Banda Aceh Restaurants

I had really bad experience with pade hotel..i went with my family for a new year eve buffet dinner. We were promised for a bbq buffet with grilled lamb..however, the meats were cold, let alone tender, seafood were burnt, lousy services, only 1soda per person, food not being refill upon arrival,late refill..we paid rp150.000 per pax, which is very expensive for a dinner in indonesia,esp in aceh..even after my feedback the management,they just said that they cant do anything about it..when i push for refund, they only gave rp150.000 outof rp900.000 were paid..im really dissapointed with their services..

Favorite Dish: Burnt food,cold meat?

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The Banda Aceh Tourist Authority (Dinas Kebudayaan dan Pariwisata Kota Banda Aceh) provided us with a Banda Aceh Culinar Guide. The booklet lists some two dozen specialties with attractive pictures, and we set out to try some. Alas, where to get these dishes? The list of restaurants in the booklet was not very helpful, where we inquired most specialties were not on the menu!

Some that we would have liked to try and could not find, are:
Ayam Tangkap = chicken fried with traditional herbs
Sie Masak Puteh = beef cooked with coconut milk, chili and traditional herbs.
Gule Pliek U = mixed vegetables including mlinjo nuts and leaves, cooked with fermented coconut.

Some small restaurants indeed did serve the following, but not as tasty as might be inferred from the guide booklet:
Ikan Kayu = dried tuna fish boiled in coconut milk and spices.
Udeueng Teupeuleumak = shrimps cooked with coconut milk, herbs and green chili.
At the Rex Peunayong food court facing Hotel Medan they serve a.o.:
Nasi Briani = rice steamed with sauce, meat and herbs.

But in the end we preferred to have supper at the night food market, a few paces north from Hotel Medan. Here one can get grilled fish, and the more common dishes like satay and nasi goreng. And of course the specialty Mie Aceh (spicy noodles mixed with shrimp, crab, egg or beef; much spicier than a Javanese mie goreng).

Like the Rex food court, the night food market opens by nightfall, then they start setting up the stalls. Which means they are open for business around 7pm.

Favorite Dish: Mie Aceh, Rp 10,000

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Popular among foreigners who want a change from Indonesian food. Here you can get a good steak and even cold beer. Nice interior and friendly service.

Favorite Dish: Examples: Sirloin steak Rp 80,000, Beer (can) Rp 25,000 or Rp 27,500, Nicoise salad Rp 20,000, Beef or chicken soup R0 10,000, Coconut pie Rp 8,000 (December 2010 prices, add 10% tax).

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A middle-of-the road Chinese restaurant, where you can get most common Chinese and seafood dishes. The ambiance is not attractive and the service just so-so, but the food is good. Go here if you do not want surprises.

Favorite Dish: Examples: Kailan with meat Rp 45,000, Meat with ananas Rp 60,000, Marquisa juice Rp 10,000 (2010 prices excl. 10% tax).

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North Sumatra coffee is famous. Theo remembers in 1980 in Medan having chilled strong and sweet coffee sold in Coca Cola bottles, delicious and refreshing.

Banda Aceh is no exception. The Acehnese like to pass the time chatting with friends over a small coffee. In many warung kopi or warkop you can get a small glass of strong Aceh coffee for Rp 3,000 and a bigger glass for Rp 6,000.
The most popular is named after Ulee Karang district and perhaps the best in this area is served in Solong Coffee House. To tell the truth, we were herded there by a bellboy of Hotel Medan, but we did not regret it. Actually took home a few packets of Solong's ground Robusta coffee.

Later we saw in a roadside warung how the coffee is brewed. The coarsely ground coffee goes in a big cloth sack, so that it does not end up in your cup like it does in Java (kopi tubruk). They do not use a coffee pot, just hold the sack over the glass and pour the hot water in.

Favorite Dish: Coffee of course, also small snacks and ground coffee to take home.

Pace Bene has moved to a new location. Jl. Bhakti No.33A &33B, Kampung Laksana, Banda Aceh. Tel: 0651-31035.

They are now opened for brunch on saturdays. Lunch is served on the ground floor which was cooling even with the sun out. Dinner is served on the third floor, roof-top garden. Very relaxed surrounding.

Favorite Dish: I was pleasantly surprised to find a good Italian restaurant in Banda Aceh. We had a seafood risotto (which was very well-done ) and a red snapper with lime butter sauce (comes with a good serving of deep-fried potatoes and sauteed vegetables).

My Bread gets the attention of young people who missed to hang out in nice place but affordable. Since it opens its shop in prime location in the city, serving wide variety of bread, now the place also serves dine-in. They have home-made ice cream and pretty good bun.

Though Ulee Kareng is well known as place for good coffee and it has many coffee shops along the road, but Solong is still stand out among the coffee crowd. Though the place can be very hot during the day, but it always has a good loyal crowd to enjoy coffee. Try a black coffee, or opt for Acehnese version of coffee latte (black coffee with thick layer of milk—though this is condensed sweetened milk) They have variety of snacks and this is usually nice.

Favorite Dish: Coffee, sanger and snacks