Soto Banjar is the signature soup of the Banjar people of southern Kalimantan and has become ubiquitous across East Kalimantan. Samarinda has dozens of dedicated soto stalls, most of them tiny family operations open from early morning through midday. The soup is a clear, golden chicken broth scented with cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, and lemongrass — warmer and more aromatic than the more common soto ayam of Java, and deeply comforting.
The best stalls are in the areas around the central market, where they have been serving the same recipe for generations. The standard accompaniment is ketupat (compressed rice cooked in woven palm leaf parcels), hard-boiled egg, and a dollop of sambal. A bowl costs next to nothing and is the ideal breakfast before a morning at Pasar Pagi. Ask locals for their favourite stall — there is genuine civic pride in the question of whose soto is best.