Surabaya: Foodie City of Indonesia

,A mammoth line of Harley Davidsons riders come into a mall and then go straight into a restaurant. Well dressed elderly family members enter the same restaurant. Young college students do the same albeit in their latest hip look. There is a festive atmosphere in the line of restaurants in this mall that is famous for its restaurants.


Initially, I thought that there was some special occasion or it was a holiday and hence everyone is out enjoying themselves. But, apparently, this is the daily culture of the city and the people love to eat out here. The people of Surabaya in East Java like to be called as foodies and that tag line fits them well as the food in Surabaya is some of the best in Java, if not Indonesia.




All meals in Surabaya is a communal gathering and especially dinner. The food options here are out of the world. The spread is humungous. People arrive in huge numbers and all the restaurants throw some kind of entertainment in every night to make it an even more interesting experience. Food is more on a take what you want from the many stalls and pay only for what you take/order.


It is not just the restaurants that has this culture, but also the coffee (kopi) shops and beer and wine bars. The communal eating is so infectious that you also feel to be one with the crowd and join in on the eating fun. Whether you are a meat lover or a vegetarian, it really does not matter as the food stalls and restaurants of Surabaya has in them to please every palate. What ever you do in Surabaya, do not miss out on the eating fun. If you do miss it, then you miss one of the biggest highlights of Indonesian food.