Authentic Makassar cuisine comes to Jakarta
Authentic Makassar cuisine comes to Jakarta
Endang Miroso, Contributor, Jakarta
For those who crave authentic dishes, desserts and snacks from
Makasar or for anyone who just wants to try tasting the
traditional Makasar dishes, H. Mamink Daeng Tata is the place to
visit.
Location: There are three H. Mamink Daeng Tata rumah makan
(restaurants), all situated in the Tebet-Casablanca area. One is
on Jl. Tebet Utara I, the other on Jl. K.H. Abdullah Syafiie, and
the newest is on Jl. Casablanca. They are easy to find, so if one
of them is full, you can easily move to another, which is just a
short distance away.
Looks: The restaurants are located right on the street so
parking can be a problem when the restaurants get crowded. The
restaurants are in an open area with ceiling fans to cool
patrons. The space is narrow, so not many tables and chairs can
fit into the restaurant.
What's it got: It is the best place to find the specialties of
Makassar cuisine in Jakarta, like sop konro and coto Makassar.
Sop konro is an ox rib soup that is very spicy. One portion comes
with two ribs.
Another authentic dish is coto, which is not to be confused
with soto (soup). Coto is served in a small bowl and you can opt
for the meat-only coto or animal innards coto, while with soto
you get ribs, meat and animal innards as well.
Either way, soto or coto is served with ketupat burasa
(steamed rice wrapped in banana leafs) or steamed rice, depending
on your liking. The authentic desserts of Makassar, such as es
pisang ijo and es pallubutung are also the best selling ones.
The special snacks of Makassar, such as lemper (steamed
glutinous rice mixed with meat and wrapped in a banana leaf),
jalangkote (pastel) and lumpia are tasty. The people of Sulawesi
fill lemper with hot and spicy chopped cakalang (fish) while in
Java it is usually filled with chopped chicken or meat.Lemper is
also grilled for awhile to give it flavor from the banana leaf.
Other dishes that do not originate in Makasar, such as nasi
goreng, ifumi and siomay are also available.
Taste factor: The coto, soto and sop konro are original in
taste. Their special abundant ingredients blend well together. It
is up to the diners to add the desired amount of salt and spice
to the dishes. Its burasa, typical of South Sulawesi cuisine, is
not special compared to a few months back when its coconut milk
was tastier.
The desserts, such as es pallubutung and es pisang ijo, are
excellent. Es pallubutung is a mix of sliced sweet pisang raja
(banana), tasty rice powdered porridge, syrup, condensed milk and
crushed ice, while pisang ijo consists of whole sweet pisang raja
covered with sweet, green rice flour, tasty rice powdered
porridge, syrup, condensed milk and crushed ice. Interestingly,
the condiments on the table are in unlabeled plastic bottles,
such as the ketchup, milk and homemade syrup.
Price Points: Prices on the menu are reasonable. One portion
of coto costs Rp 7,000 while sop konro is Rp 15,000 per portion.
The prices do not include the burasa, ketupat and steamed rice.
Tata ribs is the most expensive dish at Rp 17,000 per portion,
and desserts cost Rp 6,000 a bowl. There is no tax on the food
you order.
Minus points: Lunchtimes and the weekend are the busiest times
at H. Mamink Daeng Tata restaurant. When diners outnumber the
seats, they have to line up, and lunch or dinner can feel rushed
since those waiting for a seat may stand next to you while you
are finishing your meal.
Verdict: Despite the many visitors that come and go during the
busy times, service is consistently efficient and you don't have
to wait a long time for your order. If you are dining with your
family, it is better not to go on the weekend or during lunchtime
since it gets very crowded.
The addresses of the three H. Mamink Daeng Tata restaurants
are Jl. Casablanca 33, tel. 831 55 55; Jl. Tebet Utara I No.77
tel. 835 00 34 and Jl. Abdullah Syafii 33 tel. 837 93 333.
Opening hours are from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. on Fridays and
10:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m. on Saturdays.