What to Eat in Indonesia in 2026: The Best Food and Drink

Indonesian food is a spice-route cuisine made on the archipelago where the spices were grown, and the result is a kitchen of extraordinary complexity hiding behind deceptively simple presentations. Nasi goreng — fried rice with kecap manis (sweet soy sauce), shrimp paste, and a fried egg on top — is the national dish available at every warung (small food stall) at any hour, and the quality range from roadside cart to hotel restaurant covers surprising ground. Rendang (slow-cooked dry beef curry, the coconut milk reducing over hours into a dark, complex coating on the meat) is considered the world's most delicious food in numerous international polls and is specifically Minangkabau in origin. Sate (skewered and grilled meat with peanut sauce) from a Madura street cart, gado-gado (blanched vegetables with peanut dressing), and the Balinese babi guling (spit-roasted suckling pig with spice paste) extend the range. Kopi tubruk (strong ground coffee settled in the cup, drunk carefully) and es teh manis (sweet iced tea) are the Indonesian beverage defaults. It really hits differently.