Meetbowl

A good bakso (meatball) place has three things: a menu showcasing the dish’s various textures, traditional orange containers of vinegary sambal on each table and – at minimum – one faded European soccer poster on the wall. Meetbowl has the trifecta.

The go-to combo is a bowl of soft, airy beef bakso with golden wonton, stuffed tofu and both egg and rice noodles in a robust garlicky broth. Bakmie bangka deploys thick, curly noodles to hold onto the spices and oils from fried minced pork, with crackling and soy egg as toppings.

Spring onion-speckled spheres of fried bakso should be a mandatory side, whether bathed in broth or savoured with kecap manis. True to their Bandung roots, the owners also sell the street food batagor: Fishcakes with tofu dressed in peanut sauce fragrant with makrut lime.

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