Minahasa Voyage Tips and guide

Minahasa is a region in Northern Sulawesi.

Map of Minahasa

• 1.493056124.8412611 Manado — the largest city and main gateway to the north
• 1.447222125.1977782 Bitung — the main deep-water port and access to the Lembeh Strait
• 1.324421124.822543 Tomohon — cool off in the central highlands
• 1.303889124.9111114 Tondano — the seat of Minahasa Regency

• 1.666667124.651 Bunaken — world-famous diving site
• 1.518056125.1861112 Tangkoko Nature Reserve
• 1.792967125.1504193 Bangka — group of small islands just off the coast
• 0.974114124.8856944 Tumbak — a fishing village
• 1.67627125.1458145 Pulisan — a coastal village with snorkeling site

• 1.163972124.7658331 Bukit Kasih (45 km (28 mi) south of Manado. 5 km (3.1 mi) from Kawangkoan). One of popular tourist destinations in North Sulawesi. Go to the top of the Hill by climbing 2435 stairs to see an amazing view of nature. There are many natural hot springs around this area. Get your feet relax. Nearby, you can visit Watu Pinabetengan, an animism site.  
• 1.233056124.92 Lake Tondano, Kakaskasen - Tomohon Utara (via Kawangkoan and Langowan), ☏ +62 819 404 7804. Lake Tondano is approximately 15 kilometres (9.3 miles) from Tomohon. To reach the lake, you can hire a motorbike starting from Rp 50,000 to Rp 75,000 per day, or chartered a mikrolet from Rp 125,000 to Rp 150,000 per day, or if preferred, extra privacy and comfortable someone can rent a car for Rp 250,000 to Rp 350,000 per day. Call the phone number above or send text message for more information.  
• 1.112124.7363 Mount Soputan (Gunung Soputan), Tombatu (via Langowan), ☏ +62 431 348 8659. start from 08:00. Mount Soputan is also reachable from Tomohon, it is about 2 hours of driving to the southern area of Minahasa. If you wish to go to Mount Soputan, you have to plan the trip very carefully. It is better to hire a guide who know the area very well. Mount Soputan is one of the most active volcano in the region, even in Indonesia. €50 per person.  

• Sup Ubi / Bete - is a very tasty home-cooking for appetiser. It is made by xanthosoma root with edible hibiscus leaves and or water spinach leaves.
• Braunebonen - literally 'red bean' soup. Cooked either with cow bones or pig legs, with herbs such as clove, nutmeg, white pepper. The Minahasan likes to eat this together with rice.
• Sup Kacang Ijo - literally 'green bean' soup. The preparation is very similar with braunebonen.
• Kua Asam / Kua trang - sour soup or clear soup. The local people has a riddle about this food. "Salt from the sea and sour from the mountains meets together in a pan, what is that?" - and the answer is sour soup, because it's made by several herbs such as spring onion, lemon leaves, lemon basil, tomatoes, a little bit chilli, red ginger, and fish with little bit salt and lime. Very tasty.
• Sup kentang - 'potato soup' cooked in pasta such as macaroni or rice vermicelli.

• Tinorangsak, pork cooked with herbs such as spring onion, lemon leaves, lemon grass, chilli, and other kinds of herbs; it is cooked in bamboo. Several prepare it using frying pan.
• RW /err weh/, dog meat cooked with chilli, lemon grass, lemon leaves, spring onion, and other kinds of herbs. 'RW' is the common abbreviation for Rintek Wu'uk in the Minahasan dialect, which translates to 'fine hair', a euphemism for dog meat.
• Paniki, bat cooked in coconut milk with spicy herbs.
• Paku Popaya Bulu, vegetables of edible fern and papaya leaves (sometimes with flowers too), cooked in bamboo with spices and herbs. Some people like to add salty pork fat.
• Ayam Bulu, chicken cooked in bamboo.
• Ayam Bumbu RW, chicken cooked with spices for RW.
• Bebek Bumbu RW, duck cooked with spices for RW.
• Ragey, a chunky pork satay marinated with spices.
• Bebek Bulu, duck cooked in bamboo.
• Ayam Garo, literally means scratching chicken, because the preparation is a fast mixing of the herbs and spices on the frying pan similar to scratching it. This food is categorised as spicy food because of the amount of chilli.
• Babi Garo, literally means scratching pork, the process is similar to Ayam Garo.
• Babi Tore, literally means crisp pork.
• Kapala Babi, literally means pig head; it is pig head boiled in spiced soup.
• Acar, made of young bamboo, carrots, cucumber, peanut, herbs, and other spices such as turmeric and onion.
• Ikan Woku Blanga, any fish cooked in main Minahasan spices: chilli, turmeric, ginger, lemon grass, lemon leaves, lime, candle nut, lemon basil, turmeric leaf. It is called blanga because it's prepared by using frying pan.
• Ikan Woku Daong, any fish cooked in main Minahasan spices: chilli, turmeric, ginger, lemon grass, lemon leaves, lime, candle nut, lemon basil, turmeric leaf. It is called daong because it's prepared by using palm leaves called woka.
• Ikan Woku Kring, any fish cooked in main Minahasan spices: chilli, turmeric, ginger, lemon grass, lemon leaves, lime, candle nut, lemon basil, turmeric leaf. It's called kring because it's prepared with less water, and when it's cooked, we can barely see any soup in it.
• Mie Loba, noodle soup with shredded pork.
• Rica Rodo, made of corn, aubergine (egg plant), long bean with spicy herbs, chilli, and smoked fish.
• Sate Kolombi, freshwater snail satay.
• Sayor Pusu' made of fluorescent or banana heart, cooked with entrails of animals, normally chicken or pork, such as intestine, heart, and liver.

• Buah segar - literally 'fresh fruit', it is prepared from various kind of fruits, but mainly papaya, apple, avocado, pudding or gel, young coconut, rambutan, longan, and soursop in syrupy and milky water.
• Es braunebon - 'red bean ice', prepared from red bean cooked in traditional made of palm sugar and then later mixed with blended ice and sweetened condensed milk.
• Es Kacang Susu - 'milk and peanut ice', prepared from peanut and served like 'red bean ice'.
• Gohu - prepared from chopping papaya with spicy syrup containing red ginger, chilli, vinegar (palm vinegar is better), sugar (brown sugar is better), onion. The locals like to add more chilli.
• Klapertaart - literally 'coconut tart', prepared from young coconut mixed with milk, eggs, maize flavour, sugar, and raisin, and frozen in the fridge.

• Kukis Kalapa, literally means 'coconut cookie', made of unripe coconut, rice flavour, and brown sugar.
• Binyolos, made of sweet potato and brown sugar.
• Onde-Onde, made of rice flavour and brown sugar, after cooked it is rolled on grated coconut. It is good to have it while it's still warm. but be careful not to eat it while it's still fresh from the boiling pan. It can be very tricky that the outside could be cool while the inside is injuriously hot. The other variant is Onde-Onde Pulo, the difference between this two are the type of the rice. Onde-onde Pulo is made by sticky rice flavour.
• Cucur, made of rice flavour and brown sugar, some people put anise or aniseed. Curut, Apang, Apang Coe, Apang Polote, Nasi Jaha, Dodol, Bobengka, Ongol-Ongol, Geto', Gabin Fla, Biapong, etc.

• Philippines, to the north.