Papua Restaurants and Dining

(Papua, Indonesia)

Within the scenic highlands of Papua, the sweet potato is a staple ingredient favoured by many restaurants and local dining venues in this part of Indonesia. The native Dani people farm sweet potatoes in huge quantities, relishing their flavour and growing approximately 60 different varieties in total.

When dining out in Papua, you can therefore be quite confident of finding sweet potato on the menu in some guise. Restaurants also use more traditional Indonesian ingredients, such as coconut milk, peanut paste and lemon grass, as well as the pith of sago palms. On special occasions in Papua, locals bake chickens and whole pigs in excavated earth ovens, and this is always quite an event.

Where to Eat

The restaurants of Papua are in their greatest numbers in the main resorts and tourist destinations. Many regions of Papua are known for their very own dining specialities, such as:

Western Papua

• Sorong - featuring traditional outdoor Indonesian eateries (warungs) lining the waterfront
• Fak Fak - known for its al fresco oceanfront dining, serving tasty 'akam lalapan' (fried spicy chicken) and 'ikan bakar' (chargrilled fish). Some 'warungs' in Fak Fak only open during the evenings. Further eateries and spits are based along the Jalan Reklamasi and the Jalan Baru
• Manokwari - offering a number of Western dining options, such as hamburgers and steaks, along with Chinese restaurants and a coffee shop on the Jalan Sudirman serving pizza

Central Papua

• Pulau Biak - with various popular eateries based at the resort of Kota Biak, where the traditional 'barapen' method is often adopted, using hot rocks to cook the actual food
• Pulau Yepen - food here is mainly available at hotel restaurants. A small selection of 'warungs' and similar 'rumah makans' (eating houses) are on hand and serve up freshly prepared Padang food

Baliem Valley

• Wamena - with local delicacies including Indonesian goldfish (ikan mas), giant crayfish-type prawns (udang) and other fish-based offerings. Most restaurant menus in Wamena list the dishes in English

Eastern Papua

• Jayapura - brimming with waterfront 'warungs', serving up spicy 'gado gado' (vegetables and peanut sauce), baked fish and 'nasi campur' (rice topped with meat, peanuts, shrimps and vegetables). Eateries are also in plentiful supply along the Jalan Ahmad Yani, while food stalls line the Jalan Nindya
• Sentani - featuring reasonable Indonesian restaurants and night 'warungs' on the corner of the Jalan Airport and the Jalan Eluay I, as well as some rather basic 'rumah makans' based on the main road, close to the Hotel Flafouw Indah