My first week in Indonesia had some serious food misses.

I had what tasted like partially rehydrated chicken and the same instant noodle soup three times.

Yet, I was doing all the things I normally do to ensure good eats: going to local markets, stopping at locally run food stalls, buying local fruit, and going with locals to their favorite food places.

So what was wrong?

I learned that the popular Indonesian dishes aren’t my favorite.

Imagine going to America and only eating burgers and fries; this is the commonly available food, and if you’ve never been to America before, the locals would likely recommend you try that.

But it would be a shame to say that if you don’t like burgers and fries, you don’t like American food.

There’s so much more to eat!

I showed up in Indonesia and basically only ate chicken satay, fried noodles, noodle soup, greasy fried shrimp and squid, and fried rice for a week, thinking, ‘Man, there’s got to be more here.’

I also encountered a few tourists who had been here for a month and shared the same grievances of a subpar, seemingly very repetitive food scene.

Then everything changed.

The owner of one of the homestays I was at took me to her favorite restaurant.

Suddenly, I was eating moist grilled chicken, lumpia, and discovered my new favorite drinks, es buah & joshua.

Now I’m on the hunt for some good seafood, trying more things off the beaten path, and of course, getting some more es buah.