Ajengan, a tempting taste of Bali on the quiet
Bruce Emond, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The shuffle of feet and the sound of a cassette quickly being shoved into a tape player was the initial greeting when we entered Ajengan one night last month.
"It must be to drown out the echo," my friend quipped, surveying the quieter than quiet environs as the rising strains of Balinese gamelan music did away with the awkward silence.
For it was a server-to-patron ratio of 3-1, an indulgence I was to enjoy on nearly every trip to the restaurant, save for one rather disastrous outing (more on that later).
Ajengan, which had come to my attention through a TV business segment about small entrepreneurs making it in the big city, is found amid the maze of abbreviated streets of Jl. Panglima Polim. It's a distinctive, rather incongruous piece of Balinese architecture standing out from the crowd of residences, hip restaurants and convenience stores vying for space.
The front gate with the parasols leads into a small garden patio and then the restaurant, with sturdy wooden tables and chairs and walls decked out with Balinese art.
I had my reservations about the place; the vaunted promises of those carefully produced business shows often prove hollow, with the taste test revealing establishments which, despite good intentions, fail to do justice to the food they claim to offer.
With my interest in Balinese cuisine piqued by an interview with Janet De Neefe, an Australian-born restaurateur who has made the study of Balinese food her passion, but with trips to the island few and far between, I wanted to try out a Balinese restaurant closer to home.
No, not the half-baked efforts of mall food courts or fancy hotel restaurants, for Balinese food does not seem to travel as well as its counterparts from Padang or Manado.
Instead, I thought to try the cuisine in a restaurant that touts itself as offering a real taste of Balinese home cooking, one that had no less than restaurant expert Laksmi Pamuntjak writing, "Usually, the idea of a Balinese restaurant in Jakarta is met with sniggers and raised eyebrows, but wait until you've eaten at this place ... It really is rather good," in her definitive Jakarta Good Food Guide.
De Neefe had compared the sharp, pungent flavors of Balinese cuisine to the kecak dance -- "it's got guts!" -- but it's also a case of concocting the proper blend without throwing the whole spice rack in out of confusion.
I went to Ajengan the first time and was quickly hooked, loving the subtle but perceptible use of ginger, kencur (resurrection lily), turmeric and other spices in the dishes we tried.
Sure, the food has been "localized" to non-Balinese tastes and sensitivities; like some Manado restaurants, it does not feature pork on its menu or the other, more "exotic", game meats.
And although the famed banana stem in chicken broth and special Bali condiments was never to be had despite being on the menu ("We can't find a supplier for the banana stem," the waiter said, a rather bemusing explanation in this tropical land), we quickly found some firm favorites that proved nothing was lost in the taste translation.
The be siap sambel matah (roasted chicken in a Balinese dressing of crushed shallots, garlic and chili) is a powerful, aromatically heady mix, a stimulating sensation for the taste buds and a guaranteed clearer of the sinuses.
We also feasted on be siap sisit (shredded chicken in shrimp paste), delicious with a steaming mound of freshly cooked rice and emping (melinjo) crackers.
As well as the chicken dishes on the menu, there are plenty of vegetables to select from; the bean sprouts in a peanut sauce, similar to gado-gado but with the crunch still in the vegetables, jukut lawar kacang panjang (chopped green beans in coconut and spices, a Balinese karedok) and the tantalizing soft tofu with chili made sure my vegetarian friend did not go hungry.
There is much more on the menu, including fish (a non-fish eater myself, I gave the kakap and tongkol a miss), Bali's famous duck, either roasted or pan-fried until dry, and duck's eggs in spices.
Ajengan has been a great discovery for me, a place to take the uninitiated to try out some new discoveries. Unfortunately, if our experience one Sunday night when a group of birthday celebrants was in the restaurant is any indication, it seems to find it difficult to cater to large groups at the same time.
Without getting into the drama of it all, we waited -- and waited -- for 45 minutes, during which time our fellow diners took pity on us and gave us some of their birthday cake as various waitpeople (unfailingly polite, even in facing up to complaining me) seemed to be commandeered to help out the overloaded kitchen staff.
However, we choose to see this as the lone blight on our dining record at Ajengan. Hopefully, business will pick up, and the kitchen staff will be able to cope with the traffic. But we warn you to get there before word gets out, or else you will find yourself jostling for a seat.
Ajengan Jl. Panglima Polim 1/65, South Jakarta Tel. 021-722-0227