimal amount of preservatives. Most ingredients are bought fresh early in the morning from local traditional markets, cooked around late morning and consumed mainly for lunch. The leftovers are stored in the cupboard in room temperature to be heated and consumed again for dinner. Traditionally, Indonesian dishes are rarely stored for long periods of time, thus most of these dishes are cooked and consumed in the same day or at most the following day.

Beverages: Solo's beverages mostly sweet and combines the richness of natural tropical fruits with coconut water or coconut milk, and other local ingredients. Because of Islamic dietary laws, most dining place do not offer alcoholic beverages, and only few licensed hotels and restaurants carry them. Other than national and international brand of beers, alcoholic beverage native to Solo is called ciu, which is a local adaptation of Chinese wine.

Fruits: Solo's markets abound with many types of tropical fruit. These are an important part of the Indonesian diet, either eaten freshly, or made into juices like avocado juice, desserts like es teler, processed in savoury and spicy dishes like rujak, fried like fried banana, cooked into cakes bika ambon, sweetened or salted and preserved such as manisan buah, or processed into crispy chips as snacks like jackfruit chips. Many of these fruits such as mangosteen, rambutan, jackfruit, durian, and banana, are indigenous to Indonesian archipelago; while others have been imported from other tropical countries. Today, strawberry, melon, apple and dragonfruit are introduced and grown in cooler highlands near Solo such as Tawangmangu, to mimic their native subtropics habitat.

Below are some of the famous dishes and snacks, and the appropriate time to eat them:

Tahu kupat (breakfast or lunch): fried tofu, pressed rice pieces, noodles and roasted nuts
fresh jackfruit (fruit)
Nasi liwet (all day): Solonese style coconut rice with green papaya and stringy chicken. Because it is perisable food, foodstalls didn't open all day. Some open during the day, some only operates at night, and several even only open at dawn (2 a.m. onwards)
Nasi gudeg (lunch or breakfast): chicken cooked with young jackfruits in coconut milk, served with eggs and cecek, and you can add chicken feet also
chicken sate with lontong rice
sate buntel: mutton sate wrapped in mutton fat
rice with chilli eggplant, and tofu stewed in red curry
fried tempe (side dish)
serabi (snack): Solo pancakes made of coconut milk, mixed with a little rice flour as thickener. Srabi can be served plain, or with toppings such as sliced banana, chopped jackfruit, chocolate sprinkle (muisjes), or cheese.
kue putu (snack): milled rice steamed with Javanese sugar and coconut in a bamboo tube
javanese fried noodle
Solonese meatball soup
Solonese salad (selat): an adaptation of European cuisine into Javanese cuisine and taste. Beef, potato, carrot, lettuce, cucumber, onion, green bean, boiled egg, tomato with mustard served in thin soup made of sweet soy sauce and worcester sauce soup, topped with potato chips.
fresh durian (fruit)
Timlo: Solonese specialty chicken soup, with Solonese sausage (sosis), egg, and chicken innards side order
Oxtail soup (breakfast, lunch): As the name said
Sweetened quail eggs (side dish)
Rendang (all day): Javanese curry dish
Rawon (all day): diced beef in pitch-black soup
Martabak (snack): Javanese murtabak
Soto (all day): Chicken in spicy yellow turmeric soup, with rice vermicelli, egg, rice/lontong, vegetables, tomato, leeks and fried shallot.
Tongseng (lunch) : a Javanese spicy and rather sweet goat (mutton) meat soup; a strongly-spiced curry of bone-in mutton, which is quickly stir-fried at the point of sale with vegetables added.
Tengkleng (lunch): Another type of Javanese (innard) mutton soup, curry-style
Nasi Tumpeng (a.k.a Nasi Kuning): uniquely Javanese cone-shaped yellow rice mound, served with dozens of side dishes.
Sayur asem: Javanese-style vegetables in tamarind-flavored soup. Can be served hot or cold.
Pecel ndeso (breakfast): an all vegetables food served with (sweet or chili) peanut sauce; a salad of boiled vegetables, dressed in a peanut-based spicy sauce. It is usually served as an accompaniment to rice. A peanut or dried fish/shrimp cracker (rempeyek) is served on the side
Bakmi ketoprak:
Cabuk rambak
rujak
Karak: Javanese crackers
Gado-gado: akin to pecel, gado-gado means "mixed vegetables"; Similar to pecel, but includes different vegetables as well as boiled egg slices and a garnish of fish/shrimp crackers and emping (Gnetum gnemon L. nut, flattened, dried, and fried into small thin crackers) and also uses peanut sauce
Bubur sambel goreng
Swikee: Frogs' legs cooked in fermented soybean (tauco) soup.; Chinese-Javanese fusion cuisine
Sayur Lodeh: assorted vegetable, stewed in coconut milk.
Roti bakar: grilled bread: European-Javanese fusion cuisine
Semur: from Dutch smoor
(Bubur) Ketan hitam: black rice congee
Bubur kacang hijau: mung beans porridge
Bubur sumsum
Lemper: glutinous rice with chicken meat inside, covered with banana leaf
pastel: Pastry with (usually chicken or meat) casserole dish baked in a pie crust.
Telur asin: Salted duck eggs
Perkedel kentang: fried mashed potatoes
Perkedel jagung: fried mashed corn
Jagung bakar: grilled whole corn
Mandarin cake: specialty layered cake from Solo, the most famous food gift from Solo
Rempeyek

Special beverages and dessert:

sweet Sumatran kopi susu (milk tea): an Indonesian version of Café au lait.
kopi tubruk: coffee mixed with sugar and hot water and poured straight in the glass without separating out the coffee residue
bajigur and bandrek: coconut milk or coconut sugar (gula jawa) based hot drinks, mixed with other spices
Sekoteng: a ginger based hot drink which includes peanuts, diced bread, and pacar cina
wedang jahe: hot ginger tea
wedang ronde: A hot Javanese dessert containing glutinous rice balls stuffed with peanut paste, floating in a hot and sweet ginger and lemongrass tea.
Angsle (warm drink): A hot soupy dessert of sago pearls, pre-cooked glutinous rice and mung beans, putu mayang (brightly-colored, noodle-shaped flour cakes), fried peanuts all drowned in hot, sweet coconut milk.
Kembang tahu: a dessert made of tofu and ginger syrup
Fruit juices (jus): orange (jus jeruk), guava (jus jambu), mango (jus mangga), soursop (jus sirsak) and avocado (jus alpokat), the last of these being commonly served with condensed milk and chocolate syrup as a dessert-like treat.
es durian: durian based ice cream
es kelapa muda: young coconut on ice
es cincau: grass jelly
es dawet
es teler: avocado, jackfruit and coconut with shreded ice and condensed milk
es kacang merah: red kidney beans
es blewah: musk melon
es rumput laut: seaweed
herbal jamu

While most Indonesian grocery products and food served in mid to upperscale eating establishments maintain food hygiene standard ranges from good to acceptable, some warung traditional foodstalls and street vendors might have poor hygiene. The tropical microbes also might contribute to food poisoning cases, especially among foreigners during their stay in Indonesia. It is advisable to drink bottled or boiled drinking water, or choose cooked hot food instead of uncooked room temperatured one sold by street vendors. For example, when consuming food sold by street vendors, consuming hot cooked mi ayam or soto is much safer than having gado-gado or fruit rujak.

Wikipedia articles

External links

Food and beverages that can be found in Solo

Indonesian version of Dutch w:Poffertjes
Spekkoek/Indische lekkernij ('bacon cake') - Indonesian layered 'pies' (lapis legit)
Klappertaart
Kaasstengels
Mandarin cake
Chicken satay (sate)
Indonesian chicken soup (soto)
Tempe, vegetarian substitute for meat because of its rich protein
Fried tempe and tofu (tahu)
Bacem (sweet and savory tempe)
Fried snacks
Pecel, vegetables
Sayur asem, another veggie based dish
Lodeh soup, veggie
Gado-gado, veggie dish
Rawon Setan (The Devil's Rawon). Other image: File:Rawon Setan.jpg
Chicken Soto. Other image: File:Soto Ayam home-made.JPG
Solonese Salad
Javanese cuisine
Chinese-Javanese fried noodle
Javanese noodle
Oxtail soup
Brown quail-eggs
Padang (West Sumatra) spicy foods restaurant that can be found anywhere in Indonesia
Fried fish
Local delicacies
Lemper
Fried corn
Peanut cracker
Serabi
Javanese-Chinese wonton soup
Steamed Chicken Rice, an Indonesian comfort food
Lontong cap go meh
Chili for fried dishes
Solo's sausage
Indonesian Rissole
Egg/salty martabak
Muisjes/sweet martabak a.k.a. terang bulan (moonlight cake)
Fried crab kwetiaw noodle
Pastel
A Sumsum Porridge
Mixed fruits: snakeskin fruit, rambutan, mango, pineaple, papaya, watermelon, starfruit, melon

Aqua brand bottled mineral water
Sugarless tea with sugar in sachets on the side
Sekoteng
Cendol
Grass jelly green cincau
Mixed ice
Pot tea
Es kelapa kopyor
Soda water with red syrup and condensed milk
Hot chocolate Milo
Street vendors selling orange juice, ice cendol, and ice coconut water in hot sunny day



You've reached the hidden gallery. Hover image for hidden text! Add Indonesia to the list! You could have (near) unlimited amount of stroopwafels, thanks to the Dutch influence in Indonesia for 350 years, if you ask very nicely! (And of course if Solo is chosen as Wikimania 2013 host!) So, no more picture like this!

Catering breakdown

As with previous years, meal will make the most of the expenditures. Below are the budget based on today's price (end of 2011) of Tuti Catering, a local catering in Surakarta that often work with large scale productions. Convertion rate is assumed at $1 = Rp 9,000,-

Pre-conference

Pre-conference
Day -2	9:00 - 17:00 Hacking days + evening
Morning break	Plenty of coffee and tea! After all, this is Java! Assorted jenangs (ketan hitam, grendul, sumsum, mutiara, sagu) Orange juice Coffee + tea $ 1 / person
Lunch	Meatball soup + pecel komplit (veg) + beverage $ 2 / person
Afternoon break + snacks	A cup o' Java Assorted Indonesian snacks¹ Coffee + tea + sodas/water $ 1 / person
100 x people	$ 400
Day -1	9:00 - 17:00 Hacking days + Board meeting
Morning break	Empek-empek Orange juice Coffee + tea $ 1.2 / person
Lunch	Lontong Solo + Selat Solo (veg) + beverage $ 2.5 / person
Afternoon break + snacks	Tubruk coffee Assorted Indonesian snacks¹ Es doger (ice beverage) Coffee + tea + sodas/water $ 1.3 / person
150 x people (hackers + board)	$ 750
Pre-conference total
Total	$ 1,150

¹Indonesian snack choices are: sus vla, sus cocktail, vla horn, mandarin cakes, black forest, cheese cakes, mini pie, roll (pandan/coklat/kacang), mete (asin/manis), ragout horn, sosis keju, kroket cake, lumpia cake, resoles cake, sus ragout. Each of them costs Rp 2,000.

More pricey ones are: semar mendem, cheese stick (ea. Rp 2,500), chicken wing, mandarin kismis (ea. Rp 3,000), prol (ea. Rp 3,500), lapis legit (ea. Rp 4,000) and resoles daging sapi (ea. Rp 5,000). Each person in average is assumed to consume Rp 6,500 worth of snacks.

Main conference

Conference
Day 1	Planned / budgeted
Morning break	Soto ayam Assorted Juice Coffee + tea $ 2 / person
Lunch	Nasi liwet Sop buntut Assorted Salad (veg) Assorted Pudding Coffee + tea + sodas/water $ 5 / person
Afternoon break	Wedang asle Es dawet telasih (ice beverage) $ 1.5 / person
Day 1 total	$ 8.5 / person
600 x people (we don't expect all 700 attendees to be present and eating at all times)	$ 5,100
Day 2
Morning break	Sate ayam Assorted Juice Coffee + tea $ 2 / person
Lunch	Nasi rawon Martabak Gado-gado (veg) Fruits Salad Coffee + tea + sodas/water $ 4 / person
Afternoon break	Wedang kacang Es kelapa muda (coconut ice) $ 1.5 / person
Day 2 total	$ 7.5 / person
600 x people	$ 4,500
Day 3
Morning break	Bistik galantin Assorted Juice Coffee + tea $ 2 / person
Lunch	Nasi timlo Sate sapi Gado-gado/Assorted Salad (veg) Assorted Pudding Coffee + tea + sodas/water $ 4 / person
Afternoon break	Wedang ronde Es teler (ice beverage) $ 1.5 / person
Saturday total	$ 7.5 / person
600 x people	$ 4,500
Combined
Subtotal	$ 14,100
Service charge (-)	-

Post-conference

Post-conference
Day 4	10:00 - 17:00 Wiki Unconference! (optional)
Morning break	Cabuk rambak <morning snacks that attendees want to eat again> Orange juice Coffee + tea $ 2 / person
Lunch	Pizza + burgers <foot that attendees want to eat again> $ 6 / person
Afternoon break + snacks	Siomay <afternoon snacks that attendees want to eat again> <afternoon ice beverage that attendees want to drink again> Coffee + tea + sodas/water $ 2 / person
400 x people	$ 4,000

Totals

Budgeted total

$ 1,150 - Pre-conference
$ 14,100 - Main conference
$ 4,000 - Post-conference
$ 3,690 ($ 3 x ~410 for light breakfast x 3 days) - Served in lounge area
$ 22,940 - Grand total

Note

The price may seem very far compared to previous year, but this is the real price from an experienced catering service, and based on personal experience (User:Bennylin), their service as well as their food will delight both western and eastern audiences (due to the long culinary history of Solo). We will check for other catering for comparison's sake, but the price is not that unusually cheap nor expensive in this city. (For comparison sake, pizza ranged between Rp 50,000 - 100,000⁺⁺, or about $ 6 - 12 and is considered a luxury food in most places in Indonesia).

The item chosen in this page are the lowest price, yet most of them are unique to Solo or Indonesia. For splurge they also cater to western audience as well as wealthy people: Some of the "splurge" items are: peking duck, roasted beef (a la Solo, kambing guling), lasagna, macaroni schotel with salad, pastel tutup and tengkleng.