Late Night Eats in Surabaya, Indonesia: Rawon Setan

Surabaya is one of the best food cities in Indonesia, if I do say so myself. One of their more popular joints is Rawon Setan, which was known for serving rawon late into the night. Or morning, technically.

Rawon is a beef soup made with these black nuts called keluak. Keluak is poisonous but you can remove the toxicity by fermenting them. That's the main ingredient but the soup also contains various other spices in beef stock. Here, the soup with generous cubes of beef is served with rice and beansprouts.

Rawon Setan literally means Satan's rawon or devil's rawon. It got that name because originally they were only open from 10pm to dawn. You'd have seen luxury cars parked in the middle of the night at this random street stall. They're so popular though that they've expanded a bit, both in the physical space and the hours (don't worry, they're still open until dawn).

People usually order "rawon daging" which means you want more of the beef meat instead of some meat and more offal (because the beef is more expensive. Indonesians like to get the best value). The bowl had plenty of tender beef cubes and the broth is bold. Each bowl costs (or at least used to last time I was home) Rp. 25,000 which is little more than $2.

On the side, a plate of snacks and condiments - you pay for what you grab - including potato cakes, tempeh, fried lung, and fried cow brain!

Rawon Setan is conveniently located across the street from Tunjungan Plaza and the JW Marriott Hotel.


Rawon Setan
Jl. Embong Malang I No. 78
Surabaya, Jawa Timur, Indonesia