Eating

Fresh ingredients, Chinese influence, and street culture make Pontianak Kalimantan's best destination to travel your tastebuds. Warungs and stalls abound along major streets and surrounds, with Jl Biponegoro/H Agus Salim, Jl Pattimura, Jl Hijas and Jl Setia Budi (Pontianak's computer district) especially notable. At night, new stalls sprout, particularly along Jl Gajah Mada. Despite Pontianak's late-night soul, some restaurants close at 9pm. Most top hotel restaurants serve Western, Chinese and Indonesian food at reasonable prices.

Somay Bandung : Mobbed at lunch for the national version of siomay. steamed dough, potatoes, tofu, and cabbage drowned in rich peanut sauce

Waning Dim Sum : Sunday brunch Chinese style, all day, every day.

Kabar Gembria :This is the most popular of many Chinese vegetarian options and has the latest closing time.

Oukie :Third-generation local institution serving noodles at the intersection of Indonesian and Chinese cooking. There is also a branch on Jl Tanjungpura.

Waning Lamongan Pak Ari : Crowded nightly for deep-fried fish and chicken lalapan style, served with sambal and fragrant raw kemangi leaves, a taste like very strong basil.

Bakso PSP :Ationg and Yuli - he's Chinese, she's Bugis - blend Pontianak's best beef ball soup.

Restoran Hawaii : Local Chinese-cuisine legend, recently relocated. Some contend newcomer

Restoran Gaja Mada : now dishes Pontianak's best Chinese chow.

COFFEE SHOPS

Pontianak brims with coffee shops and stalls, open day and night, mainly patronised by men. Many warung kopi add simple food, a full drinks menu and TV sports to the brew. Borneo Coffee Club  and Putera Borneo, a gen-der-neutral juice joint, get the blend right, including free wi-fi.

SELF CATERING

Top supermarkets:

Hypermarket (A Yani MegaMall, Jl A Yani)

Kaisar (Jl Pattimura) Also KalBar's biggest bakery chain.

LigoMitra (JI Gajah Mada 77)

Find cheap eats along the waterfront particularly around Pasar Klandasan plus a pair of all-night warungs on )1 Pranoto. Most large hotels have international-class restaurants serving Western and tame Indonesian cuisine, plus pubs with some mix of live music, karaoke, and dancing. There's a fluid cast of clubs and karaoke among waterfront shophouses.

Waning Mubarokah Versatile, friendly waning on a breezy ridge with precooked nasi campur (rice with a choice of side dishes), fresh grilled fish and chicken, and beef soup bubbling on the cooker.

Red Sea Cafe :Looking for a hookah? This eclectic spot in the burgeoning waterfront area worth exploring feeds the local fad for shisha (44,000Rp), Middle Eastern water pipes with sweet tobacco blends.

Wisma Ikan Bakar :At 'Grilled Fish Inn' pick fish or seafood from the cooler and enjoy it lalapan style with hot sambal and fragrant ketnangi leaves.

Restoran Shangrilla : Specialities at this popular, family-run Chinese restaurant include ikan delapan rasa (eight flavour fish) and steamboat.

Restaurant A tomik : Extensive Chinese menu features vegetarian options and 1 10,000Rp group packages.

De Cafe : Expat-oriented spot to indulge cravings for Western (Chinese, Japanese or Indonesian) food, pizza, fancy coffees or treats from the bakery (open from Sam to 11pm), featuring free wi-fi and no-smoking section.

Bondy's : Bondy's built its repu-tation as a beery garden oasis featuring fish on ice, imported steaks , and Indonesian favourites. It's also a great place to enjoy bread, coffee and desserts from its bakery (open from Sam to 10pm) featur-ing homemade ice cream, and has an air-con, smokeless section.

Kepiting Kenari : Black-pepper crabs here are so good that seafood joints all over Kalimantan claim to be Kenari's partners. Each portion, in five varieties, serves three to four people. There's also chicken, fish and prawns on the menu, but why bother? On angkot route 7 toward the airport.

SELF CATERING

These self-catering options have adjacent food courts:

Hero Supermarket (Balikpapan Plaza)

Hypermarket (Balikpapan Trade Centre)