Tinutuan (bubur Manado)
Tinutuan is the city's signature breakfast: a rice porridge cooked with pumpkin, sweet potato, cassava, corn and leafy greens such as spinach and water spinach, scented with lemon basil (kemangi). It usually comes with salted or smoked fish, sambal roa (a chilli paste made with smoked roa fish) and corn fritters (perkedel jagung).
Fish and seafood
- Cakalang fufu: skipjack tuna smoked on bamboo frames, eaten on its own or cooked with chilli.
- Ikan bakar: grilled fish, often with dabu-dabu, a fresh relish of chopped tomato, shallot, chilli and lime.
- Rica-rica: a cooking style rather than a dish, with chilli, shallot, ginger and lemongrass; you find fish, chicken or pork rica-rica.
Snacks and sweets
- Panada: fried pastries filled with spiced tuna.
- Klappertaart: a coconut and custard cake, a legacy of the Dutch colonial period.
- Pisang goroho: fried local banana, often eaten with sambal.
Tomohon traditional market
Tomohon's market is famous across Indonesia for its huge variety of produce, spices and meat. Be aware that some stalls sell bush meat and other animals that many visitors find hard to see. Your guide can take you to the fruit, vegetable and spice sections if you prefer.
Where to try it on a tour
Our Tomohon Highland Trip includes a Minahasan lunch and local coffee, and the Tomohon Highlands Escape gives you two evenings in the highlands to eat well. Tell us about allergies or diet when you book: many dishes can be ordered less spicy.
Ask for "tidak pedas" (not spicy) or "sedikit pedas" (a little spicy). Minahasan chilli is serious.
FAQ
What is tinutuan?
A rice porridge from Manado cooked with pumpkin, sweet potato, cassava, corn and greens, usually eaten for breakfast with fish and chilli paste.
Is Minahasan food spicy?
Often very. Most places can make dishes milder if you ask for tidak pedas (not spicy).
What should I know about the Tomohon market?
It sells a wide variety of produce and meat, including bush meat that some visitors find upsetting. A guide can take you to the fruit, vegetable and spice sections.
We organise private trips across Sulawesi from our base in Tomohon, near Manado: Bunaken, Tangkoko and the Minahasa highlands every week, Toraja and Banggai on request. These guides come from the questions our travellers ask us most.
