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Yogyakarta, with its cultural joie de vivre, is one of Indonesia’s top tourist destinations, attracting about a million domestic and foreign visitors each year. Tourists are often curious about where they can enjoy the local fare, and the truth is, some of the best food in Yogyakarta comes cheap. Here are five of the best places to eat at without having to break the bank:

Soto Pak Gimin
Jalan Bantul Km 7.5, Bantul district

There are endless varieties of soto in Indonesia. Soto is basically a noodle broth. It can feature meat or poultry, but soto with fish or just vegetables is also common. It usually comes with a garnishing of white bean sprouts and cilantro.

Because there are so many variations around, finding a good soto can be a challenge. Soto Pak Gimin makes the choice easy — it serves just one type, but you can choose what meat you want to go with the flavors of garlic, coriander, ginger and galangale in Pak Gimi’s soto.

The small, humble shed draws hundreds of people on a daily basis. Soto at this eatery is Rp 10,000 ($1) per portion.

The House of Raminten
Jalan Faridan Maridan Noto, Kotabaru

The House of Raminten serves breakfast, lunch and dinner, and stays open until midnight. This restaurant is set up in the eclectically decorated garden of Hamzah Hendro Sutikno’s home. You can sit in a quaint Javanese gazebo in the middle of the garden, surrounded by trees and statues.

There is also a large screen on which films are sometimes projected. You can eat on Hendro’s porch or in the living room, which are also used for the occasional batik painting workshop.

With a variety of simple dishes — nasi goreng (fried rice), omelettes and satay — and drinks priced from Rp 1,000 to Rp 8,500, including a long list of jamu (herbal tonics), The House of Raminten is the best example of how economical dining can be in Yogyakarta, even in a lavish setting.

Bakmi Godhog Sabar Menanti
Jalan Kolonel Sugiono

If you’re on a low-carb diet, this is not the place for you. Bakmi Godhog Sabar Menanti, which is only open at night, is a rather gloomy makeshift tent — at first glance. The eatery is a big hit among Yogyakartans and the buzz of people coming in and out to savor the bakmi, a noodle dish, completely transforms the atmosphere.

In fact, it is so popular, it may take an hour for the bakmi to get to your table on a busy night. Don’t say you weren’t warned about the wait: “Sabarlah Menanti” means “please wait patiently” in Indonesian. This eatery is known to serve the best bakmi in town, and it’s definitely worth the wait. Unlike many bakmi eateries, Sabar Menanti cooks each dish to order, rather than serving up noodles that have been sitting around all day. A portion of Bakmi Godhog Sabar Menanti goes for Rp 6,000.

Angkringan Lik Man
Jalan Wongsodirjan, near Tugu

When you’re in need of a coffee fix, Angkringan Lik Man offers something special: kopi jos. Kopi jos is thick black coffee that has been infused with charcoal, which gives the drink a bitter kick. Lik Man offers a selection of snacks, which you can also have caked in charcoal if you wish. If you want to eat as the locals do, try sego kucing , a Yogyakarta specialty, which is a lump of rice with a small serving of a spicy side dish, such as anchovies or green beans. Tempeh and tofu boiled in palm sugar are also available.

Open from dusk till dawn, Lik Man is a roadside row of tents by Yogyakarta’s main train station. Visitors can sit around on mattresses spread across the tents. Vehicles do pass by, as do trains, but they only add to the liveliness of this angkringan, which literally means “a place to sit leisurely” in Javanese. A mere Rp 10,000 is more than enough to buy a glass of kopi jos and snacks.

Gudeg Mercon
Jalan Asem Gede, by Pasar Kranggan

This tent has no name. People call it Gudeg Mercon, meaning “firecracker jackfruit,” because its sauteed green chili side dish is so spicy it explodes in your mouth. The dish is served with rice and features gudeg, which is unripe jackfruit cooked with coconut milk and local keluwak spice, and kerecek , which are buffalo skin crackers boiled until soft and then spiced.

Gudeg Mercon is open from midnight until dawn and is perfect for those stumbling home from a night out.