The first time you order sego tempong, the name makes sense halfway through the first mouthful. The rice and the fried fish are gentle enough. The sambal is not. It is pounded from raw chillies, it arrives without warning, and in the Osing language of Banyuwangi tempong means a slap.

That is a fair introduction to the food of Java's far east: generous, direct and proud of being different from the rest of the island.

Why is Banyuwangi's food different?

Banyuwangi is home to the Osing, the region's oldest community, with their own language, music and ceremonies, and their kitchen has its own dishes too. Some, like pecel pitik, began as ceremonial food and only later moved into warungs. Others, like rujak soto, are the kind of happy collision you only find in a place that likes to do things its own way.

What should you eat?

Sego tempong

Rice with fried fish or chicken, tofu, tempeh and boiled vegetables, under that raw chilli sambal. It is everyday food, eaten at lunch in simple warungs, and the heat is the point. If you would like to taste the rest of the plate, ask for less sambal: sambalnya sedikit.

Rujak soto

Two dishes that normally never meet. A bowl of vegetable rujak, with water spinach, long beans, cabbage, tofu and tempeh in a peanut and shrimp paste sauce, is drowned in hot beef soto broth with tripe. It sounds unlikely and tastes like it was always meant to be.

Pecel pitik

Free range chicken, grilled, shredded and tossed with grated young coconut and spices. It is an Osing ceremonial dish, cooked for village rituals and thanksgivings, and it is easiest to find in and around Osing villages such as Kemiren, although more warungs now serve it.

Pecel rawon

Another meeting of two classics: the boiled vegetables and peanut sauce of pecel, served with the dark, nutty beef broth of rawon.

Pindang koyong

Fish simmered in a savoury spiced broth, a coastal dish from a region that faces the sea on two sides.

Botok tawon

The most adventurous plate on this list: honeycomb with bee larvae, mixed with grated coconut and spices, wrapped in banana leaf and steamed. You will not find it everywhere, so treat it as a find rather than a plan.

What should you drink?

Coffee, the Osing way

In Kemiren, the Osing village on the road towards Ijen, coffee is how a guest is welcomed. The Osing describe their hospitality in three words, suguh, gupuh, lungguh: to serve, to hurry to make you welcome and to give you a seat. The coffee is usually tubruk, ground beans boiled with water and left to settle in the cup, so wait a moment before you drink.

Once a year the whole village says it at once. The Festival Ngopi Sepuluh Ewu, "ten thousand coffees", has been held in Kemiren every year since 2014, usually in early November around the village's anniversary. In 2025 it took place on 8 November, with local robusta poured for thousands of visitors along the closed main street. Check the date if you hope to be there.

How do you eat well in Banyuwangi?

  • Eat where the locals queue. Warungs that sell one or two dishes usually sell them best.
  • Go early. Many warungs sell out by early afternoon.
  • Ask about the chilli. Sambalnya sedikit gets you a gentler plate.
  • Eat before the night hike. If you are going up Ijen, have a proper dinner in town; at the Paltuding trailhead you will mostly find hot drinks and noodles.

Banyuwangi is worth a night for its food alone. Our guide to Banyuwangi has the rest of the reasons to stay, and the Bali to Ijen guide shows how to fit an evening in town around the crossing.