'Bakpia Patuk': A delicacy from Yogyakarta<\/p>\n
By Idayanie and R. Fadjri<\/p>\n
YOGYAKARTA (JP): During the holiday season, local tourists are
\nnot only found on Jl. Malioboro, the city's famous boulevard. The
\nsurrounding area is packed with cars from Jakarta, Bandung,
\nSemarang, Surabaya and other provinces as well. Among the places
\nfrequently visited is Kampong Patuk, one kilometer west of the
\nboulevard.<\/p>\n
Here in Kampong Patuk, domestic tourists will shop for a
\ntypical Yogyakartan tidbit, bakpia.<\/p>\n
Bakpia is a round-shaped sweet measuring two centimeters wide.
\nIt is a very sweet and delicious snack that can be stored for
\nabout five days. For this reason, it is a hot item.<\/p>\n
Along Jl. K.S. Tubun, which runs through the center of Kampong
\nPatuk, rows of shops offer bakpia under their makers' special
\ntrade names, most of which are synonymous with their house
\nnumbers. There are shops calling themselves Bakpia Patuk 75, 67,
\n45, 38, 25, and so forth. All of them sell hot bakpia straight
\nfrom the oven.<\/p>\n
One can immediately sense a competitive atmosphere as they
\nwalk along this road because aggressive shop assistants and
\nparking attendants posing as middlemen encourage visitors to buy
\nbakpia.<\/p>\n
\"Genuine bakpia is sold over there. Let me take you there,\"
\nsaid one parking attendant, pointing toward an alley leading
\nfurther into the village. It is not surprising that Kampong Patuk
\nis better-known as Kampong Bakpia. Many of the area's residents
\nare in the bakpia business.<\/p>\n
If we had followed the parking attendant's suggestion, he
\nwould have led us into a maze of kampong alleys where we would be
\nshown a thriving cottage industry operating from nearly every
\nhome where small, round bakpia are made. The bakpia industry is
\nin the hands of small traders who employ seven to 10 workers to
\ngive them a hand in the business. There are at least 50 bakpia
\ntraders in the business. They produce and sell the sweets.<\/p>\n
Bakpia was originally a Chinese tidbit introduced by Chinese
\ntraders in Yogyakarta. It is a sweet pie containing green beans,
\nsugar and salt, and is wrapped in dough.<\/p>\n
Lim Bok Sing was the first bakpia trader, who opened the
\nbusiness in 1948 in what is now called Kampong Patuk. In the
\nbeginning, Lim Bok Sing made the bakpia based on orders only. He
\nonly had three assistants then. For the next 37 years, the
\nbusiness was just so-so. Things changed, however, in the hands of
\nthe second generation.<\/p>\n
Yeni, a daughter of Lim Bok Sing, made professional changes in
\nher parents' shop.<\/p>\n
\"Doing business the way my parents used to is out of the
\nquestion. We can't go on in that way,\" she said.<\/p>\n
Yeni packed the bakpia in a better way. She also chose a wider
\nmarketing strategy. Instead of waiting for orders to come her
\nway, she distributed her products in shops and food outlets
\nfrequented by tourists. Yeni's strategy was a hit. It improved
\nher parents' business enormously. In five years, she managed to
\nmake a thriving business of it. Since 1989, domestic tourists
\nhave learned of Bakpia Patuk 75, Yeni's trademark. The number is
\nderived from her home address, Jl. K.S. Tubun 75.<\/p>\n
Other bakpia outlets, which later grew into branches run by
\nher family, were opened. Former employees also went into the
\nbakpia business. One of them is Sonder. After learning the art of
\nmaking bakpia, Sonder opened his own business at home, which was
\na stone's throw away from his former employer's place. Sonder
\neven started a bakpia making course for the residents of Patuk.<\/p>\n
Lim Bok Sing, the bakpia pioneer, would never have imagined
\nthat his bakpia industry would develop in this way. The family
\nbusiness has now been taken over by a member of the third
\ngeneration, Hidayat, a grandchild of Lim Bok Sing.<\/p>\n
Hidayat opened a branch in Jakarta under the same name, Bakpia
\nPatuk 75. He said that he can sell about 100 kilograms or the
\nequivalent of about 10,000 bakpia every day. He was supported by
\n15 assistants.<\/p>\n
During school holidays, Hidayat's production increases
\nthreefold, when he uses 200 kilograms of flour daily to produce
\n30,000 bakpia with the help of 60 workers.<\/p>\n
The bakpia business is not only run by Hidayat, who ranks
\namong the big bakpia businessmen. Smaller traders like Latief,
\nwhose trademark is Bakpia Patuk 27, also count among the bakpia
\nproducers. On most days, Latief sells his goods in the markets or
\nin hotels operating in the Malioboro district.<\/p>\n
\"Usually I can sell about 80 boxes,\" he said. A box contains
\n25 pieces of bakpia. On holidays or during international
\nconferences in Yogya, he could sell a thousand boxes per day. On
\nquiet days, when there are almost no buyers, bakpia traders sell
\ntheir goods at between Rp 2,500 and Rp 3,000 per box. When there
\nare no takers at all, prices sink even lower. The price of bakpia
\ngoes up again during holidays, when it fetches Rp 4,000 per box.<\/p>\n
The bakpia business, which could improve the economics of
\nlocal people, has attracted the government's attention. Bakpia
\nproducers from Kampong Patuk receive training in production and
\nmarketing from the Department of Industry at Yogyakarta's
\nprovincial office. PT Indosat once provided soft loans amounting
\nto between Rp 500,000 and Rp 2 million to 40 bakpia traders.<\/p>",
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