In northeast Sumatra, there’s a city called Medan- explained in a popular tourist guidebook with the three-word summary: “don’t go here.” It’s loud, abrasive, and intense, with crumbling infrastructure and a grim reputation. But this reputation has meant that one of the best food cities on Earth has gone unnoticed, and exciting culinary secrets are still hidden in plain sight. In this video we spend a day food-crawling Medan, exploring the city’s incredible cuisine and coming to terms with the human toll of the difficulty of life in Indonesia’s “Gotham.”
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0:00 – Introduction
1:21 – Gotham
4:10 – Soto Kesawan
8:25 – Origins
10:55 – The Fall of Medan
13:31 – Lontong Sayur Pecel
17:32 – Jungle Booked
22:50 – Ghosts
29:31 – Rain
32:05 – The Heaven of Food
34:58 – Nasi Padang
40:05 – The Food City That Doesn’t Exist
43:14 – The Neighborhood
46:21 – Lamb Soup Alley
50:33 – The City
55:43 – The Great Equalizer
57:50 – Ucok Durian
59:58 – Conclusion
1:03:42 – Credits and Post-Credits
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Video Credits:
25 Comments
One note and then location pins:
-EDIT (update): Anca is back online and can be reached to book food tours on WhatsApp, number +62 852-6102-3819. We're really excited to have the first new guest already booked!
-If you come to Sumatra, I'd also recommend my friend and longtime driver Ahmad for transportation, both within Medan (including to/from the airport) and to other destinations. Reach him on WhatsApp at +62 8126-013-9399 for booking.
LOCATIONS:
-Soto Kesawan: https://maps.app.goo.gl/RQN1Lm7eBaPED1UF8
-Lontong Bang Iwan: https://maps.app.goo.gl/oX8CAkxekJVtgEpe7
-Tip Top: https://maps.app.goo.gl/QBidNYxzxFkzYWMx7
-Nasi Padang: https://maps.app.goo.gl/FD4tZeALo1UocW2u9
-Lamb Soup: https://maps.app.goo.gl/iSK3EvBAivxHSCPZ7
-Ucok Durian: https://maps.app.goo.gl/dWJYsGjbpcVUZ82j9
Come Bangladesh 🇧🇩
The best city for food in ASia
This was wholesome ❤ filled my hearth
I loved Medan. I have really wonderful memories of the place. Spent years going there for 3 or 6 mths each year in the 90s. Loved it, real street culture.
Spent a few days and a few times visiting Indonesia, the food imo is too one-note-ish… tends to just be sweet peanut base sauce or curry everything
As Indonesian, I know how painful and stressful your friend, Anca, was. If I got the same "God's Trial", my faith would never be as strong as him.
And I'm so jealous he have a friend like you, who put friendship cause all over money cause, which is hard to find in these days.
I admit, Indonesian Gotham City's experience shape you really well. Please send him my regards. You are the one and only "Wingless Angel" he knew.
❤❤❤
Medan is Satanic City, be careful if you go to there….
Great video.Though I have lived in Central Java for a long time, I never knew how Nasi Padang started. Its amazing how it has spread to every corner of this vast country.
🍻🐷 😋😜
You have to check MakanMana out
Amazing episode, really enjoyed this! Thinking of it, this is probably my first comment after watching all of your videos for the last few years. Thanks to you and your team/associates for all the hard work you guys did, it has been an amazing journey so far of learning and discovering. The soul of food is often what i think of watching your videos, much love from Belgium!
Know what? From your lead in to the video, and then throughout, all I could see was the New York City I grew up in. All the spirit, all the vibe, all the regular people of different cultures, all the sounds and colors, all the positives as well as the negatives, I got the feeling of home. Then the food. It was all special and different. Anca is like so many of the guys I came up with, his ups and downs, and his ability to never give up and to keep smiling. One thing for sure is that if I get the chance to travel, I would come to Medan as at least a side trip after Thailand. One of these days. Thanks for this one Adam, another special episode. I'm smiling as I type this.
Ini orang ada banyak Shabu Shabu
Been to Medan. I do NOT recommend! Boring & uninteresting. Just leave for Lake Toba.
My hometown!!! Wow thank you for visiting this chaotic loud city
You know, i had a lot of bataks friends who grew up in medan , they told me stories how horrible medan was …and discouraging me to go there. … after watching this video…im convinced they told me those stories just to look tough… coming straight out of medan. Fuck it im booking flight there next .
Really loved this one! Thanks 🙂
You haven’t been to Medan if not eating the infamous hairy Clams , one location at Ayahanda St. we’re talking food btw 😅
Many of sumatran traditional kueh seller move to malaysia long time ago coz theres no future in sumatera, the goverment didnt do anything to make their place better and no tourist came to medan. No tourist means no money spent means no sells.
I know this would be kind of advice you have not asked for. Still, if you'd like to unlock your smell and taste receptors – try not smoke cigarettes for at least 1- month. From my experience as heavy smoker for 15 years, when I quit smoking – I started to recognize quite tiny concentrations of everything in the air and food, because receptors was suppressed before (by heavy compounds in tobacco smoke). May be just start consuming nicotine another way, it all is unhealthy too (band aids, chewing gum, vaping), but who knows – might be a reason to quit it altogether for the culinary reasons.
I saw Ucok Durian in South Jakarta! Amazing!
This made me cry a bit.
Never thought that OTR video would make me cry like a bitch