On Do, The Hidden Gem of Bataknese Food
Batak is one of hundreds tribes from Nusantara (the ancient name for the archipelago of Indonesia). My mother is Bataknese from the clan of Nainggolan (descendants of King Lontung, one of the biggest prince descended from the first King Batak.)
So I grew up knowing the richness of Batak traditional culinary which famous for its bold taste and generous use of rare herbs.
Today, I want to show you one of the best restaurant which seriously preserving the taste of Bataknese food:
On Do
Yes, just two syllables. It means: "This is it". The restaurant name is pretty straight forwad, emphasizing their confidence on their food taste.
We came about 2 hour past lunch time, the restaurant still crowded! A waitress quickly notice us when we enter the restaurant, then ushered us to the backyard section.
The ambience is good, filled with natural themed decoration. A vast amount of antique china/ceramic plate collection hanging on the wall.
It took about 5 minutes after we place orders, the soup delivered.
Pork Leg Soup
In Batak tradition, this soup is some kind of appetizer. It should be delivered first and quckly after a customer place his/her order. So, the customer can enjoy some appetizer while waiting for the main course served.
This soup is heavenly good! The thin muscle tissues sticking to the bone is the best part of this soup, and if you're a fan of it, you can suck the bone marrow using a straw, it tastes so GOOD!
Saksang
Saksang looks a lot ike a spicy version of rendang, but in Saksang the pork meats cut into smaller pieces (like dices).
It tastes really good, rich of herbs and most importantly imbued with generous amount of Andaliman (a rare kind of herbs, only grow in Batak Forest). Andaliman make you feel spicy ticklish and refreshing (like menthol) in the same time with explosive sensations.
Batak Pork Grill
This is the star! I don't how to express it. It's on a whole new level from other food! It's something everyone should try at least once in their life!
This Batak Pork Grill went thru a special way of meat marinating and uniqe grilling method. When you bite it, it's crunchy on the outside and juice in the inside.
Magnificent!
Mashed Casava Leaf
This is another famous traditional Batak food, its a vegetable soup made from casava leaves and green pea eggplant, mashed together then cooked with coconut milk.
It's creamy, soft textured and taste good!
Side dishes
Ondo also provided common side dishes, a small platter of spicy fried anchovy +fried peanuts and a plater of jengkol which I still don't understand why so many people like it?
Service
We gotta admit, On Do delivered more than our expectation. All those food delivered to our table with the same looking of presentation with its pictures on the Book, they don't lie!
On Do's waitress was really attentive, reactive and quick.
To our surprise, this restauran don't charge any kind of Service Charge, despite its full-service from its dozend of waitress.
That's all folks!
So, if you want to try Bataknese food, make sure you won't miss On Do!
Thanks for following our journey! If you're new here, me and my wife are a couple of Food Hunters, we share our journey here. If you're not following yet, make sure you do. We will keep updating our journey here.
Cheers! 🍻
Restaurant Information
On Do, Batak Grill
Jl. Pabrik Tenun No.45, Sei Putih Tengah, Kec. Medan Petisah, Kota Medan, Sumatera Utara 20118, Indonesia
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STOPLooks like a very good comfort meal for cold days.
And I'm sure it tasted great.
Good luck for the contest!
Yes, I agree, especially the Leg Soup!
It's very comforting and I felt pampered just by sipping on it!