Local Guide

Desserts You Can Find on the Streets of Jakarta

Hello FlokqJune 25, 2020

Jakarta is known as a metropolitan city. There are so many offices and entertainment centers. Also, you have to try street food or desserts that you can find easily in Jakarta. You can find a variety of desserts with their unique taste. In this article, we provide several desserts you can buy in Jakarta. Don’t miss it!

Es Doger

Eating a cold dessert like Es doger under the hot weather might be the best thing to do when you’re in Jakarta. Es Dorong Gerobak or more well-known as Es Doger is not only tasted good, but it’s also nutritional for our body. The history of it might be blurry, many said that this sweet dessert was found in West Java or Jakarta. But with all of the uncertainty, Es doger already rooted and have a special place in the heart of betawinese. Usually, you can find es doger in the streets of Jakarta or special events such as a wedding or betawinese celebration. Even though the history of it might be uncertain, the citizens have already come up with the decisions in how this dessert should be served. 

It is not complicated to make but it doesn’t mean that everybody can make this dessert easily. First of all, you need to shave a block of ice, the seller of Es Doger usually need dozens of kilos of ice blocks just for a day. The shaved ice and then mixed with jackfruit slices shaved coconut meat and coconut milk. Usually, the Es Doger seller added condensed milk on the top of this ice for the finishing part. After the condensed milk is added, you can already eat this ice. But the seller of es doger usually added more topping so it’s going to be more flavorsome. 

Every seller of es doger usually has their mixture for the topping of this ice. Many added black sticky rice, tape singkong, and small slices of avocado as the topping. If you want to find this dessert, you can easily find the seller of this ice in front of school or historical places and normally, this traditional dessert is affordable, the price of this sweet dessert is ranging from Rp.3000,00 until Rp5000,00

Es Podeng

Es Podeng, another traditional dessert that is common to be found in Jakarta street can also be your choice to fight Jakarta’s heat. Es Podeng come from Madura, another part of java in the colonization era. Back then, ice cream is a popular dessert but only certain cast can enjoy it. Indonesians and then come up with the idea of changing milk into coconut milk as the based for the ice cream. Ice cream based on coconut milk and then well known as an Indonesian version of ice cream. Es Podeng is produced with a manual machine that can be operated with rotating the machine. Usually, the seller of Es Podeng needs to rotate the machine for 1 hour to produce a tube of Es Podeng.

The Es Podeng seller usually uses different flavors to taste, such as avocado and jackfruit slices. They also added toppings like jellies, bread slices, and also peanuts to enhance the taste of the Es Podeng. After that, condensed milk is added for the finishing part. Even though ice cream from the other countries started bombarding the Indonesian dessert industry, Es Podeng have a special place in the heart of Indonesians. Es Podeng might be similar to Bandung’s dessert called es oyen, but it is different. This dessert is affordable and the price is ranging from Rp. 5.000 until Rp. 10.000 for each portion

Kue Cubit

Do you want something fluffy? how about a pack of Kue cubit?. A lot of people said that this traditional dessert might be created because of the inspiration from the famous dutch dessert, Poffertjes. Because of colonization, many things that are in Indonesia right now are influenced by the culture from other countries. This dessert was simply made from a mixture of flour and then topped with sprinkles or cheese. But nowadays, the citizens got more creative with it and make an innovation out of it. It might be easy to find many flavors of Kue cubit, from the original one until matcha or green tea flavored one. The original one might be pretty affordable, but watch out for the innovative one because it might be pretty expensive.

Es Dawet

How about a sweet dessert to cure the heat of Jakarta?. You can try the famous es dawet that can be easily found in the street. It might be uncertain to know where is this dessert come from. But one thing to be sure, Es Dawet come from the island of java. Indonesia was a popular place for agriculture, especially in the rice sector. Rice is usually made into several forms so it’s going to be easier to keep it for a long time. The sticky Es Dawet and then born from the rice flour. Some stories connect this dessert to the ancient dishes from the java island. This dessert is made from rice flour that is mixed into a mixture and then boiled. After that, dawet is mixed with jackfruit slices, palm sugar syrup, screwpine leaf, coconut milk, and ices. 

Every part of java has its version of Es Dawet, with their touch that uplifts the taste of this dessert. You can try Dawet Selasih that can be found in Solo. Dawet Selasih uses basil seeds as one of the ingredients for this dessert, so this dessert would have different texture in every bite. You can also try Dawet Ireng from the Purworejo region in Jawa Tengah. You might be confused why would it be different but you should wait until you see this dessert. Ireng means ‘black’ in Javanese, so you’ll find black dawet inside this dessert. The black color is coming from roasted wheat that is mashed up and boiled after that.

Bubur Sumsum

The last traditional dessert in Indonesia is coming from the other part of java. Bubur Sumsum is a type of porridge that is made from rice flour that is cooked with coconut milk until thicken and then poured with a palm sugar syrup. Usually, a lot of Indonesians eat this dessert as a portion of comfort food, you can eat it while hot or add ice for the refreshing sensation. Bubur Sumsum is not only tasted good but also have a lot of meaning for the Javanese tradition. Bubur Sumsum was said to have 2 types of elements, it’s the white color and the sweet taste of this porridge. The sweet taste was symbolized as happiness and prosperity. The white color symbolizes the pure heart and clear minds. You can find this meaningful dessert in the street of Jakarta at an affordable price ranging from Rp5.000,00 until Rp10.000,00

Those are 5 recommendations for desserts you can find in Jakarta. We hope this article helps you to explore and enjoy your time in Jakarta. Also, don’t forget to read other recommendations in our blog! A lot of choices start from restaurants, pubs, and others.