Snack shop tempts both adults and children<\/p>\n
Maria Endah Hulupi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Nestled in a typical Kampong setting, Cemal-cemil snack shop
\nrevives childhood memories with its old-fashioned treats and
\nsnacks.<\/p>\n
Not only these goodies, but every element of the small shop --
\nlike the interior, the packaging, the toys -- the overall
\natmosphere that these details radiate, immediately evokes the
\nmemory of time gone by. Entering the shop -- which is located in
\nDesa Payon complex on Jl. Kemang Raya, South Jakarta -- is a pure
\ndelight.<\/p>\n
And it was nostalgia (and a craving for childhood treats)
\nwhich inspired owners, Yeany C. Dahlan, Eby Karsono and Satyorini
\nPurawan to set up this unique business.<\/p>\n
\"We were having lunch and discussed a lot of things, including
\nhow much we longed for the treats we ate when we were children.
\nBut it is hard to find such tempo-doeloe treats now,\" she said.<\/p>\n
Then the discussion progressed into talk of actually setting
\nup a shop specializing in selling various traditional snacks and
\nwrapping them, or packaging them, in harmony with the old
\nfashioned theme.<\/p>\n
For the location, they chose Desa Payon complex because it
\nalso houses a restaurant selling traditional homemade food and
\nits ambience matches the concept of their shop. And in May, 2003,
\nCemal-cemil snack shop first opened its doors to customers in
\nJakarta.<\/p>\n
To accent the theme, a pedicab, once a popular mode of
\ntransportation in the capital, is parked right in front of the
\nentrance and inside, dozens of tempo doeloe sweets, biscuits and
\ncrispy snacks are attractively displayed on shelves.<\/p>\n
The shop's logo bears a picture of three satisfied and
\ncheerful children with the inscription Buatan Indonesia asli
\n(made in Indonesia) and is attached to all goods it sells.<\/p>\n
The delicacies include permen payung (umbrella shaped candy),
\npermen rokok (cigarette shaped sweets), telur cicak (lizard's
\neggs candy), kembang goyang cookies, sagu warna (sweet colorful
\nsago), stick talas (crispy taro stick), kacang sukro (coated in
\npeanut) and mancho (sweet crispy snack coated in sesame seeds)
\namong others.<\/p>\n
Some of the sweets are temptingly stored in small glass jars,
\njust large enough to squeeze a hand into, or square cans,
\ncommonly used for krupuk (traditional crackers).<\/p>\n
The shop's main target market is actually adults. They fondly
\nrecall such delicacies, perhaps with the acute sensation of their
\nenjoyment as children.<\/p>\n
\"They appreciate the treats and in turn introduce them to
\ntheir children,\" Yeany said.<\/p>\n
Most of its customers, she added, are locals. Some buy the
\ntreats to eat at home, while others buy them as gifts for their
\nrelatives living abroad.
\n There are also various traditional toys, like tik-tok toys,
\nbamboo flutes, parachutes, paper windmills, wooden arrows and
\npush wooden birds, as a bonus when buying 200 grams of candy.<\/p>\n
Several treats are sold in interesting containers, like a
\nwooden truck, a traditional horse and cart, gelas kaleng lurik
\n(spotted tin mugs) and traditional measuring scales. \"It takes
\ncreativity to combine the treats with toys or unusual packaging
\nbut it's much more interesting,\" Yeany said, while adding that
\nprices range from Rp 1,000 to Rp 60,000.<\/p>\n
Some of the toys and the classic packaging is sent from
\nCentral and East Java but others, including the square (krupuk)
\ncans are especially made for Cemal-cemil shop.<\/p>\n
\"If we could only find a few old fashioned objects, before
\nfinding the suppliers or the workers to make more, we would just
\ndisplay the objects in the shop to hint at what we were wanting
\nto convey,\" she laughed.<\/p>\n
Most sweet delicacies are also sent from small villages near
\ncities like Solo, Yogyakarta and Salatiga (all in Central Java)
\nwhere they are still popular, while the biscuits are prepared by
\nseveral families in Jakarta to ensure quality.<\/p>\n
\"We heard they can make delicious traditional treats and we
\nordered from them!\"<\/p>\n
\"But unlike modern snacks, the variety of tempo doeloe is
\nquite limited, nowadays they are also rare. We have sought out
\nnew varieties of old-fashioned treats for our shop. Whenever we
\ntravel we continue to look... since we would likely find them in
\nsmall towns in Java,\" Yeany explained.<\/p>\n
Beside traveling, the three also do a little research to
\nenrich their knowledge of old fashioned delicacies and their
\nvarieties.<\/p>\n
\"We went to several book stores to find books on such
\ndelicacies and we also consulted our parents on whether a
\nparticular treat was truly old fashioned before adding it to our
\nlist. We do everything we can to gather information,\" she
\nrecalled, laughing.<\/p>\n
Sometimes customers too can be a valuable source of
\ninformation by pointing out which old favorites are not yet
\navailable at Cemal-cemil snack shop.<\/p>\n
\"Some people come to us to find certain treats and when they
\ndo not find what they are looking for, they describe the treats
\nto us and we do our best to make them an addition to our range,\"
\nYeany explained.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/snack-shop-tempts-both-adults-and-children-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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