Konro Bakar in Makassar: Late-Night Grilled Ribs, Cuts and Warungs

Konro bakar is a Makassar dish of buffalo or beef ribs. The cook simmers them for hours in a dark spice broth of coriander, keluak and palm sugar, then chars them over coals. It is a night dish. On Jalan Sungai Cerekang the grill does not start until 10 pm, and by midnight every plastic chair is taken and the smoke drifts two blocks towards the harbour. The sauce looks rough at first. The taste is deep and rich.

This guide explains what konro bakar is, which cut to ask for, where to find it and what to say when you order.

Coto, konro and konro bakar

Three Makassar dishes share one family.

• Coto Makassar is a morning soup of buffalo offal, tongue and cheaper trimmings. Warungs open around 6 am and most shut by lunch.
• Konro uses the same animal and the same spice base, but the ribs instead of the offal. Beef now often replaces buffalo. Many warungs sell coto and konro side by side.
• Konro bakar is the grilled form. Bakar means grilled.

To make konro bakar, the cook first simmers the rib in the dark broth used for konro soup (konro kuah). Then the rib goes onto the coals. It reaches you as a blackened bone with the meat half falling off, brushed with thick reduced bumbu (spice paste). A bowl of the cooking broth comes with it. Pull the meat off with your fingers and sip the soup between bites.

The grilled version most likely began on Makassar streets in the 1970s or 1980s. Stories disagree on which warung made it first, and more than one still claims it. Today it stands as a dish in its own right, with its own hour and its own regulars.

Which rib to order

Short rib, the default

Order konro bakar without saying more and you get buffalo short rib. This thick piece sits below the chuck. The meat rests on heavy bone and stays juicy through a long simmer.

Iga atas, the better choice

Few people ask for iga atas, the upper rib nearer the back. It is leaner and builds a darker crust on the grill. It is also drier, and some cooks will not grill it because it does not suit the simmer-then-grill method.

If a warung has it and the cook agrees, it is the stronger plate:

• the crust sets properly,
• the meat takes on more smoke,
• the bone is easier to hold.

Tourist restaurants do not stock it. Look for it at warungs where drivers and dock workers eat, where the owner knows the butcher and can order a set cut each week.

Three places to eat konro bakar

Listed from easiest to hardest to find.

Konro Karebosi

The best-known name, running since the 1960s. It has two branches. The original is on Jalan Karebosi. The newer one, on Jalan Gunung Lokon, has air conditioning, so visitors tend to go there. Locals prefer the original. The grilled rib is solid but not special. The real reason to come is the soup, konro kuah. It is excellent.

The stalls on Jalan Sungai Cerekang

Three or four stalls line this side street between the harbour and the centre. They open from about 10 pm. They have no shared name, so people just use the street name. The char and the bumbu both beat Karebosi, though portions are smaller. You sit on plastic chairs on the pavement and pay in cash. If you only have one konro bakar dinner in Makassar, have it here.

Konro Bakar Pak Aris

This corner stall is in Antang, about 20 minutes east of the centre, near the Pertamina depot. It opens in the late afternoon. Pak Aris grills iga atas whenever he can get it, so this is where to ask for it. No tourist map lists the place. Take an ojek if you care about the dish.

Ordering and paying

A useful phrase: "Konro bakar satu, tidak terlalu pedas". It means "one konro bakar, not too spicy".

Most warungs make it moderately hot for Indonesia. That is mild next to Padang or Manado food. Ask for pedas (spicy) if you like heat. Avoid tidak pedas (no chilli). It strips the dish, and the cook may not be pleased.

A plate is one big rib or two small ones, with rice on the side. Pick up the bone; that is half the pleasure. When this guide was written, a plate cost about €3.50 to €6 at a street warung, and more at the two Konro Karebosi branches.

What to drink

Locals drink teh botol, a sweet, cold jasmine tea sold in a glass bottle. The sugar softens the chilli and the smoke. Warm jeruk hangat, a sweet-sour calamansi drink, also works well late at night.

Skip the beer. Makassar is a largely Muslim city, many warungs sell no alcohol, and bringing your own is not acceptable.

When to go

Go after 10 pm. You can eat konro bakar at 6 pm, but the dish belongs to the late hours, and so does the crowd.