A Culinary Trail of Medan, Medan, Indonesia

Like Malacca, Penang and Singapore, Medan is one of the key settlements along the Malacca Strait known for being a melting pot of various ethnic groups with a hint of Chinese influences.

While Medan is traditionally portrayed as the gateway to the scenic Lake Toba and the great Sumatran rainforests, lesser known is the fact that Medan offers a vibrant food scene within its urban sprawls.

Its mixed heritage truly comes alive once you look into the city’s diverse range of food options which can be traced into Minangkabau, Batak, Sundanese and Chinese culinary traditions. Suffice to say that Medan truly ranks amongst some of the greatest gastronomic destinations in Southeast Asia.

Many people tend to assume that Indonesia is a Muslim nation, but this cannot be further from the truth. Indonesia is a secular nation with seven official religions, as well as many local practices.

The local natives of the North Sumatran province (where Medan is the capital city of) are neither the Malays nor the Javanese people, but the people of Batak ethnic groups.

The Batak tribes (who are typically not Muslims, and in modern times often Christians) live in the highlands that once used to be in geographic isolation. Thus, although they are now no longer inaccessible and can be found in the cities as well, they have developed their own unique dishes which incorporate andaliman citrus, as well as unconventional meat. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).