The food in Medan, Indonesian city with a hot reputation, from spicy rice cakes to biryani and handmade noodles
- Medan in North Sumatra has been called Indonesia’s Gotham City, but don’t let that put you off trying its food, which reflects the diversity of its population
- Its lontong rice cakes are legendary, Little India’s curry shops draw all creeds, and you haven’t been to Medan if you don’t have a pork noodle soup
Bali bomber Umar Patek may seem like an odd person to be taking travel advice from. But during a recent interview with the killer – who was released in late 2022 from a 20-year sentence for his part in the 2002 atrocity – our conversation turned to his travels through Indonesia, including Medan.
“Ah yes, Medan,” Patek said, looking troubled. “Medan is …”
He searched for the word. “Hardcore.”
When a mass murderer describes a place in such terms, it perhaps speaks to its dangers, and Patek’s opinion of the provincial capital of North Sumatra is widely shared.
The fourth largest city in Indonesia, with a population of some 3.4 million people, Medan is so infamous across the rest of the country that it has its own nickname: Gotham City, after the metropolis in Batman comics synonymous with vice and crime.
Yet Medan is also the culinary capital of Indonesia, with domestic tourists and more than 260,000 from overseas flocking to the city annually to taste its delights, among which are lontong.
