Palembang is foodtastic! During my visit to Palembang, I ate endless Pempek (fish cake) and also other culinary delights. My tummy had a lot of fun! Speaking of culinary, it is not a secret that locals always know the best place to go for great food. So let me introduce you to 4 bloggers from Palembang who were kind enough to share their favorite local restaurants.

They are, in alphabetic order:
Deddy – Twitter: @DdyHuang | Blog: coffeeoriental.wordpress.com
Ira – Twitter: @itikkecil | Blog: itikkecil.wordpress.com
Jony – Twitter: @jonydaynazar | Blog: aboutpalembang.com
Suzan – Twitter: @suzannita | Blog: suzannita.com

Blogger Palembang South Sumatra

4 bloggers from Palembang: Deddy, Jony, Suzan, and Ira.

Thank you for sharing your favourite places, guys! Btw, feel free to get in touch with them if you want to know more about Palembang or are planning a trip there. Let’s start shall we?

Pempek in Palembang South Sumatra

Pempek with small bowl of Cuko

Pempek

Pempek, or fish cake, is a delicacy from Palembang that is so famous that it’s been exported to other big cities, like Jakarta and Yogyakarta, in Indonesia. You can even find Pempek in Malaysia and Singapore.

I told you earlier that I ate Pempek endlessly, right? People in Palembang eat Pempek as often as other Indonesians eat rice! It comes with almost every meal and yes, they can eat it every day.

Pempek in Palembang is served by boiling the fishcake. The dish comes with a small bowl of Cuko. Cuko is a sauce that is made from water, palm sugar, chili, garlic, salt and vinegar. Locals usually drink the sauce / cuko directly from the small bowl. Feel free to only dip the Pempek to the sauce because sometimes the Cuko is quite spicy.

In Palembang it’s common for people to cook Pempek at home, yet going out and eat Pempek at a restaurant is pretty popular too. Pempek comes in several shapes and there are different types. For example, you can find Pempek with egg in it. Some restaurants in Palembang also offer Pempek Panggang (grilled fish cake) and Lenggang Panggang (Pempek dough mixed with duck egg and grilled). You can also ask them for a fried Pempek, more popular way to serve Pempek in Jakarta.

Pempek Panggang or Lenggang Panggang

The white one is Pempek Panggang, the yellow goldish one is Lenggang Panggang

The best places to get Pempek in Palembang according to locals are:

  • Pempek Akiun: Jl. DI. Panjaitan, Kec. Plaju, Palembang. Phone: +62711 541329
  • Pempek EK: Jalan Lingkaran 1 No.60/357E, Ilir Timur I, Palembang. Phone: +62711 313121
  • Pempek Beringin: Jalan Lingkaran 1 No. 20/B 9, Ilir, Palembang. Phone: +62711 371685
  • Pempek Saga: Jl. Merdeka, Bukit Kecil, Palembang. Phone: +62711 314417
  • Pempek Embool: Jl. Kapten Marzuki No.2664, Ilir Tim. I, Palembang. Phone: +628117888820
  • Pempek Vico: Jl. Letkol Iskandar, Palembang.
  • Pempek Dempo: close to Pempek EK
  • Pempek IP: Jl. Aiptu K. S. Tubun No.500 / III, Ilir Tim. I, Palembang. Phone: +62711 377304
Pindang with Sambal

Pindang Baung with mango sauce

Pindang

Pindang is the broth. The easiest way to describe it is to imagine Tom Yum. The famous Pindang from Palembang is Pindang Patin (fish). Nowadays there are a lot of variations. You can find shrimp, baung (fish), belido (fish) and tulang (bone, it is usually cow ribs) to name a few.

Locals usually have steamed rice with Pindang and also a fruit sauce (sambal). The fruit can be Mango, or Pineapple. As I like Tom Yum, I love Pindang too. It is fresh, just like Tom Yum, but not too sour. Pindang fits perfectly well with my taste. Though the original Pindang is a fish, Patin Pindang, I love the Tulang Pindang better.

Pindang happiness at floating restaurant Palembang

Pindang happy fun time at floating restaurant overlooking Musi river and Ampera bridge

Best places to get Pindang in Palembang according to locals:

  • Pindang Pegagan H. Abdul Halim: Jl. Jend. Sudirman, Ilir Tim. I. Phone: +62711 320724
  • Pindang Musi Rawas: Jl. Angkatan 45 No.18, Ilir Bar. I, Palembang. Phone: +62711 370590
  • Pindang Meranjat Bu Ucha: Jl. Demang Lebar Daun No.14, Ilir Bar. I. Phone: +62711 374201
  • Pindang Sophia: Jl. KHM. Asyik, SU 1, Kertapati, Palembang. Phone: +62711 7726300
mie Celor Palembang

Mie Celor is a popular dish for breakfast!

Mie Celor

Mie is Indonesian for noodle. Mie Celor usually uses big noodles like Udon. The best thing about this type of noodles is the broth. It is so tasty, perhaps because it uses coconut milk. Mie Celor is a popular dish for breakfast (though for me the portions are too large for breakfast, I ate a half of it and can’t even finish it).

To serve Mie Celor the chef normally boils the mie, adds bean sprouts and the broth. Then they add two slices of boiled egg sprinkled with chopped celery, a tiny bit of dried shrimp, spring onions and fried red onions. Once that is all done the tasty Mie Celor is ready!

to eat for breakfast in Palembang Mie Celor

Look at the broth!

Places to get it Mie Celor in Palembang according to locals:
Mie Celor HM. Syafei 26 Ilir: Jl. KHA Dahlan, No. 2, Pasar Ilir. Phone: +6281368890101
Mie Celor Hj. Latifah 26 Ilir: Jl. Mujahidin No.353 E, Palembang. Phone: +6285103922266

Ok, we got you, Firsta! Pempek, Pindang and Mie Celor. Anything else?

Yes, there are a lot of other Palembang (and South Sumatera) delicacies. It is your task to find them and let me know what you think about them. I’ll help you with pictures and a brief description.

Tempoyak patin

Patin Tempoyak. Tempoyak is a dish that comes from the fermented durian fruit. It was too sour for me. Not a big fan. 🙁

Sendok Mas Coffee in Al Munawar village

Sendok Mas coffee in a gold pot with small shot glass. So good!

Sarikayo and other dessert of Palembang

Some of Palembang / South Sumatra desserts. In the middle is Sarikayo, which is my favourite. You should definitely give it a try.

Martabak Har Palembang

Martabak HAR! You shouldn’t miss this one too.

Durian Party in Palembang

Yep! Durian party at Pasar Kuto (Kuto Market).

Burgo, Lakso, Laksan, Celimpungan and Ragit

Popular place to get breakfast in Palembang: Warung Aba. They sell Lakso, Laksan, Celimpungan, Burgo and Ragit. My favourite: Ragit!

Meal time at Palembang

Munggahan or Ngidang: Minyak (similar to Briyani rice), chicken curry, goat, gado-gado (they called it Selado), pickled pineapple and sauce.

So are you getting a bit hungry? Yes? You should definitely check out Palembang if you are a foodie. Don’t worry about gaining weight after your visit, it just happens 😉

Have you visited Palembang? What is your favorite meal? Do you have any restaurants you’d like to recommend?

 
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