Foodie Talk: Healthy Bites in Yogyakarta

I have been really enjoying my hometown lately. Despite the horrible traffic (that is getting worse by the minute), Yogyakarta is slowly turning into a city with interesting culinary choices. There are so many cuisines here from local food to Indian, Italian, French, you name it. I have to admit that not all those cuisines are worth trying since many are adjusted to the likings of “Yogyakartans” (hence sickly sweet :P), but there are some worthy of trying.

With the rise of many health-conscious communities in Yogyakarta, I also see many health-conscious restaurants popping up here and there. This really makes me happy!

Here are some of the places to eat in Yogyakarta that I consider to have high awareness of their food source and to ensure that their food is of the highest quality. I know that “healthy” is too big of a word so what I mean here is that these places offer a balanced diet menu, with lots of veggies options and often even vegan and vegetarian options. These places do not use MSG and make the effort to use mostly local products.

Lokaloka Bistro

If you are into French crêpes and quiche, this place is for you. I have been here several times and really enjoy the food here. It is quite hard to find crêpes that taste like the ones I had in France, so I was ecstatic to found my match at Lokaloka. The owner is half French and obviously has the skills for cooking so no wonder the food there is très délicieux. So far I have tried their spinach, egg, cheese crêpe, beef and mushroom quiche, spinach and cheese quiche and apricot tart – all were very good.

Quiche from Lokaloka

They have many more options and they also have daily specialities, ranging from buckwheat minestrone soup to chicken caesar salad. I love that each dish of crêpe/quiche is accompanied with fresh salad. Oh and one of the high points of this restaurant is for takeaways, they put your food in Avani’s bio-box and bio-cassava bag!

Adorable place!

Address:
Lokaloka Bistro Kitchen & Lab 
Jalan Sidomulyo No. 29 Tiyasan RT 06 RW 01
Condongcatur, Sleman

Cafe LIP Lokaloka (IFI-LIP) 
Jl. Sagan, Terban, Yogyakarta

UPDATE: Both places are now closed but Lokaloka is now a catering service. You can order food from them daily too.

Pasar Kamisan

Every Thursday there is an organic market pop up called Pasar Kamisan. I think this is one of my favourite organic markets in Yogya because the place is spacious and bright. It is outdoor but all the vendors are placed under a pendopo (gazebo). The place is called Rumah Animalika, they are open every day and have a little cafe as well as some permanent food vendors but every Thursday their pendopo is filled with organic market vendors. This market sells all kinds of things like organic sweet soy sauce, fresh organic vegetables, sour dough bread, kombucha, and many more.

My favourite cendol!

My favourite reason to be here is to try all the delicious bites. I love the organic cendol stand, and there is a vegetarian sushi stand which you should definitely try if you are a sushi fan (I am not sadly). There is also a couple of stands selling traditional Javanese delicacies, all vegetarian and using the best ingredients. I once tried this noodles made out of cassava (instead of flour) and it was so good, I didn’t know that cassava noodles could taste so yummy. There is a lot you can learn from this market since it is also a community of people who are passionate about healthy living so the vendors will happily answer any questions you have in mind. I love the vibe of this market!

Locally produced cheese!

Pretty sushi

The market opens from 10AM-2PM. It is also open on Saturday but I don’t really recommend it since there are only one or two vendors available.

Address:
Jalan Kaliurang Km.9, Rumah Animalika, 55282

Sakhara Healthy Corner

Sakhara is a new player in town. They have a little cafe and also the home base for Jogja Organic (organic vegetables supplier, you can also find them at Pasar Kamisan). I come here mainly to get my daily dose of organic veggies but I have also tried their food and it was good.

Their ingredients are all made from scratch and of course they use organic vegetables. I think they have different menu every day. You can find them on Instagram and see what they offer. I like the fact that they use fresh organic ingredients and also offer many delicious vegetarian options.

Tamarillo orange juice

Address:
Jl. Kinanti, Condongcatur
Daerah Istimewa Yogyakarta 55281

ViaVia

Many of you probably have heard or even been to ViaVia. I have heard of this place forever ago but have only tried it recently. I really love the place, it has this rustic, homey feeling and all the staff there are super friendly. I tried the veggie burger, the patty is made out of chickpeas. I love chickpeas and while the patty tasted really good, I thought it was a little heavy on the side and I was full by my third bite. My mum tried their pasta and it was really good. They also have this fair trade shop and I was in love with their stuff. This place is definitely worth the visit!

Address:
Jl. Prawirotaman No.30, Brontokusuman, Mergangsan
Daerah Istimewa Yogyakarta 55153

Loving Hut

Loving Hut is a vegan restaurant. I was told by Mbak Noni that they have branches in several cities in Indonesia, turns out they are a vegan franchise restaurant. I like their food, it’s basically Indonesian food but vegan. There are two restaurants here in Jogja, but the one near Gejayan also has an organic shop where I sometimes get my stuff from. I like that they have many choices of vegan Indonesian food at an affordable price.

Note that some of their options are not OK for those who are allergic to gluten.

Address
Jl. Moses Gatotkaca No. A18 (this is the one with the organic shop)
Jl. Demangan Baru No. 16 Kav. 1

Bumi Langit

Bumi Langit is quite popular in Yogyakarta. It is located rather far from the city but the location is totally worth the half hour or so drive from the centre. Bumi Langit owns a restaurant among other things like their own farm. All the ingredients are from their own farm or from local farmers. They really care about what they put into your plate. Their restaurant is inside this big pendopo and you really get a sense of peace when you sit there and enjoy your food.

Nasi Goreng at Bumi Langit

By the way, this is one of the places Obama ate when he visited Jogja 😀

Gorgeous view!

Address
Jl. Imogiri-Mangunan KM 3, Imogiri, Bantul

Have you been on any of them? How is the healthy food options where you live?