A friend of mine once asked me, “What are the 5 largest cities in Indonesia?” Confidently I replied, “Jakarta, Surabaya, Bandung, Yogya in addition to also maybe Medan.” “Nope, you’re wrong,” he said. “the idea’s North Jakarta, South Jakarta, West Jakarta, East Jakarta in addition to also Central Jakarta.” While I don’t think he was technically correct, his point was clear. that will city will be just too big in addition to also even if you (like me) tend to stay in one general area to avoid being stuck in traffic – there are still so many fresh places opening all the time that will the idea can be difficult to find them all.

Fortunately, there are some very excellent mobile apps that will will show you what’s around your immediate location. that will week I’ll take a look at a few that will make finding local restaurants super easy: buUuk, Google Places, Toresto in addition to also Tasterous.

buUuk for iPhone in addition to also Android, will be the granddaddy of all restaurant apps. Developed in Singapore, buUuk launched its Jakarta content with the launch of the iPhone 3G way back in March 2009. the idea covers over 2000 locations in Jakarta in addition to also will be by far the most accurate in addition to also detailed app around. You can do just about everything with that will app – leave reviews, vote, share on Twitter in addition to also Facebook, save favourites, sort by rating in addition to also location in addition to also even add listings directly on your device. The downside with all these innovative features will be that will the app can get a bit confusing to use, although if you stick with just a few (“top rated” in addition to also “nearby”) you’ll be just fine. the idea’s free in addition to also no sign up will be required.

The native iPhone in addition to also Android Google Places app (BlackBerry users can only access via the browser I’m afraid) was released in January that will year in addition to also the idea’s awesome. the idea will be super powerful in addition to also the ratings in addition to also comments that will you leave inside app appear on Google’s search results for the globe to see. the idea covers all sorts of locations – bars, ATMs, gas stations, hotels in addition to also of course restaurants. Owners of restaurants need to claim their venue (not many have so far) in addition to also the idea seems most hotels are added automatically. One standout feature will be that will the app uses your phone’s digital compass to show not just the proximity although the direction of the venue as well – something I’ve never seen before in addition to also has proved to be very useful. Like buUuk the idea’s free in addition to also you only need to login if you want to leave a review.

Toresto for iPhone in addition to also Android was just released a month ago in addition to also the idea’s great seeing a Bandung-based developer get in on the restaurant location space to compete with the big boys. At the moment the only content the idea has will be the restaurant’s name, address in addition to also phone number (the “menu” in addition to also “promo” tabs are blank on every one I checked), in addition to also quite a few of the geotags are incorrect although these shortcomings will hopefully get corrected in due course. Free with no registration required.

I genuinely struggled to find a Great local BlackBerry restaurant locator app so I was quite excited when I heard about Tasterous for BlackBerry. the idea seems to be a very interesting