I grew up in East Jakarta. Rawamangun is an area that I am really familiar with. I’d like to share with you one of my favourite things to do around Rawamangun 🙂

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Though I am based in Yogyakarta now, whenever I get a chance to go to Jakarta I always like to stroll around Rawamangun, especially Balai Pustaka street. It is here that you can find a lot of food stalls, restaurants, mini markets, book stores and much more besides.

food around rawamangun

If you happen to explore around Kelapa Gading or Pulo Gadung when you are in Jakarta then you should make a stop in Rawamangun to satisfy your taste buds. Some of them are only open in the evening. Here are some of my favourite food stalls/restaurants around Rawamangun:

1. Martabak Favourite
There are two types of Martabak, savory – we call it Martabak Telur – and sweet – we call it Martabak Manis. Martabak is basically like a pancake. I love both of them (have a try and you will know what I mean), but never really eat it too much since the Martabak Telur is very oily and the Martabak Manis is full of butter/ margarine.

There are two Martabak Favourite stalls on Balai Pustaka, however I am only going to tell you where one of them is – Balai Pustaka street, in front of Dunkin Donuts – because if you order from here you can actually get both types of Martabak. It is just a single cart with 2-3 people working from it. One martabak, which feeds three – five people, costs you around Rp. 50,000 ($5).

bebek kaleyo

2. Bebek Kaleyo
If you didn’t know, Bebek is Indonesian word for duck. In Bebek Kaleyo, there are three main ways of serving duck. Grilled duck (bebek bakar), fried duck (bebek goreng) and fried duck with green sauce topping (bebek cabe ijo). Personally I love the grilled duck.

I am a big fan of Bebek Kaleyo and I think they do the best duck in Jakarta. They originally started as a small warung (food stall) but have since mushroomed into a large chain. The Bebek Kaleyo in Rawamangun is located on Pemuda Raya street No. 290 (not far away from Pizza Hut). The duck here is sweet and tender. Don’t forget to order the Mango sauce (sambel mangga) and Es campur to complete your order.

HAP Milkbar

3. HAP Milkbar
HAP Milkbar is located in Puloasem, Rawamangun. This place is still quite new, but definitely worth visiting. The name says it all, so if you are a big fan of milk, you should definitely give a try! You can try the fresh milk that comes in various flavors, or try their signature smoothies.

kedai locale rawamangun

4. Kedai Locale
This restaurant is located at the end of the intersection of Balai Pustaka street. They serve tasty coffee and other cold drinks that are worth a try. I wouldn’t really recommend their food though. I like the way the restaurant is decorated, as well as the fact that you can get free wifi here.

Of course, this is only a small list of the places to eat in Rawamangun. There are still so many other places to visit around this part of Jakarta. If you still have spare room in your stomach, don’t forget to try Sate Padang Ajo Manih and Bakso Gepeng on Balai Pustaka street, Nasi Uduk OK on Paus street, Nasi Goreng Dapur Bang Thoyib and Sate Blora Cirebon on Balai Pustaka Baru street, Ayam Panggang Rawamangun on Cipinang Baru Utara street and Mie Ratu Kalimantan in Kampung Ambon. So there are all my favourite restaurants (I feel a bit hungry now!). Have you ever been to Rawamangun? Share with me your favourite places to eat/drink!
 
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