A romantic dining spot in Yogyakarta

Christina Schott, Contributor, Yogyakarta

Sunset here is one of the most precious moments of the day. When the muezzin calls for the evening prayer, the heat and bustle of the day seems to vanish with a refreshing bath, a deep breath and a sip of tea or iced juice. And all the better to do this in lovely surroundings.

If you reside in Yogyakarta or are visiting, a perfect place for this kind of chilling out is the restaurant Omah Dhuwur at Kotagede.

Its name means "high house", referring to its steep stairs leading to the tastefully renovated colonial building that rises to the right behind the bridge leading into Kotagede town.

In between the two main buildings in the Dutch-tropical art deco style, a wooden footbridge guides the way over a fishpond to a huge terrace.

From here it opens to a beautiful garden setting with little ponds, bridges and Chinese style pavilions as waiters will light candles all over the place.

Like the simple but elegant design interior, the menu offers a mix of East and West, mainly Indonesian and Western food, but also with some Chinese and Thai dishes.

Among the starters and salads the Asparagus au Gratin (Rp 16,000) is worth a try, although the quantity is really nouvelle cuisine-like small. Served on a pretty plate, it has a crunch, but the taste of the tomato sauce is reminiscent of instant tomato puree.

The Oriental Seafood Salad (Rp 18,500) presents small shrimp and crabmeat on a beautiful arrangement of fresh garden salad, but the sauce definitely lacks spice, even for the taste of a Westerner.

The main dishes range from Kampoeng Fried Rice (Rp 37,000), Toddler Lamb Rack (Rp 75,500) to lobster (Rp 95,000). The Stone Beach Snapper (Rp 46,000) on mashed potato and asparagus, topped with a very tasty lemon mint sauce, awakens memories of English country cuisine and leaves the stomach more than full.

Enough for two is the Chicken Ungkep Hainanese: two chicken legs, unfortunately not from ayam kampoeng (free range chicken), served on vegetables with a spicy sauce topping (ungkep describes the way of cooking the chicken in its own juice with spices only).

Very nice too is the Pak Choy Hainanese, the clear soup served on the same plate.

Whoever still has room could round the dinner off with grilled bananas, apple strudel with homemade vanilla ice-cream or with Frutta Di Crema, a composition of durian, mango and jackfruit ice. Besides an espresso or cappuccino, the Jogja Mocca is a fine choice to close the dining experience: Indonesian coffee brewed with cacao, ginger and turmeric.

Although one cannot find any alcoholic drinks on the menu, Omah Dhuwur offers guests a wine card on request, although prices are higher end (Rp 625,000 and up).

There are also mocktails with attractive names: Virgin Pina Colada, Erotic Dash, Liberty, Imagination and Fahrenheit. The focus on nonalcoholic drinks might be a concession to the strictly Muslim population of Kotagede.

This city south of Yogyakarta, known today as a tourist destination for its fine silver craft shops, once was a capital of Mataram kingdom. Many unique ancient buildings remain, like the Great Mosque, the Royal Cemeteries of Mataram and Hastarengga, the fort and the traditional market.

The local people have long been known as successful traders, and beautiful houses in Javanese joglo style are still preserved as well as their pendopo (roof-topped pavilions without walls).

Omah Dhuwur, built 150 years ago, is probably one of the best preserved among them. Probably even older are the long Javanese houses and pendopo beside its garden that now are used for meetings, events and family celebrations like anniversaries or weddings.

Omah Dhuwur first became accessible to the public when the owner of HS Silver, one of the biggest silver companies in Kotagede, bought the complex in 1997 to establish a gallery. Three years later, the restaurant was opened.

While the restaurant continues to be popular among diners from all over, the gallery has closed down.

Nevertheless, it is not the food, but the location that makes this place unique. On some nights, a classical keroncong band turns the atmosphere even more romantic with its unobtrusive music. One feels invited to stay much longer than the time it takes to eat dinner.

Omah Dhuwur Jl. Mondorakan 252 Kotagede, Yogyakarta Tel. 0274-374952