Nasi Liwet Bu Wongso Lemu Solo

The best way to find out where is the right place to eat in Solo is by asking tukang becak (rickshaw driver). To me, eat local cuisine is on top of my activity list when I visit a city. I'll take time to browse in internet what is the famous local cuisine. He took me to Nasi Liwet Wongso Lemu.

When I arrive in a city, I ask the hotel employee or local people where is the best place to eat the intended cuisine. Usually, famous local cuisine is hard to find because it rarely takes place in business area. In Solo, we can just leave it to tukang becak. Although Solo is very comfortable to go around at night, we still have to be alert on what happen surround us.

I went at 09.00 pm that night. It considers late night in several cities in Indonesia. But for tourism destination like Solo, it's still appropriate for woman to go out by herself. Nevertheless, make sure the tukang becak usually stations in front of your hotel. You can ask the tukang becak to wait while you are eating. They prefer to wait for you, rather than go back to their station with empty seat. Since I was going out alone, I ask the old tukang becak to accompany me eating nasi liwet. Heheheee....

Nasi liwet is a specific cuisine of Solo. It consists of rice, lodeh (vegetable in fair coconut milk) and chicken. The rice is tender and easy to digest. The fact that it's already very late for dinner makes me lazy to chew. So I choose liver rather than chicken. Yup, it's not a healthy food though, but it's delicious.

The tukang becak recommended me to go to the legendary Bu Wongso Lemu place at Jl Teuku Umar, Keprabon. It opens at 4 pm until 10 pm. Don't be confuse when you find out that along the street, there are several places using Bu Wongso Lemu brand. According to the tukang becak, they come from the same family. My tukang becak suggested me to choose the one at the end of the street.

Before you enjoy your nasi liwet, prepare some coins on the table for about two or three street singers. So when they come, you don't have to be so busy looking for coins inside your bag or purse and loose your appetite.

I consider the price here are a little bit high although it's still affordable. They charge me Rp 48.000 for two person.

I end the night by drinking wedang uwuh. They also call it wedang sampah or garbage tea. It's made of various spices, sugar and hot warm. You can feel the warmth go through your body. It's so refreshing. What a nice moment. It's memorable.