Manado Indonesia – Best Places to Eat and Dishes to Try

Manado is pretty well known for its policy of eating everything that has a heartbeat. They are equally renowned for the amount of Scoville units to be found in every plate of food you ingest. Beyond all that, it is a place of invention, variety, and merriment.

Local dishes to try

Rica-Rica is a local dish that directly translates to mean ‘spicy’. As such, you should undertake this dish with caution. The dish looks most like a pizza, but is either made from chicken, pork or seafood along with sweet chilli paste and some shallots.

Vegetarians can often have a tough time in these parts of the world and can find it even more difficult to get their hands on a local dish without the inclusion of pork or chicken. However, a good crispy, steamin’ bowl of Congee is here to save the day! Maybe not save the day, but definitely save you from grumpy stifled complaints about how hungry you are and how much you don’t feel like a packet of crisps for lunch. If you want a bowl of this pumpkin, yam, corn, spinach and rice dish, then head on over to Wakeke Street. On this street, Café Dego Dego may arguably cook up the best bowl of it.

That being said, Manado is also home to a culture of non-discrimination when it comes to the manners in which they fill their stomach. As much as that allows for the presence of some great vegetarian dishes, it also paves the way for some not-so-conventional meat dishes. Those who are not repulsed, but actually intrigued by the possibility of eating a bat, rat, dog or snake will then have yet another reason to look forward to their trip here.

Easily our favourite local dish, just by virtue of its uniqueness and abundance of flavour, was Woku. It is a type of curry that has the snapper fish seasoned with lemongrass, shallots, turmeric, ginger, garlic, basil, lemon, chilli and a few other good things. The outcome is a dish that confuses your tastebuds and bowls you over. Because of its popularity, you can find this dish in many places in Manado. Wakeke street and it’s surrounds have plenty options. If you’re near the sea and you feel the craving then City Extra Restaurant, located just off Malalayang Beach is a great shout.

Cheap street food

As with the whole of Indonesia, there are small, rusted, movable little stalls on every street corner. There are also the faces of men and women whose eyes have seen the faces of the world. These often kind men and women will gladly help you get your daily fill of Gorohu – delicious fried bananas. In Manado, of course, it is served with chilli sauce. Its delicious.

Another snack that is to be enjoyed in large quantities is Satay. Easily available all over Manado, you’ll have a good selection before you. You should stumble across the original Minahasan Satay – Ragay. Made from large cuts of pork and seasoned with special spices and sauce, it was, for us, the best thing that we ate on the street!

Local Restaurants

There are, of course, hundreds of Warungs that can serve up your favourite local dishes. It is always great to get food from Warungs. Their knowledge and skills almost write a story of heritage and culture on your plate and leave you feeling happy and full when you leave.

However it is also nice to go to other places when you’re somewhere new. Among the top spots that we visited was Raja Sate. We got delicious sate here one night and found ourselves coming back a couple of evenings later. The restaurant is based in front of the MTC centre.

One of our absolute favourite spots was Bumi Berigin. The restaurant serves amazing Indonesian and Minahasan food. Moreover, the restaurant treats its guests to sweeping views of the bay below. Being Minahasan food, the dishes are not short of flavour or spice. If you have a sensitive stomach, this is your cue to skip to the next paragraph. If you make it here, try the nasi tustus. It is crusty rice served in a mortar, mixed with cakaleng and roa fufu - it’s amazing.

Western and international food

While there is not a tremendous amount of western food in Manado, there is a good deal of the past that has crept its way into the present. The presence of the Dutch, and their famous affinity for the sweeter side of things has made a few classically Dutch dishes staple desserts in Manado. There are also some other desserts of European descent. Be sure to try Klappertart (coconut tart) and Portuguese Panada – although, this is a bit of strange one.

Cafes and coffee houses

Jalon Roda, also just known as “Jarod”, is a small alley in the heart of the city that is lined with coffee shops. Side by side, they live a miraculous peaceful co-existence. Some shops are more successful, and some others don’t make it – a foreseeable pitfall of being located right next to your competitor. The alley is filled with the murmur of laughter and lively conversations, the haze of cigarette smoke and the clinking of spoons against the side of cups. There are many a shop to stop by and grab a cup of coffee easily more rustic than your last. Pair your cuppa with a handful of banana fritters – an Indonesian classic that just doesn’t get old. If the rustic and enriching authentic experience is not enough to persuade you to head here, then the extremely low prices should be. With prices less than a dollar in the entire lane (8000 IDR), this place is a dream come true.

Most markets are filled with heaps and heaps of cultural food, new encounters and bashful smiles. And generally, they feel pretty complete. However, if there is anything that is paired perfectly with markets, it is carnival rides. We know this. We checked online. The people who run the night market in Manado must have checked too because they have everything you need to make some memories, take some awesome Polaroid photos and keep saying “Yes” to another ride until your swirling stomach can’t handle it anymore.

Bars

The nightlife in Manado is not what you would expect to find in Jakarta. But then again, it’s unlikely that you have made your way to these parts for an especially sweaty night on the town. That being said, you aren’t to be deprived of any entertainment come the evening time. There are a good few karaoke bars in town, a couple of disco bards, a one or two night clubs. We went to the Karaoke bars and found them hard to leave, and found that we were a little disappointed when we did. Then again, we could just be those people in the bar that just have too much fun while watching their friends struggle on stage. We all have a Machiavellian side, it seems. If you aren’t so much into this, then the Corner Café is a great place to head for a few drinks with friends. There is often live music and always a relaxed atmosphere. If you’re the kind who gets a bit bored at these things, you can keep your hands busy at Score, a trendy pool hall in the town centre.