While reading the title, you might be wondering, 'Why Bandar Lampung out of nowhere?'
The answer is because I was given a business assignment in Kotabumi, where we needed to fly to Bandar Lampung beforehand and stay there for the weekends (where we're stranded in Kotabumi for the weekdays).

Hence, before and in the middle of the hectic working days, we decided to sight see, have fun a bit and taste their yum-yum local foods! And in this post, I will share about the foods that I had tried there, ones listed as popular in Bandar Lampung, with honest review for their rates for price and taste. So, check it out!

1. Pempek 123
📍 Jl. Jend. Sudirman No.35-37, Lampung, Rw. Laut, Tj. Karang Tim., Kota Bandar Lampung
Opens 9.30 am to 7 pm (or until the stocks run out)



As the name of the restaurant says, we expected to eat good pempek (Palembang specialty's made from grinded fish and starch). We did order quite a lot of variations, like lenjer (the long one), kapal selam (one with egg inside), and lenggang (fried with egg), where actually all of those tasted real good. You can taste the generous amount of fish inside it, not only the starch, unlike the ones we have back there in Surabaya. And because of it's deliciousness, a lot of people are bringing it home for souvenirs (and me was also one of those folks indeed). They have special package for the take-away portion, in which the staff can vacuum the pempek in a plastic and wrap it in a box for easy carrying. The price for take away are ranging, according to the how many pempek you want to bring home, you can see the price below. Oh they also have great companion for eat, which is the red bean shaved ice, a superb thing to eat in a scorching hot day.



2.  Restoran Begadang 2
📍 Jl. Diponegoro, Gotong Royong, Tj. Karang Pusat, Kota Bandar Lampung
Opens 6.30 am to 10 pm

Since we went all the way to Sumatera, of course we would love to try the foods from Sumatera itself, and my friend definitely craving to taste Nasi Padang. Actually there are a lot branches for this restaurant, but we chose the most famous based of our best friend's suggestion (aka Google) which is located quite close to the elephant statue. The selection of the food were quite different with what we have in Surabaya, in which they didn't have the chicken pop, scrambled egg, and some other things by default. The taste itself was kinda standard, and we were kinda disappointed to be honest (that made me a bit wondering, how this place become famous in the first place). For the price, it was quite similar with the one in Surabaya. Fried chicken and rendang costed 18k, while perkedel and egg costed 8k. Well it's okay to try it once, but I definitely will not come again for the second time.


3. Khuai Lok
📍 Jalan Laksamana Malahayati No.98, Kangkung, Teluk Betung Selatan, Bumi Waras, Kota Bandar Lampung
Opens 10 am to 10 pm



This Chinese food restaurant was actually one of the recommendation from one of our colleague, and they said that this one served proper Chinese food. We did order several dishes in one go, padang sauced crab, cereal shrimp, grilled pork, kwetiau, and also sauteed kale (or tumis kangkung). Well the overall taste was quite good, but not that superb actually. You can get the freshness for the seafood, but for the flavor is not immersed in it well. Price wise, kinda expensive for the things that we ate (well, maybe caused from the high price for crab and shrimp).


4. Bakso Sonhaji Sony
📍 Jl. Wolter Monginsidi No.42 A, Durian Payung, Tj. Karang Pusat, Kota Bandar Lampung
Opens 10 am to 8 pm

This one is also one of the most popular dish to try in Bandar Lampung. The place was quite spacious and you can find the place quite easily, just by following the direction from our best pal, Google Maps.

As the name stated, they only serve bakso (aka meatball) there, where it served by default with 5 meatballs and you can choose to add noodle or vermicelli. I decided to add vermicelli in my broth. So let's review this foodie! The original broth tasted quite bland, but rich as it made with true meat. So you will need to add more salt and sauce according to your needs, and they already prepare those condiments on each of the table. While for the bakso itself has quite the combination of sweet and savory, one that you'll never find back in Surabaya. They also serve es campur as the best combi to eat bakso *slurp*. If you wish to bring it home, they have special counter for take-away order. Nice place with good value for money, I would say.


5. Bakmi Aloi
📍 Jl. Diponegoro No.7 B, Kupang Teba, Tlk. Betung Utara, Kota Bandar Lampung

This pork noodle is actually originated from Palembang, and has several branches already, one of them is in Jakarta. Since we're in Lampung that is so close to Palembang, we want to try out if the taste is better or the same with what we have in Jakarta. We ordered the Mie Komplit, one with chicken, minced meat, cahsiu, and mushroom. It tasted nice, where you have a lot of gimmicks all over your noodle, and definitely will fulfill the needs of your stomach with ease. If we compare with the other branch, well I haven't got the chance to eat it back in Jakarta, but my friend said that the taste is as the same with the one in Jakarta. So we could say that they have great quality control. You can also request additional menu, such like jeroan (or innard) if you like it. Price wise, worth the penny since you can get a real lot of things in your noodle.


6. Nasi Uduk Toha
📍  Jl. Raden Ajeng Kartini No.200, Tj. Karang, Tj. Karang Pusat, Kota Bandar Lampung
Opens at 4 pm - 2 am

Maybe you're curious why do we need to try Javanese food in Sumatera. I also quite surprised to know that this restaurant is listed as one of the must-try-food in Bandar Lampung. Hence to understand why it's so popular, the easiest way is of course to try it out myself. I ordered it through Go-Jek in hungry mode, so when the food arrived, I just eat it directly and didn't really taking picture of it #sorrynotsorry. For me, it's not an exaggeration to say that this nasi uduk toha deserve to be popular, cause it tasted really delicious. I am quite picky for nasi uduk, cause I love that food so much, but this one made me super happy in just one bite. I could say that the rice was cooked for a long time, with the perfect amount of flavoring. They also serve ayam kampung to complement this dish. So for the next time, *if I got the chance to go here again* definitely gonna try it out directly in the place. Not so pricey with the great taste to satisfy my palate!

Well, those above are the famous foods that I had tried in Bandar Lampung. But it doesn't rule out the possibility that our preference in taste might differ. So don't hesitate to try those foodies out, maybe ones that I don't like might also tasted good for you!