6 Recommended Typical Dishes from Banten You Should Try

Indonesian dishes from many provinces has become increasingly popular. The main characteristic of Indonesian dish is the rich taste. A province that has many typical dishes is Banten. Hunting for typical foods is one of recommended things to do in Banten. These are 6 recommended foods from Banten you have to try!

1. Sate Bandeng

In Serang, Banten, there is a popular satay called Sate Bandeng. This dish is quite unique because mostly satay in Indonesia are made from meats like chicken, lamb, etc. Sate Bandeng is basically made from milkfish. It has been known since the 16^th century. Sate Bandeng was only served for aristocrats, but now all people can also eat it.

Nowadays Sate Bandeng becomes one of the favorite foods from Banten together with Otak-Otak Bandeng. Commonly there are the original one and the spicy one of Sate Bandeng.

The recipe has been developed a lot, but you still can find Sate Bandeng with the original recipe in Kaujon, Kaloran, and Lontar areas. Some recommended places to buy Sate Bandeng are in Sate Bandeng Haji Maryam, Sate Bandeng Kang Agus, and Sate Bandeng Bu Amenah.

The price is very affordable. It is just around Rp 30.000 to Rp 35.000 per portion. Sate Bandeng is one of tasty Indonesian foods for seafood lovers which is very recommended!

2. Rabeg

Rabeg is also one of typical foods in Banten which has been exist since long time ago. It has been well-known since 17^th century. At that time, Banten Sultan made the pilgrimage to Mecca.

He arrived in a city named Rabiq and was served by a delicious food made from lamb. He asked people there the name of this food, but the people was misunderstood, they thought Sultan was asking the name of the city. So, the people said its name is Rabiq.

After coming back to Banten, Sultan was missing the food and asking his cooks to make the same as he ate in Mecca. The cooks were confused but finally could make the food as delicious as Sultan wanted.

The food was then known as Rabeg. It is basically lamb which is seasoned with shallot, garlic, pepper, nutmeg, cinnamon, etc. Rabeg is usually served as the feast during any big parties.

3. Sayur Besan

Sayur Besan is a dish from Tangerang which is full of tradition. Its name is Sayur Besan because it is served during wedding from the bride’s side to the parents of the groom.

There are 4 main ingredients, trubuk, petai, potato, and vermicelli. Some other ingredients can also be added, such as carrot, bean, and shrimp. The soup is yellow, the color is from turmeric.

Recently Sayur Besan is not so much encountered. But you still can find Sayur Besan, one of the best places to visit in South Tangerang to try Sayur Besan is Warung Mpok Iyoh. It is located in Ir. H. Juanda Street, East Ciputat, South Tangerang.

4. Laksa Tangerang

Tangerang is one of Indonesian cities with best street food. Still from Tangerang, the most popular dish is Laksa Tangerang. The main ingredient is rice noodle.

The noodle is made in the midnight, without any preservatives, so it can be good to eat only in 24 hours. The soup is yellow and thick. Other ingredients are turmeric, galangal, chilli, coconut milk, shallot, garlic, etc.

Laksa Tangerang can be said as a cultural mix of Chinese and Malay cultures. You can find it easily especially in M. Yamin Street, Tangerang. There is an area named Kawasan Kuliner Laksa Tangerang or Laksa Tangerang Culinary Area.

You can have a portion of Laksa Tangerang with boiled egg only Rp 13.000. If you want to add chicken liver and gizzard, you just need Rp 15.000. You can also get Laksa Tangerang with chicken, the price is about Rp 22.000.

5. Sate Bebek Cibeber

We have known about one of recommended things to do in Serang, Banten in trying Sate Bandeng. But there is also another kind of satay which is popular too in Banten, that is Sate Bebek which is basically made from duck.

If Sate Bandeng is from Serang, Sate Bebek is from Cilegon. People often call this typical dish as Sate Bebek Cibeber.

Sate Bebek Cibeber tastes savory and spicy. The duck is made into small cuts. After that it is seasoned with some ingredients, there are shallot, garlic, brown sugar, chilli, coriander, turmeric, galangal, salt, pepper, etc.

To remove the bed smell of duck, it has to be soaked with the seasonings in about a day before the duck can be grilled. People usually eat it with soy sauce or peanut sauce.

One of the famous Sate Bebek is in Cindelaras Restaurant. It is located in Jenderal Ahmad Yani Street, Cilegon. Cindelaras Restaurant has been established since 1992. A portion of Sate Bebek in Cindelaras Restaurant is only RP 15.000!

6. Ketan Bintul

Many foods in Banten has been popular since the era of Banten Sultanate. Besides Sate Bandeng and Rabeg, there is also Ketan Bintul which is Banten Sultan favorite food for break fasting.

It is said that Ketan Bintul has been exist since 16^th century. Another fun fact about Ketan Bintul is that this food can only be found during Ramadhan.

The main ingredient of Ketan Bintul is sticky rice. The sticky rice then will be poured with the soup of meat stew. The texture of the meat is very tender, and the overall taste of Ketan Bintul is savory.

It is said that the best Ketan Bintul is Ketan Bintul Haji Mamad. It is located in Serang Old Market, which has been the legend of Ketan Bintul since 1980s.

So those are 6 recommendation of Banten foods for you. Do not forget to try each one of them!