In September 2022 we landed in Indonesia. The third country in our trip to South East Asia. The plan was to stay a month, but this turned into two as we realised pretty quickly that we wanted to see more, much more! It was my first time in Indonesia and I’m pretty confident that it won’t be my last. We only got to visit a tiny fraction of it, 6 out of 18,110 islands. Sumatra, Bali, and Lombok are the big ones we visited. This post is about vegan food in Northern Sumatra, Indonesia which was way easier than I imagined.
It’s a good idea to say “tidak telur” (no egg) when ordering.
I’m both a dream and a pain in the ass to travel with. On the one hand, I’m happy to go wherever my travel buddy wants to go, I follow along without (much) complaint. But, I’m also crap at deciding where to go so often leave the responsibility up to (a frustrated) someone else. I am good with food though, I am top-notch at finding a decent place to eat vegan food. Thanks to tempeh, tofu, fertile volcanic soil, and low dairy consumption, finding veggie grub in Indonesia was not difficult. Eggs can appear on the plate, even in the most unlikely dishes, so it’s a good idea to say “tidak telur” (no egg) when ordering.
I’ve compiled a list of the best places we ate vegan food in North Sumatra, Indonesia that had listed vegetarian/vegan menu options. We followed the common backpacker route from Medan to Padang. Not all towns enroute had vegan restaurants or even vegan menu options, but almost everywhere was accommodating. Often, we had to ask for “no meat, fish, or eggs”. Indonesia is not known for using dairy or fish sauce in its cuisine we got sorted 99% of the time.
We found Sumatra very safe and the locals friendly and welcoming
Medan
Our first stop was Medan, the capital city of North Sumatra. We arrived, as you may have guessed by the date, shortly after it opened up after that huge, global, pandemic thing we had, remember it? Things were, I’d imagine, quieter than usual. Everyone we spoke to was hopeful that in 2023 tourists would come back to the island in numbers seen before the travel warnings of the early 2000s. For the record, we found Sumatra very safe and the locals friendly and welcoming.
Anywaaaaay, you’re here for the food recs so I’ll get to it!
Where We Ate
Voi Café is a small vegetarian café with friendly staff. We were the only ones eating there on a Thursday afternoon. The menu was a mix of Indonesian and English language so we kind of guessed our order.
What we ate: Sate Padang – 5 skewers of vegan chicken (soy) in a runny satay sauce with 7 half slices of lontong rice cakes and crispy fried onions.
Daging Rusa – vegan venison. Chewy peppered “meat” with crunchy peppers in a sweet and sticky soy sauce.
Telur Mata Sapi – Sunny side up, very realistic fried egg. The yolk is a little more orange and more powdery than a real egg and the white is more rubbery.
Socrates, a laid-back cafe with a philosophy theme and book-filled shelves. Outdoor seating out front and upstairs has low tables and floor seating like in Japan. Downstairs is small(ish) but has regular tables and chairs. Stunning batik art on the walls. The owner was very friendly and gave us suggestions on what to eat. There are many options on the menu and it has pictures to guide. We had some of the best vegan food in Sumatra here!
What we ate: Lontong Sayur – rice cakes cooked in coconut milk and banana leaves in a curry sauce with jackfruit/veg, chillies, and crackers. Not too spicy but a tingle on the lips from the chillies. A great mix of textures with the cracker crunch and the soft rice cakes.
Nasi Padang – Rice with a selection of food like tempeh, jackfruit, roasted aubergine.
Taiwok Street Food, is a vegetarian fast food joint with clearly labelled vegan options. We had it delivered through Grab to our hotel. Portion sizes were big and fast delivery.
What we ate: Udon noodles- with tempeh, yellow curry sesame seeds topping. Dry noodle dish with lots of flavour. It already had tofu in it so I didn’t need to add tempeh but the tofu was not mentioned in the ingredients on the app.
Hakka Noodle – with tofu, Vietnamese black pepper sauce, and peanut topping. Thin glassy noodles, dry, peppery sauce, and lots of peanuts. Very tasty.
Happy Vegan, a small Chinese vegetarian place, the name is misleading as Nasi Lemak has an egg.
What we ate: Terong Crispy – Fried breaded aubergine with a chilli sauce. Sauce was sweeter rather than spicy.
Bukit Lawang
The second stop on our trip was Bukit Lawang, a few hours west of Medan. Bukit Lawang is the main access point to Gunung Leuser National park. Famous residents include the magnificent Orangutan.
The river flows through the town, with a few rickety-looking bridges connecting both sides. They don’t look it but they are safe, though I was a nervous wreck every time. The town was clean and pretty. Lots of flowers, decorative guesthouses and general cuteness to the place. Some of the blogs I’d read before going painted it as a bit dreary but it was the total opposite. We stayed three nights, drinking Bintang in Jack’s bar, chatting with local NGO workers, and enjoying the friendly vibes. As mentioned, this was not long after COVID so things were still quiet and peaceful.
Where We Ate
Cave Rock Café, is a café in the opening of a cave with a pebble and slab path. The chef is very friendly and funny, she checked with us how we wanted our food and how spicy we can handle.
What we ate: Tofu in Spicy with rice and veg – Great kick to this dish. The chef made it a little less spicy than normal as little red chillies have quite the hit. Lots of tofu and veg. Good size serving.
Bakwan/vegetable cake – Corn fritter, fried and served with tomato sauce and/or chilli sauce. These would be ideal with a few Bintang, perfect beer snacks.
Ida Guesthouse & Restaurant, our digs for a few days. The restaurant overlooks the river and is comfortable with chunky wooden tables and cushioned seats. Offers breakfast, lunch and dinner, plenty of Indonesian food and western options. Lots of vegan options. Serving sizes were generous.
What we ate: Vegetable curry with tofu and tempeh – Lots of tempeh and tofu chunks in amongst 7 or 8 different veggies. Earthy flavour from perhaps cumin.
Pineapple Curry – Not too dissimilar to the veg curry but sweeter and has no tofu or tempeh. Lots of veg and lots of pineapple
Lawang Inn, a guesthouse and restaurant that offers freshly baked brown bread. It wasn’t ready when we arrived, unfortunately. Selection of ‘proper’ coffee options. Hammock downstairs and a few books to glance through. Friendly staff.
What we ate: Large fruit salad. (Half a pineapple, quarter watermelon, 2 mandarins, 4 passion fruits, 2 mangosteens, and 3 small bananas.) Big enough for 2 people, very filling, all fruit was very fresh and the presentation was beautiful.
Berastagi
Heading Southwest from Bukit Lawang we arrived in Berastagi for some volcanic appreciation. I studied Geography in university so I was delighted to spout “facts” and pretend I knew what I was talking about. There are two volcanoes here, Mt. Sibayak and Mt. Sinabung. Sibayak hasn’t erupted for over a hundred years and is an easy enough climb. Sinabung is a way tougher climb but as it erupted as recently as 2020, we were not, much to my relief, allowed to climb it. I do recommend a sunrise climb up Mt Sibayak. It’s not too taxing and the views are spectacular.
The town of Berastagi isn’t as vegan-friendly as I’d hoped but as we were only there for a short time we made it work. It’s cooler up here than in Medan which was a nice respite. It is very dusty so if you still have a few masks hanging out in coat pockets, bring one. The volcanic soil means that there is plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables on offer. Wahoo!
Where We Ate
Raymond’s is a one-stop shop for food, drinks, taxis, bikes, and money changing. The owner was very sweet and took a photo of us and our meal. We had a long wait for the food but we were sitting out front happy people watching and taking it all in.
What we ate: Gado Gado – Steamed mixed vegetable salad with cucumber and lettuce covered in a thick peanut sauce. Be sure to ask for no egg as one is usually in it. It doesn’t sound great “steam veg salad” but trust me, it is! I have eaten many, many of these now to prove it.
Vegetable Sato – A green curry with coconut milk, veggies and tofu. A milder version than the Thai veg curry but delicious nonetheless.
Kaesa Guesthouse, our accommodation and tour guide provider for a sunrise Mt. Sibayak climb. Breakfast was included in our booking. We also were given snacks like spring rolls at the bottom of Mt Sibayak after climbing it and coffee on arrival.
What we ate: Nasi Goreng – Fried rice and peanuts, do need to say “no egg” or it comes with a plain omelette on top.
Sumatra Coffee – Bitter coffee grown in volcanic soil, bitter with an earthy taste. Would have been lovely with a drop of oat milk but good all the same.
Fried Tempeh – This was given as a starter before brunch after the climb. Delicious nutty tempeh covered in a light batter and fried.
Bakwan – Mini corn fritters served as a starter before breakfast. Less greasy than others we’ve had and seasoned with pepper.
Samosir/ Tuk Tuk
Lake Toba was our last stop in North Sumatra, a lake in the caldera of the supervolcano Toba. Wild! We stayed in Tuk Tuk on the island of Samosir. There were great intentions of lazy days swimming in the lake but alas pollution spoiled that side of things. We did see some of the most incredible sunsets we’ve ever seen though. Our room had a balcony out over the lake and we spent most of our evenings chilling out there.
Where We Ate
Mario’s café was closed when we walked in, the owner seemed surprised though the door was open and the lights were on. She said she could make us a veggie burger and salad. There was beautiful batik art on the walls.
What we ate: Veggie burger – Fresh brown nutty bread with bits of mushroom burger, lettuce, and tomato. The side salad was gorgeous with olives and pumpkin seeds and a decent size.
We walked passed Today’s Café a bunch of times and finally went in on our last night. We wish we’d found it sooner! It’s an omni restaurant but has a nice few veggie options.
What we ate: Veggie burger- ask for no cheese and ketchup instead of mayo. Big ass burger that was hard to get my mouth around, I made a mess of myself but I didn’t care.
Veggie rendang – Rendang is up there in my top favourite dishes and this one was great. The sauce was thick, creamy, and yum!
Reggae Guesthouse, our accommodation. The restaurant looked a bit drab but I put that down to COVID. We were staying here and too lazy to walk out and find another restaurant. When the food arrived it was very tasty and far exceeded our expectations, we were thrilled.
What we ate: Gado Gado – ordered with no egg. A good size serving and had lots of tofu and tempeh so was very filling.
Roy’s Pub is the spot here for drinks and music. We had a great night here with a German couple we had met in Berastagi, many Bintangs were drunk!
Have you been to Sumatra? Are we missing some vegan food in Northern Sumatra that you think deserves a mention? Let me know in the comments!
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