Places to go when the munchies hit late at night<\/p>\n
By John Badalu<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): For true clubbers, the ritual of having a bite
\nto eat after the clubs close is essential. For others, when the
\nlate-night munchies hit, they may be left feeling a bit hungry if
\nthey do not know where to head.<\/p>\n
Want something other than Mickey D's Thamrin? No matter where
\nyou are, Jakarta offers plenty of spots where you can fill your
\nstomach in the wee hours. Here are some top choices.<\/p>\n
Bubur Ayam, Hotel Indonesia (Jl. Thamrin, Central Jakarta).
\nWelcome to the oldest hotel in town. Located smack in the center
\nof the city, the wonderfully camp Ramayana restaurant (they have
\nhideous mosaic tiles all over the place and fake birds on
\ndisplay) is certainly not the hip place to be, and your
\nneighboring diners are likely to be government officials.<\/p>\n
Despite the kitsch decoration, the restaurant is open 24 hours
\nand the bubur ayam (chicken porridge) is worth the trip. Served
\nin a small bowl with lashings of porridge, the chicken meat is
\nplenty and tasty and reasonably priced. Besides the famous bubur,
\nthere are the usual hotel room service menu mainstays, such as
\nnasi goreng (fried rice), burgers and sandwiches. So if you
\nhappen to be in the area and have a hankering for a late-night
\nsnack, try this mouth-watering porridge.<\/p>\n
Nasi Goreng Kambing (Jl. Kebon Sirih, Central Jakarta). To
\nfind the place, just look for the cars parked by the side of the
\nroad. You can either eat in your car or hop out and sit in the
\ncovered sidewalk stall.<\/p>\n
Don't miss the attraction of seeing the way they cook in an
\nenormous wok that can serve 75 plates in one go. Although the
\ngoat meat is getting less and less these days, the taste is still
\nunbeatable and it is the quickest service you can find in Jakarta
\n(unless you park 50 metres away from the stall, and then it is
\ndifficult to get the waiters to come to you).<\/p>\n
The level of harassment from the singing beggars and pirated
\nCD and cassette sellers is reasonably low. Apparently, music
\nvideo director Rizal Mantovani is a regular at this place. Nasi
\nGoreng Kambing is open from 6 p.m. to 4 a.m., but they close
\nearlier if the food is finished.<\/p>\n
Sop Buntut, Bogor Cafe, Borobudur Hotel (Jl. Lapangan Banteng,
\nCentral Jakarta). Newly revamped hotel still serves the same
\nfragrant sop buntut (oxtail soup). This dish is a Jakarta
\nspecialty, and Bogor Cafe offers \"regular\" (the oxtail is boiled)
\nand fried. Both are delicious.<\/p>\n
Besides the famous sop buntut, there is an array of choices,
\nsuch as nasi goreng, all kind of burgers, steaks and desserts.
\nThe late-night clientele varies from dodgy-looking businessmen
\n(in those gold-pattern Versace shirts that went out of fashion
\nfive years ago) to clubbers from Central and South Jakarta.
\nExpect to pay hotel prices with 21 percent tax. The cafe is open
\n24 hours.<\/p>\n
Bakmi Gang Mangga (Jl. Kemurnian IV, West Jakarta).<\/p>\n
It's hidden away in the Kota area, but the best way to get
\nthere is to go along Jl. Gajah Mada toward Glodok and turn left
\nwhen you see a gas station in the middle of the road. There are
\nactually two good places on this street. One is the famous Bakmi
\nKemurnian (a Bakmi Gajah Mada look-alike; even the menu is more-
\nor-less the same but less glossy) and Bakmi Gang Mangga, which
\noffers a full range of Medan-style Chinese food. But people come
\nhere for the bakmi ayam (chicken noodles) or bakmi with some
\nbarbecued pork, and the nasi goreng.<\/p>\n
This is not a celebrity stomping-ground (they probably get
\nlost on the way every time) but die-hard clubbers from Kota
\ninundate the places during the early hours. Bakmi Kemurnian never
\ncloses and Bakmi Gang Mangga is open from 4 p.m. until 6 a.m.<\/p>\n
Bubur Cikini (Jl. Cikini, Central Jakarta). Across from the
\nrailway station and Kentucky Fried Chicken, the bubur Cikini is
\ndifferent from the usual porridge you find on the streets of
\nJakarta. Unlike bubur Betawi (sweet soy sauce, peanuts, chicken
\nmeat) and krupuk (shrimp crackers), bubur Cikini is the kind of
\nporridge that comes from Sukabumi. It has an egg, with salty soy
\nsauce, tasty chicken meat and sliced cakweh (a kind of fried
\nbread, like an Indonesian crouton).<\/p>\n
They are open from 6 p.m. until midnight, but usually run out
\nof food before that. The diners are a younger crowd, including
\nmany students from the Jakarta Arts Institute.<\/p>\n
Bubur Hostess (Jl. Hayam Wuruk). Yet another bubur place, but
\nthat is what people like to eat on a tired stomach. It is located
\nbetween Suisse bakery and ML Discotheque on a small side street
\n(no name) and it has no sign outside, but the house is No. 24.<\/p>\n
It is called Bubur Hostess because at one time the clientele
\nwas mostly prostitutes (hostess being the old euphemism for
\nprostitutes) working in the area. And the place keeps the same
\nhours as the hostesses: 2 a.m. to 8 a.m.<\/p>\n
Today, there are fewer prostitutes to be seen, with Kota
\nclubbers, local Chinese-Indonesians and early morning exercisers
\nmaking up most of the customers. They serve plain porridge but
\nyou can add chicken, barbecued or red sweet pork and also cakweh.
\nThe pork doesn't come cheap but it is crispy and crunchy to chew
\nover. Overall, it is still pretty affordable. Looking to
\ncelebrity watch? Well, do you think any public figure wants to be
\nassociated with this place, despite its good food? I doubt it.<\/p>",
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