Grilling Chicken Satay – Eating Street Food in Jakarta, Indonesia

This food stand that grills chicken satay was right across the street from our hostel in Jakarta. I loved watching the smoke and flames rise up from the grill as cars and motorbikes rolled past behind me, knowing I was about to get some cheap and delicious street food.

Fresh made street food is the best.

Cikini Raya is the street we were on in Jakarta, and there were actually quite a few good food places there. We never had to go far, or spend much, to eat well. It is so much better to eat street food than at chain restaurants or fancy places where the price is bigger than the quality.

One of my favorite things to do is to go up to a street food place and just say I’ll take one – even if I have no clue what they’re serving. Tim isn’t always as adventurous as I am with food, so that’s why it’s often one, and not two.

The truth is, the food is so inexpensive that even if you don’t like it, it won’t destroy your budget if you get something you just don’t like and have to get something else.

The opportunity to find a new awesome food is so much greater than a little risk that you might not like it that one of our top travel recommendations is to always try the street food. In fact, even if you don’t love something, try it again somewhere else. A lot of these places use personal family recipes and while the dish may be the same, they will all taste different.

Jakarta took a little getting used to, but we ended up really liking it. It’s a vibrant city with awesome people and we had some great urban adventures here. If you’re going to Indonesia, spend a few days in Jakarta and see if it can work its way into your heart, too. Chances are the people will, and the city will follow.

We loved all of Indonesia, by the way. It was a great way to start off our world adventures and we hope to go back soon. We have lots of videos and blog posts covering our adventures in Indonesia. Subscribe to keep tabs and refer back to them if you’re curious.

Check out this tuk tuk ride in Jakarta, or have a look at ALL of our Indonesia posts.

Trina Phillips

I've been traveling to off-the-beaten-path destinations for more than 20 years. Now I'm sharing my continuing adventures in Africa.

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