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| Bipang Ambawang Babi Panggang | 50m before Constantine Retreat House, Jl. Trans Kalimantan No.KM 23, Korek, Sungai Ambawang, Kubu Raya Regency, West Kalimantan 78393, Indonesia ☏ +62 81 1568 2929 ⏰ 9am - 9pm |
I had until now thought that Bali's babi guling is the only pork dish in Indonesia. This trip to Kalimantan, the Indonesian part of Borneo island broadened my culinary horizon a bit more - they also have grilled or roasted pork dishes in Kalimantan.
I ought to have known - Indonesia is a multi-cultural country which includes the Dayak (Austronesian) community. Indeed, Bali's babi guling has Austronesian roots too.
On our Kuching - Pontianak - Singkawang - Kuching trail, we left ourselves in the good hands of Min, our local guide.
Min brought us to BIPANG AMBAWANG. It's at the Sungai Ambawang river area some 20 minutes drive from the edge of Pontianak city.
The restaurant was well decked out with dark wood floors, atap roof, benches and large long tables like a beer hall 😁 Its very clean, neat modern look, however, gave it a touristy, rest stop kind of feel.
Don't be like Tony, I think most people would well appreciate this comfort and modernity.
Okay back to the porky.
The first thing that struck me was how the roasted pig was covered with crisped ridges, like big boils (don't make it sound appetising 🤔 ) all over its back. I have not seen such before, not this much anyway.
We speculated that it might be hot oil basted but it is most likely achieved by a special open grilling technique which required 9 hours per pig.
The crispy skin made an audible crackly sound as the chopper hack-sawed through the roasted pig.
I tried to ask what is the name of this pork dish but all I could get was babi pangang or roasted pork. It is known as bipang (babi pangang) for short.
Besides BIPANG AMBAWANG which Min brought us, there are other similar bipang places in the Ambawang area. But, BIPANG AMBAWANG is the most famous as it was cited was an example of "Made in Indonesia" food in a speech by President Jokowi in 2021 (during the Covid pandemic).
The President said: "Those who miss Jogja's gudeg, Semarang's milkfish, Palembang's empek-empek, Kalimantan's bipang Ambawang, and others can simply order and your favourite food will be delivered to your home."
The dish is made with three to five month old pigs weighing 20 - 30 kilos. The pigs are village raised and free ranging.
Our order served.
The skin was crackly crisp. There was little meat, which was somewhat dry.
The roasted pork tasted savoury with slight porcine sweetness. Without spices or aromatics, the taste profile was uncomplicated, salty sweet. Quite unlike say babi guling stuffed with aromatics or Chinese roast pork rubbed with 5-spice.
I imagine this babi pangang is as primitive as roast pork can get in today's world. So, it's an insight into how pigs were prepared during our hunter-forager days.
But, this is Indonesia today. We ate our babi pangang with sambal. Indonesian sambals are arguably the best in the world. They tailor their sambal according to the dish, so there are as many sambals as there are dishes.
The sambal for babi pangang was umami savoury spicy hot with a refreshingly spritely zest from a sourish juice. Actually, ground chili pepper, belacan (terasi) and lime juice.
They also have grilled pork ribs and pork satay.
We tried the satay.
The cubes of pork meat were also salty with a bit of porcine sweetness. Taste profile was similar to the roast pork meat.
Came with kicap pedas (soy sauce and cut chili pepper) but not the peanut and spice sauce we have in Singapore or Malaysia.
Love the experience and learning opportunity. Simple salty porcine sweet flavour but the texture was unique and I love it.
This was at BIPANG AMBAWANG. Would love to try other bipang or babi pangang restaurants, the next time I come this way (and I expect to, as there is so much more to discover for myself here).
Restaurant name: Bipang Ambawang Babi Panggang
Address: 50m before Constantine Retreat House, Jl. Trans Kalimantan No.KM 23, Korek, Sungai Ambawang, Kubu Raya Regency, West Kalimantan 78393, Indonesia
Tel: +62 81 1568 2929
Hours: 9am - 9pm
Written by Tony Boey on 22 Aug 2025
Who is Tony Johor Kaki?
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