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Taliwang Chicken: Your Must-Try Food from Mandalika, Lombok

 

Remember that first time you tasted Taliwang chicken in Mandalika, Lombok? It's sweet, spicy, and definitely perfect as one of the most favorite foods.

Let's reminisce to that first bite of this special delicacy. Here are 5 things to rekindle your memory about the flavorsome Taliwang chicken and inspire others to try one soon!

What is Taliwang chicken?

Taliwang Chicken served with sambal plecing and cucumbers lettuce tomato

Do you remember the burst of flavors you had when taking your first bite of Taliwang chicken? Its spicy flavors and the crisp outer layer will always leave you wanting more! This is because Taliwang chicken uses a rich combination of ingredients to bring out that spicy, savory, and sweet taste. The crisp also comes from the chicken's multiple cooking processes, which sautés one whole chicken with the ground spices, then grills it to create a perfectly crisp outer layer. It's a mouthwatering heavenly dish!

Fresh, tasty, and healthy in one serving!

chilis garlic shallot terasi half of tomato on granite mortar

Originated from Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara, this dish uses the island's freshest ingredients. These include chilies, shallots, garlics, tomatoes, and fried shrimp paste. Unlike your usual chicken dish, this cuisine uses one whole free-range chicken or ayam kampung. This makes the dish extra chewy and healthy, as ayam kampung provides a great source of lean protein.

Where to find it?

Spice Market Restaurant

Discover authentic flavors of Taliwang chicken while enjoying the beachfront view at Spice Market Restaurant. As part of Novotel Lombok Resort & Villas, the restaurant offers breakfast, lunch, and a daily-themed buffet of world-class menus. Just a 7-minute walk from Mandalika Beach, you can grab lunch or dinner after your beach adventures!

Address: Mandalika Resort Pantai Putri Nyale, 83573 Pujut Lombok Tengah, Indonesia
Website: Novotellombok

Kemangi Bar & Kitchen

Discover the authentic taste of Taliwang chicken in Kemangi Bar & Kitchen. It is designed with a modern concept, serving a cozy place for you to dine out while on the island. You can also try the restaurant's variety of menus and drinks, including its western and Indonesian cuisine. Be sure to visit this spot after your beach fun at Kuta Mandalika as it is just a 4-minute walk away!

Address: Kuta, Pujut, Central Lombok Regency, West Nusa Tenggara 83573, Indonesia
Social Media: Kemangilombok
 

Warung Flora

If you want to try a bite of Taliwang chicken at a reasonable price, then Warung Flora is the place to go! Just 4.3 km away from Kuta Mandalika, this site serves delicious authentic food from Lombok while also offering some western dishes. Warung Flora also has free Wi-Fi, making it a friendly place for digital nomads to finish work while having lunch.

Address: Jl. Kuta Lombok, lombok, Kuta, Central Lombok Regency, West Nusa Tenggara, 83573, Indonesia
Social Media: Warung Flora Kuta Lombok

Try making them: simple recipe to follow

If you want to cook this delicious dish for you and your family, try following this simple recipe!

Ingredients:

1 free-range chicken

2 teaspoons lime juice

750 ml coconut milk

3 teaspoons salt

2 tablespoons brown sugar

5 tablespoons oil
 

Ingredients for the spice paste:

10 shallots, chopped

5 cloves of garlic, chopped

4 large red chilies, chopped and deseeded

6 red curly chilies, chopped

5 candlenuts, roasted

1 teaspoon of shrimp paste, grilled
 

Instructions:

  1. Cut the chicken horizontally from the chest, then press it open. Fold the chicken wings backward.
  2. Coat chicken with lime juice and salt.
  3. Grill the chicken until half cooked.
  4. Blend or ground all the spice paste ingredients.
  5. In a heated pan, add vegetable oil and sautés the spice paste. Add coconut milk, salt, and brown sugar. Bring it to a shimmer.
  6. Add the chicken and bring it to low heat. Let it sit until the chicken is fully cooked.
  7. Grill the chicken again by coating it with the leftover spice paste. Let it sit until fragrant.


Things to also taste around Mandalika

Stroll Lombok's island, and you will find many authentic cuisines to choose from! Many of these foods are spicy but full of flavor. Here are some dishes you should try on your trip to the island.

Rarang Chicken

hot spicy Rarang Chicken from Lombok served on a white bowl

Similar to Taliwang chicken, Rarang chicken is a flavorsome chicken dish with spices and herbs. The meat is tenderly cooked with red chilies and grounded spices to get the flavors absorbed. While Taliwang chicken is usually served with sambal on the side, Rarang Chicken is coated with its spicy hot paste. One bite of this dish, and you can’t stop!
 

Sate Rembiga

Sate Rembiga with sliced cucumber and lime

While most Indonesian satay is coated in peanut sauce, Sate Rembiga's savory taste is already delicious without it! The meat is marinated for at least three hours before grilled on a charcoal open fire to get that savory flavor. Rembiga satay's main ingredients are beef, cayenne pepper, shrimp paste, garlic, salt, and sugar. Sate Rembiga is usually served with lontong, plecing kangkung or water spinach with Lombok’s authentic sambal, and urap- urap or a traditional salad dish with grated coconut seasoning.
 

Ares

Want to try a vegetable dish that's both savory, sweet, and spicy? Try Ares, authentic food from the Sasak tribe. This tasty cuisine from Lombok serves plantain as the main ingredient. It is cooked with coconut milk, ginger, candlenut, Laos, garlic, shallots, and chilis - giving it a spiciness punch.

 

Did that bring back your memories of your culinary journey in Mandalika, Lombok? While recollecting those tasty flavors, you can plan a future getaway to the island. Be sure to implement CHSE-based protocols when you're there. This means following the traveling procedures of wearing a mask, washing your hands with soap, and keeping your distance. You can also get the latest news on the protocols here. Make a difference by practicing strict health protocols while enjoying your next culinary journey to Mandalika, Lombok!

 

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