Traditional markets bloom during Ramadhan<\/p>\n
Slamet Susanto, The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta<\/p>\n
If you get tired with breaking of the menus at hotels, try some
\nof the fare from seasonal markets in Kauman, Yogyakarta.<\/p>\n
About 70 vendors line up along the small road, which is three
\nmeters wide and 750 meters long, located at the west of the North
\nSquare of the Yogyakarta Palace.<\/p>\n
They sell various kinds of traditional snacks and dishes to
\nbreak the fast for as low as Rp 500 (about 6 U.S. cents) to Rp
\n5,000.<\/p>\n
Among them are kolak (fruits stewed with brown palm sugar),
\nfruit cocktails and fried tofu and tempeh, which are widely
\navailable in many other parts of the country.<\/p>\n
But there are also certain kinds of snacks that are not easily
\nfound outside Yogyakarta, such as kicak (sticky rice with sugar
\nand wrapped in banana leaves) and rondo royal (fried fermented
\ncassavas served with milk). Food from many nearby villages are
\nalso on offer.<\/p>\n
This market, however, only appear during Ramadhan.<\/p>\n
\"In short, any kind of food is available here,\" said Wono, a
\n73-year-old grandmother who has run the business in the alley for
\n40 years.<\/p>\n
The vendors are mostly the residents of Kauman. Before the
\nbeginning of the holy month, they usually met to discuss how they
\nshould run the seasonal market.<\/p>\n
\"We only sell the food during the fasting month. At other
\ntimes, the alley is deserted. Only pedestrians who want to go to
\nwork pass this alley,\" she said, adding that cars were not
\nallowed to use the small road.<\/p>\n
The old lady looks fragile, with her curved backbone and her
\nswaying arms and feet, but she serves many buyers who crowd
\naround her table, where she put her food, with high spirit.<\/p>\n
She had prepared the food from 7 a.m. and finished at about
\nnoon. She started to sell the snacks from 2 p.m. until around 7
\np.m., when people get ready for the tarawih (Ramadhan's evening
\nprayer).<\/p>\n
Another vendor, Endang, 32, said that she runs the business at
\nKauman to preserve the family tradition.<\/p>\n
\"Ever since I was born, the seasonal market has been there,\"
\nsaid Endang, who sells various kinds of dishes as well as
\nvegetables and fruits.<\/p>\n
For her menu, she usually buys five kilograms of lele
\n(catfish), 2.5 kilograms of chicken legs, 2.5 kilogram of chicken
\nbreasts and 3 kilograms of shrimps for the food every day.<\/p>\n
\"The daily turnover is between Rp 300,000 and Rp 500,000. The
\nprofit is about Rp 150,000 or Rp 200,000 (if all of the food is
\nsold). But it is not certain, if it rains, I can only sell half
\nof the food or a little bit more than that,\" she said.<\/p>\n
She said that in the beginning, Rp 1 million was prepared as
\nthe capital. But later on, more money was injected as there was a
\nneed to sell more kinds of food.<\/p>\n
\"We usually collected the money among our family and
\nrelatives,\" she said.<\/p>\n
The traditional food at Kauman, which is prepared using
\noriginal recipes, always lures many visitors. The vendors set
\ntheir tables to occupy half of the road and hundreds of visitors
\nfrom various parts of the town crowd the area every afternoon.<\/p>\n
\"I don't know why, but the kicak sold on Jl. Solo or in other
\nplaces doesn't taste as good as the one sold here,\" said Frida,
\n27, a regular customer who lives on Jl. Tamansiswa.<\/p>\n
According to Hadiwinoto, the half-brother of Yogyakarta's
\nSultan Hamengkubuwono X, the seasonal market in Kauman relates to
\nthe history of the Great Mosque (Masjid Gedhe), built in 1773.<\/p>\n
The 2,578 square meter mosque that was designed by
\nWirjakusuma, is a historical building in Yogyakarta. At the
\nsouthern end of the mosque, there is a door that connects the
\nmosque compound and the road heading to Kauman and the alley
\nwhere the seasonal market is held.<\/p>\n
Besides Kauman, there are also other places where people open
\nseasonal markets during Ramadhan. Among the popular spots are
\nalong Jl. Kaliurang, near the campus of the University of Gadjah
\nMada, and along Jl. Kusumanegara.<\/p>\n
Unlike the one in Kauman, the seasonal markets along Jl.
\nKaliurang and Jl. Kusumanegara are not set up by tradition. Many
\nof the vendors are students, who sell the food just for fun.<\/p>\n
\"For me, making a profit is number two. The most important
\nthing is that we have fun here. We can sell the food and hang
\naround,\" said Novi, a student of a private academy.<\/p>\n
Novi and her five friends chipped in Rp 40,000 each as capital
\nto sell kolak and banana ice cream on Jl. Kaliurang. They do not
\nneed a table to run the business as they sell them from a blue
\nToyota Twin Cam Corolla sedan belonging to one of Novi's business
\npartners.<\/p>\n
\"We do it just to kill time. If we make money, that's good.
\nOtherwise, it's just fine. What's important is the fun,\" said
\nYongki, the car owner.<\/p>\n
The five of them take turns buying the material at the market.
\nThey usually buy a stock that can last three days so that they do
\nnot have to go shopping every day.<\/p>\n
\"We don't sell many. Only between 25 and 40 portions. Before
\nwe bring them here, we put them in the refrigerator so that they
\ntaste better,\" said Novi, who was born in Pontianak, West
\nKalimantan, 20 years ago.<\/p>\n
\"Do you want to buy it? It's cheap. Only Rp 2,000 each,\" she
\nsaid.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/traditional-markets-bloom-during-ramadhan-1447893297",
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