Pesta Keboen, resto with colonial charm<\/p>\n
Blontank Poer, The Jakarta Post, Semarang, Central Java<\/p>\n
Historical traces of a city can be identified in the
\n\"alternative menu\" of a restaurant, something that complements
\none's style in enjoying dishes and drinks and the life of the
\ncolonial nobility of the past. They can also be revived through
\nromanticism in the way a party is held, either indoors or
\noutdoors.<\/p>\n
Of course, creating such an atmosphere will take more energy
\nthan simply perusing the menu of a restaurant. Take, for example,
\nRoeang Makan Pesta Keboen Semarang (Semarang Garden Party
\nRestaurant).<\/p>\n
The place is designed (including the use of furniture) to
\nresemble the original condition of an old residential house in a
\nEuropean style, making it not just a restaurant. By chance, the
\nrestaurant is housed in a former dwelling place occupied by a
\nDutch family and built in mid 1800s.<\/p>\n
The atmosphere of the room is enhanced by the presence of
\nreproductions of pictures depicting old buildings in Semarang,
\ncomplete with the year when the pictures were taken.<\/p>\n
Now most buildings that retained vestiges of the colonial
\nlegacy in the city have had their design and designation changed.<\/p>\n
In a picture made in 1925, the building now housing Dr.
\nKariadi Hospital is presented as Central Burgerlijke
\nZiekeninrichting. The picture also shows the railway line
\nextending from north to south, running through the city beside
\nthe Tugu Muda Monument.<\/p>\n
Entering the Pesta Keboen premises, we are confronted with an
\noriginal 1859 map of Semarang. A tube radio made in early 1900s
\nis also seen decorating the first room, which serves as a sitting
\nroom and front office. In the middle room you can see old chairs
\nlined up in a row, forming a suitable combination with old
\ncupboards made before the 1900s.<\/p>\n
Inside one cupboard there are hundreds of blue and greenish
\nglass bottles along with kitchen utensils such as thermos flasks,
\na set of stacked containers made of zinc, porcelain jugs and
\nceramic plates. All are old items.<\/p>\n
Three typewriters made in the 1930s are also on display not
\nfar from another cupboard containing old cigar boxes from
\ndifferent countries and old pistols. On the outside part of the
\nmain building there is a bar serving snacks with the background
\nwalls decorated by various cigarette and tobacco labels.<\/p>\n
\"We have designed the atmosphere as such that it really
\ncaptures the colonial nuances. Therefore, the choice of the
\nbuilding is adjusted to the colonial concept,\" restaurant owner
\nDeded Hari Pratikno told The Jakarta Post.
\n`He said he hunted for antique goods around Semarang and even in
\nMalang and Probolinggo, East Java, before taking them to the
\nrestaurant.<\/p>\n
In Roeang Makan Pesta Keboen, we not only can enjoy various
\nkinds of popular dishes and drinks from the old times but our
\nimagination can transport us back to an era many, many years gone
\nby.<\/p>\n
Loempia (fried flour-made sausage containing minced chicken
\nand small pieces of bamboo shoot), kue Lekker cake, pecel terong
\n(eggplant salad, consisting of eggplants, green vegetables and
\nsoy sauce). Pearl porridge and marrow porridge are two of the
\ndishes now hard to find elsewhere. At this restaurant they are
\navailable between Rp 6,000 and Rp 7,500.<\/p>\n
Then the drinks. You can enjoy wedang kacang hijau, wedang
\ncemu, starfruit juice and young coconut flesh in iced syrup as
\nwell as various kinds of pudding at prices ranging between Rp
\n4,500 and Rp 11,000.<\/p>\n
And of course, there are various kinds of soup, like the
\ntomato soup (chicken, sausage and carrot plus legume served with
\ntoast), and mushroom ball soup (chicken, beef, edible fungi, rice
\nnoodles) at an average price of Rp 9,000 per helping.<\/p>\n
Enhancing the combination of the colonial\/European atmosphere
\nof the past are various kinds of steak such as tenderloin steak,
\nCordon Bleu Chicken steak (chicken wrapped in smoked beef and
\ncheese, mixed vegetables, and fried potatoes served in cheese
\nsauce) available at Rp 26,000.<\/p>\n
In addition to the dishes of the past, Pesta Keboen also
\nserves a special menu not usually found elsewhere, like its
\nGolden Smoked Chicken. This particular dish is different from
\nsmoked milkfish, the unique dish of Juwawa, Pati regency, 70 km
\neast of Semarang.<\/p>\n
This smoked chicken was finally perfected through a series of
\ntrials and errors for two years before the right recipe was
\nfinally found. Fresh chicken is mixed with over three kinds of
\nspices and then steamed for three to four days so that it becomes
\nsoft and the spices permeate into the entire chicken. Before it
\nis served, the chicken is smoked on a specially designed stove
\nwith a special fuel made of dried sugarcane waste.<\/p>\n
To complement the colonial atmosphere, all the dishes are
\nnamed after the buildings or locations in Semarang using the old
\nspelling such as Oedang Saoes Merah Sinjo Londo, Boeboer Moetiara
\nDjornatan (name of a market) or Koee Lekker Gedoeng Papak
\n(building of finance office) and so forth. The menu list offers
\nover 100 items.<\/p>\n
If you wish to savor the romanticism in the style of Toean
\nMeneer (a term of address used for Dutch noblemen), you can
\nchoose a package for four persons called Menoe Rijstatafel, the
\npackage of Sam Poo Kong (Temple), the package of Stasioen Pontjol
\n(Pontjol Railway Station) or Geredja Blendoek (Blendoek Church),
\nwhich will be served in a regular order from the opening dish to
\nthe main course with smoked chicken or roast gurami fish. Each
\npackage costs between Rp 110,000 and Rp 120,000.<\/p>\n
Live zither music is presented every Tuesday and Thursday
\nbetween 12 p.m. and 2.30 p.m. while special keroncong music can
\nbe enjoyed on Sundays from 7 pm to 9.30 pm.<\/p>\n
Roeang Makan Pesta Keboen, Jl. Veteran No. 29, Semarang, Tel
\n024 845 3737.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/pesta-keboen-resto-with-colonial-charm-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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