Pematang Siantar or commonly known as Siantar is the second largest city in North Sumatra province after Medan. It is strategically located in between Medan and Parapat (the city where Toba Lake is) and can be reached in approximately 2-3 hours by car from Medan. Due to its location, many people often drop by at Siantar to rest whenever they are heading to Parapat.
In the last couple of years, there has been an increasing number of visitors who consider Siantar as their tourism and even business destination. This rapid growth is not surprising as the city has kept on progressing itself by improving and building more facilities in order to keep up with the demands from the increasing visitors. And another good news for culinary lovers, Siantar is also popular as one of the top culinary destinations in the province.
How to get there:
By private car:
-On the arrival gate area of Kuala Namu International Airport (KNIA), you could find a range of counters that offer car rentals along with a driver. For more information about renting cars, you could try to visit this website: rentalmobilmedan.co.id
By public bus:
-From the exit door of KNIA, you would notice a train station across the street. Once you do, turn right where you would see a ‘BUS’ signage. Afterwards, look for red colored bus with ‘Paradep’ name on it and get on to the one that heads to Siantar. The journey would take around 2-3 hours (depending on the traffic) and the bus would stop once at a local eatery on its way to Siantar. The operational hours of this bus is 04.30 am – 10.00 pm.
By train:
-From the airport, take the airport train to Medan Central Station. Once there, grab the regional train heading to Pematang Siantar (±2.5 hours).
Culinary travel:
The most common reason for people to visit this particular city is to experience its excellent local foods. Here, you would discover varieties of family based eateries or confectionaries (ranging from local to national scale) that have been run down for some generations. Due to this reason, you could have an amazing yet affordable culinary experience at Siantar. These famous local culinaries are ranging from heavy meals like noodles, light meals like breads and pastries, beverages like coffee until various culinary gifts. Next article is going to discuss about some prominent places that offer these wonderful foods.