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Explore | Flavours
The highlight of my culinary romp around Jakarta was discovering Pasar Santa in Kebayoran Baru.
combination of coconut milk mixed with milk. “What made your father add cow’s milk to coconut milk?” I asked Pak Muchlis while we sat together sipping on local coffee. “My father had so many orders in the early days that he decided to mix milk with coconut milk to keep up with the demand!” Indeed, today the same recipe draws in a faithful clientele. There is even a photo on the wall of a recent, well-known visitor – Jokowi, Indonesia’s new president. For a late-night snack, Nasi Goreng Kambing Kebon Sirih in the Kebon Sirih district is a must. This golden fried rice is brimming with melt-in-your-mouth goat and seductive Sumatran-style flavours, and they do a roaring trade until the wee hours. Otherwise, you can saunter along to Kebon Kacang or Gondangdia for nasi uduk Betawi. If you are not too late, they will serve the aromatic coconut rice wrapped in bananaleaf packages that somehow make it taste even more special. Bubur Ayam Special 77 is the pride of Palmerah, West Jakarta, and offers an absolutely edifying bubur ayam, inviting rice porridge with chicken, crisp shallots, fried cakwe and krupuk emping for a bitter contrast. The secret is to start with a drizzle of seasoned oil and a spray of white pepper before lathering with the porridge and toppings. This hole-in-the-wall eatery has been dishing up its legendary bubur ayam since, you guessed it, 1977. But the highlight of my culinary romp around Jakarta was discovering Pasar Santa in Kebayoran Baru. “The newly refurbished second floor of Pasar Santa is worth visiting,” advised my friend and Indonesian food expert Bondan Winarno. I was blown away by this overdose of youthful entrepreneurship. One entire floor of young Indonesians running gastronomic endeavours mixed with retro record stores and cool clothing in a hipster-meets-Hello Kitty phenomenon. At Miaw I ate coconut ice cream topped with coconut fruits served in a baby-sized coconut, munched on
Bubur Ayam Special – chicken porridge from Palmerah, West Jakarta. Bakmi Roxy – home-made noodles with chicken in Cikini. Assorted skewers of meat on sale on the streets of Jakarta.
home-made bread at Roti Enang, sipped state-of-the-art coffee at ABCD (A Bunch of Caffeine Dealers) and drooled at siu mai dumplings and sizzling sausages. Food as far as the eye could see, prepared and served by 25-year-olds in an extraordinary community of goodwill. At Labruletory I enjoyed flaming brûlée molecular gastronomy theatre; the quirky vendor torched a small dish of brûlée, then filled a mint-laden beaker with foaming, fizzing, frozen ice that I was instructed to inhale…not sure why but at least it was harmless…and the nutty professor Doctor Who antics added to the overall performance and sweet creamy-caramel memory of this honourable dessert. “We welcome all true coffee lovers and not just ‘café lovers’ either for #ngopidipasar (#coffeebreakatthemarket) or to discover more about coffee in our classes,” said Ve Handoyo of ABCD, who runs pop-up impromptu coffee classes around Jakarta. “We update all our activities on our @abcd_coffee Instagram account, our main means of communication. We love sharing great coffee inside the eclectic and vibrant atmosphere of Pasar Santa.” I was feeling a bit like an alien in this Shangri-La of vibrant youth when I heard, “Hello, Ibu Janet. What brings you here?” I almost apologised for being on the premises and was thinking the young vendors might
think I was someone’s mother. “I was a volunteer at the Ubud Writers & Readers Festival last year,” she said. “The obvious place to find our smart young volunteers,” I thought to myself. To complete my Jakarta sojourn, I met my friend Dian Fatwa at the slick Cloud Lounge & Living Room rooftop bar at Plaza Indonesia. While sipping wine under the night sky and gazing over the city’s everexpanding skyline, I reflected over the past few days. My whirlwind eating frenzy was a mere tip of the iceberg and I have many more pages of recommendations to try on future visits. But one thing is certain: Jakarta is dancing to the beat of an exhilarating food drum and I personally can’t wait to return to continue my exploration. Join me next time!