Lontong Balap

What is Lontong Balap?

Lontong balap is a traditonal food that contain various ingredients such as rice cake, bean sprouts, fried tofu, lentho, and many others which are mixed into one and watered with a specias sauce. This food is a very famous traditional food in East java.

In surabaya, this food is one of the most special food. Besides having a very unique name (in english also called as racing rice cake), lontong balap also have a distinctive taste that can be liked by both community or the tourists who visit there.

The Origin of Lontong Balap

According to the story that develop in the community, along time ago the seller  of lontong balap sold this food with kemaron, kemaron is a container made of clay. Because of the large number of lontong balap sellers and limited capacity of market, lontong balap sellers compete to take place in the market to sell. From their joourney that impressed the race, then the rice cake the made was called lontong balap. This is because local people often name a thing or region based on unique event that happened before.

Lontong balap sellers in Surabaya were initially dominated by sellers from Kendangsari and Kutisari, an area in the southernpart of Surabaya known as the origin of the lontong balap. Most of them sold their lontong balap at the Wonokromo market,that’s why it can be called as Lontong Balap Wonokromo.

As time goes by, Lontong Balap has rarely been sold by using kemaron, they replace it by using a wheelbarrow to make it easir.

How to Make and Serve Lontong Balap

The main ingredients of lontong balap is rice cake, bean sprouts, fried tofu, special sauce,fried union, and lentho. Lentho made from tolo beans, but can also be from green beans. How to make it? The beans are soaked a few hours then pounded rather coarsely, after that, mixed with flour dough, grated cassava, turmeric, leeks, lime leaves, chili, and salt. The shape of the elongated round lentho(oval) resembles the shape of a cake and fried until browned before serving with Lontong Balap.

In the serving process, rice cake is cut into pieces like usual size, then boarded with sliced of fried tofu and lentho. Then the all of them is boarded again with boiled bean sprouts. For this bean sprouts usually have more servings than other ingredients.

In presenting it, the materials  was then poured sufficiently with the sauce made with special seasonings. Then it is sprinkled with fried onions on top and doused with sambal bajak. Sambal bajak is similar with sambal terasi the difference is sambal bajak uses bay leaves, lemongrass, and galangal. Sometimes also uses a javanese sugar, shrimp paste and onions. Lontong Balap is very good when enjoyed together with crackers and scallop satay which became side menu. For flavor enhancers, we can also add some chili or soy sauce to our taste.

The Taste of Lontong Balap

Because pouring with sambal bajak, while eating in the first few spoons, the spicy taste is not pronounced. Only the fragrant spices and savory taste is immediately felt at the opening of the taste. Only when finished half of the portion, the real spicy flavor came out. The blend of bean sprouts, lentho, and black chili sauce became the right combination for this traditional food.

With that spicy taste, someone must be ready to sweat when eat it.

Delicious Lontong Balap Recommendations in Surabaya

Beside of the various versions of the origins of Lontong Balap, you can find Lontong Balap in various places in Surabaya, both to the roadside to the shopping center. But from some of these places, there are some recommendations place to get delicious Lontong Balap :

• Lontong Balap Asli Pak Gendut (Real Lontong Balap by Mr.Gendut)

Located on Mayjend Prof. Dr. Moestopo street No.11 , this restaurant can be regarded as a legendary Lontong Balap restaurant in Surabaya. Because many famous people come to eat Lontong Balap at this restaurant such as government officials, artist, and many more. No doubt, because a potion of the lontong Balap that served here has a savory and delicious taste.

 Open every day at : 09.00 am- 09.00 pm

Phone                      : 0815-5116-202

•  Lontong Balap Cak No ( Mr.No Lontong Balap)

Located on Bromo street No.7 , although not legendary as Mr.Gendut restaurant, this place also offers a great and cheaper portion of Lontong Balap. With cheap prices, just around Rp.10.000, you can get this delicious food.

 Open every day at : 07.00-12.00 am

•   Lontong Balap Pak Hasyim (Mr. Hasyim’s Lontong Balap)

Wherever you go especially in Surabaya, you can find various place or restaurant’s to eat Lontong Balap. Located on Rungkut Madya street no.79, the one of the most famous and delicious places is Mr.Hasyim’s Lontong Balap. Even its deliciousness has been famous since decades ago.

 Open at                  : 10.00-10.30 pm

• Lontong Balap Mbah Ato (Mbah Ato’s Lontong Balap)

For those of you who are looking for culinary in the evening after returning from work, you can visiting to Mbah Ato’s lontong Balap. The famous Lontong Balap shop in Surabaya that known as a cheap and delicious shop.

Here you can enjoy Surabaya’s excellent culinary offerings such as rice cake, scallop satay, crackers, and alsosome warm drinks like cofee and tea. A very delicious and savory both combined with scallop satay and warm tea is guaranteed to addictive.

Mbah Ato’s Lontong Balap is located on Patua Surabaya street or precisely in front of SMKN 2 Surabaya.

•        Lontong Balap Rajawali (Rajawali’s Lontong Balap)

This famous Lontong Balap shop in Surabaya offers a portion Lontong Balap with pieces of fried tofu, bean sprouts, black chili shrimp paste sauce, soy sauce,fried onions, and delicious lentho.

Prices for a set range of Rp.15.000,00. This legendary shop, has been open since 1956.

Located on Krembangan Street No.32

Open every Monday-Saturday at : 06.00-04.30 pm

So, that’s about Lontong Balap the famous traditional food from Surabaya. From the many shops that selling lontong Balap, which one do you choose?