Must Try Local Dishes in Bromo and Ijen
Part of the Bromo and Ijen travel guide — see every topic in All Bromo and Ijen Guides.
East Java has its own distinct cooking, and it diverges from central Java's in a specific way: the food is built around petis, a thick dark fermented shrimp or fish paste, which gives dishes a deep, salty, slightly funky base you will not find in Yogyakarta or Solo. It is also sweeter than Sundanese food and less coconut-heavy than Balinese. Surabaya, Malang and Madura each contribute signature dishes, and the region's satay is generally considered the country's best.
The petis dishes
Rujak cingur is Surabaya's emblem and the most challenging dish in the region: a salad of cut fruit, blanched vegetables, tofu, tempeh and boiled cow's snout, dressed in a thick black sauce of petis, peanut, palm sugar and chilli. It is genuinely good and genuinely confronting. Tahu tek and tahu campur use the same paste with fried tofu and noodles. Lontong balap is compressed rice cake with bean sprouts, fried tofu and lentho fritters in a petis broth — the classic Surabaya breakfast.
Satay and Madura
Sate Madura, from the island off Surabaya, is the most widespread satay in Indonesia: chicken or mutton skewers grilled over charcoal with a thick sweet peanut sauce, sold from carts nationwide by Madurese vendors. Sate klopo is the Surabaya variant, with the meat coated in grated coconut before grilling. Soto Madura and soto Lamongan are the regional turmeric chicken soups, the latter distinguished by a powdered savoury topping made from dried prawn and garlic.
Malang and the hills
Bakso Malang is the city's contribution and a national benchmark: meatball soup with a range of additions — fried and steamed dumplings, tofu, noodles, wontons — ordered by pointing. Cwie mie is the local minced-chicken noodle. In the cooler hill areas, corn, apples and dairy appear; Batu's apples and its milk are both local products. And at the volcanoes themselves, bakso and hot ginger drinks are what everyone eats at five in the morning, for good reason.
Practical notes
East Javanese food is generally sweeter than you expect — palm sugar is used liberally — and petis divides opinion sharply, so try it once from a busy stall before deciding. Almost everything is halal and pork is rare outside Chinese restaurants. Street food is 15,000–40,000 rupiah a plate. Around Bromo and Ijen the food is basic warung fare at slightly inflated prices, which is a reason to eat properly in Malang, Surabaya or Banyuwangi at each end of the trip.
Must Try Local Dishes at a glance
| The regional base | Petis — thick fermented shrimp or fish paste |
|---|---|
| Surabaya's emblem | Rujak cingur — fruit, vegetables and cow's snout in petis |
| Best-known satay | Sate Madura — sold nationwide by Madurese vendors |
| Malang's dish | Bakso Malang — meatball soup, ordered by pointing |
| Street plate | IDR 15,000–40,000 |
| Note | Sweeter than central Java; almost all halal |