Goat testicles earn national recognition<\/p>\n
By Johannes Simbolon<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The traffic, as usual, moved slowly along Jl.
\nKendal in Central Jakarta because dozens of parked cars crowded
\nthe narrow street.<\/p>\n
The owners of the cars were enjoying their lunch in the food
\nstalls that line the right side of the street.<\/p>\n
Wide banners carry the names of each shop -- Haji Soleh Kumis,
\nAcang Karna Kumis, Enday Kumis, Anduy Kumis, Jaya Kumis, Muksin
\nKumis. The banners all sport a mustache (kumis).<\/p>\n
Every stall offers the same fare, sop kaki kambing (goat leg
\nsoup) and sate kambing (goat satay).<\/p>\n
\"Aside from goat's leg, torpedo is another favorite here,\"
\nNurdin, 26, the chief, cook and bottle washer at one food stall
\nsaid while pointing at a bundle of goat testicles hanging at eye-
\nlevel in a glass food box.<\/p>\n
The testicles are called torpedo to mask what the patrons are
\ningesting. Neither Nurdin nor any other proprietor knows who
\nintroduced the name.<\/p>\n
A small testicle, which can fill four skewers, costs Rp 2,500
\n(US$1.09). Large ones go for Rp 6,000. Tasting like sausage, the
\ntesticles are believed to be an aphrodisiac.<\/p>\n
\"Remember that we usually give the nickname bandot (old goat)
\nto the old men who are interested in young girls,\" explained
\nAhmad Zainuri, 43, known as Enday, who owns Enday Kumis shop.<\/p>\n
Goat testicle connoisseurs come from every walk of life,
\nincluding artists and expatriates.<\/p>\n
\"Women always giggle at first seeing the torpedo, but they
\nenjoy it very much, while the expatriates prefer chasing it with
\nbeer,\" said Nurdin.<\/p>\n
The stalls also sell goat penis for Rp 1,500 each, but there
\nis less of a market.<\/p>\n
The street stalls on Jl. Kendal have carved a niche in the
\nhistory of local food. The native Betawi restaurateurs first used
\nthe word kumis as the name of a food stall -- now a trademark of
\nthe local food industry. They also succeeded in introducing their
\ncuisine through these stalls to compete with the dominate Padang
\nand Javanese foods for the title of national cuisine.<\/p>\n
Enday, a Betawi man living in a narrow alley called Gang Mess
\nin Tanah Abang, explained that the Tanah Abang people maintain
\nthe goat leg soup business in Jakarta was introduced by Sjafii
\nduring colonial times.<\/p>\n
According to Ridwan Saidi, in his book Orang Betawi dan
\nModernisasi (Betawi People and Modernization), Tanah Abang has
\nbeen the goat trade center of Jakarta since the Dutch-Indes era.<\/p>\n
Little is known about Sjafii except that he was born in Tanah
\nAbang and was a traveling salesman. It is doubtful that Sjafii
\nhad a mustache or used kumis to name his business. What is clear
\nis that all the Betawi goat soup traders in Tanah Abang -- there
\nare herds of them -- now proudly claim blood connections with
\nhim.<\/p>\n
Enday said Sjafii's soup recipe is still simple, consisting of
\nginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, bay leaf and cloves. Milk and coconut
\nmilk, which are now used by all goat soup traders, weren't
\nincluded in the original recipe. Sjafii's recipe is now called
\nsup bening (clear soup), while the recipe with milk is called sup
\nsantan (coconut milk soup).<\/p>\n
Sjafii removed the goat hair rather primitively. He burned it
\noff with methylated spirits. Today, the goats are boiled in water
\nfor ten minutes, it is then easy get rid of the hair.<\/p>\n
Sjafii was considered as a creative trader by his neighbors
\nand relatives. He had many imitators. Instead of traveling,
\nhowever, they erected kiosks around the Ikada Ground (now Banteng
\nGround) in the 1950s.<\/p>\n
In the 1960s, the traders were moved by the municipality to
\nthe Persija playground in Menteng. In 1973, the stadium was
\nrenovated forcing the traders to move to Jl. Blora and then to
\nthe adjacent Jl. Kendal.<\/p>\n
It isn't clear why and when they started naming their shops
\nkumis.<\/p>\n
Enday, who has a mustache and was among the first traders on
\nJl. Kendal, said the kumis label had been used long before he
\nstarted business.<\/p>\n
\"Kumis only means that all the workers of the food shops are
\nmales, regardless if they have mustache or not. Females started
\nto be recruited only recently to work as cashiers,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Mysterious as the kumis name may be, it has become a selling
\npoint. All new goat soup sellers tag kumis onto their names in
\nhope of success. There are now hundreds of food shops carrying
\nthe name of Kumis. The traders are no longer exclusively Betawi.
\nTherefore, the kumis stalls can also be spotted in Medan,
\nSurabaya, Bandung, Bogor and Pontianak.<\/p>\n
As competition stiffens, \"copyright\" violations are rampant.<\/p>\n
\"A new trader once opened a shop in Harmoni, Central Jakarta,
\nunder the name of Enday Kumis. I told him 'You may use kumis as
\nyou like, but not 'Enday' without permission'. He then changed
\nthe name,\" said Enday.<\/p>\n
The goat leg soup business has developed over the decades.
\nBorn beside the street, it now caters to the middle and upper
\nclasses -- the owners of the cars that clog Jl. Kendal every day.
\nSome of the traders have even expanded to modern outlets.<\/p>\n
One of the most successful traders on Jl. Kendal, Haji Soleh,
\nhas opened branches in the Pasar Raya food center in Blok M and
\nthe Sentul Circuit in the south of Jakarta.<\/p>\n
\"We were even once offered to open branch in Singapore but my
\nfather turned down the offer for various reasons, including the
\nlack of modern management,\" said Haji Soleh's daughter Herliani,
\na graduate of the Trisakti Economic College.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/goat-testicles-earn-national-recognition-1447893297",
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