Local delicacies

The following dishes should be on every Yogyakarta traveller's agenda:

• Gudeg, a curry of jackfruit, chicken and egg served with rice, and is the most famous local dish. Goopy slop in various shades of brown, the stuff does not look particularly appetizing, but it can be tasty if done right.There are many gudeg restaurants, but the most popular are: Gudeg Wijilan, Gudeg Juminten, Gudeg Bu Tjitro, Gudeg Tugu, Gudeg Bu Ahmad. If you can wake up early in the morning, you may find small stalls serving Gudeg just at the corner of the street, or close to traditional markets. If you can't sleep at night, you can go to Jalan Janturan and enjoy the Gudeg Pawon (enjoying gudeg inside the old style kitchen) that open in late night. 

 

• Ayam Goreng Mbok Berek (Mbok Berek's Fried Chicken). Fried free range chicken with mild garlic and coriander flavor served with crunchy crackers.

• Nasi Langgi, locally known as Sego Langgi (Langgi Rice). Warm rice served with various side dishes. Can be found in small stall in Gandekan street. 

• Kipo, bite size snacks made of green colored tapioca dough filled with sweetened grated coconut. Can be found in Kotagede. 

• Bakpia, another bite size snack made from sweetened greenbean paste wrapped with thin dough pastry. The most popular bakpia is known as Bakpia Patuk, which not surprisingly, are sold in Pathuk street, also known as Jalan Aip K.S. Tubun. 

• Jadah Tempe, sandwich of rice cake and sweet beancake. Can be found in Kaliurang. 

• Es rujak or rujak es krim, a fruit salad made from mangos, papayas, apples, pineapples, cucumbers etc., mixed with palm sugar, lime juice, salt, chillies and (of course) ice cream (es krim). All flavors (sweet, sour, bitter, spicy, salty) in one plate. In case you are at UGM campus, have a look along Jalan Kaliurang. Small foodstalls sell es rujak there (only very late morning to early afternoon). If you are not close to UGM, keep your eyes open. 

• Angkringan, a food seller using hopper as store. The famous food sold here is Nasi Kucing (Cat Rice) that consists of a small serving rice with a sambal (chilies) or oseng-oseng and wrapped using a piece of paper or banana leaf. The most popular angkringan is Angkringan Lik Man, also known as Angkringan Tugu, located in Jalan Wongso Dirjan, north side of Yogyakarta Railway Station (Tugu Station). See Angkringan Tugu below. Angkringan usually opens from afternoon (2 PM) or evening (6 PM) until late night (1 AM) or morning (4 AM). 

Warm the Body with ‘Wedang Ronde’

Wedang Ronde is a traditional Javanese drink served in a bowl, which is very helpful when the weather is cold. From the words, wedang is a Javanese language means a drink, ronde is the name for the main part of the drink. This kind of drink uses ginger as its ingredient. To get the merit, ginger is boiled in the water, along with other substances. As it has ginger, it will warm anybody who drinks it.  The taste is sweet but rather hot.

The substances of Wedang Ronde are ginger, citronella, brown sugar, salt, peanuts, the fruits of the sugar palm, and ronde (rice flour balls). The ronde itself is made from sticky rice. In the middle of the ball shaped ronde there is a mixture of brown sugar and peanuts. The peanut is heated in utensil without oil or water. The best utensil is earthen pot.
We can find Wedang ronde at Yogyakarta such as Alun-alun Utara, Alun-alun Selatan, Godean market, Malioboro street, etc. People specifically sell it with a cart. The price for a bowl of wedang ronde is about IDR 3000.