Exploring various avenues at Jakarta's bars and cafes
Exploring various avenues at Jakarta's bars and cafes
Anton entered the cafe wearing a red Manchester United shirt
with the number 11 blazoned across the back. There the similarity
between him and the Welsh wing wizard ends. This young man from
Gorontalo is, you might say, a well-rounded figure, a little
plump. And he looks very content with life for the most part.
Well he might. He has one of the few flourishing cafe
businesses in Jakarta -- Pappa -- on Jalan Jaksa, the street
sometimes ambitiously described as "a world-famous backpacker
center". Pappa has become a focus for a largely youthful
expatriate population as well as Indonesians seeking to chew the
breeze over a drink and perhaps some of the cafe's very passable
Indian-style food. Its secret of success? Service is generally
prompt and friendly, and Anton, despite the occasional show of
glum displeasure, knows his regular customers.
Many people seeking an evening in a cafe or bar would not
dream of going to Jalan Jaksa, even though you can still get a
large bottle of Bintang for Rp 5,500 in some of its outlets.
Jaksa is one end of the market. The other end comprises watering
holes like O'Reilly's at The Grand Hyatt, which are decidedly
yuppie and welcoming.
The majority want something a little more middling. For the
old Jakarta hands there is The Orleans, close by Hotel Ambhara on
Jl. Adityawarman near Blok M. This upstairs bar and downstairs
Cajun restaurant arrangement belongs to Bahram M., a highly
articulate Iranian exile who has made his money in the catering
supply business. It is the home of "footie" -- Australian Rules
Football -- that rough, tough, highly athletic sport that came
out of the Ballarat goldfields in Victoria. On Saturdays during
the footie season, Bahram's bar is crowded with punters watching
the likes of the Adelaide Crows, the Sydney Swans and Geelong.
Anton and Bahram are very different characters but share one
thing in common. They know how to play mine host. This is
something that a customer may be looking for, an owner who at
least shows an interest in his customers and is solicitous of
their custom, and sadly is found lacking in too many proprietors.
Waiters and waitresses make a difference,too. "N" is a waiter
at Chili's, the mock-Mexican restaurant in the Sarinah building
on Jl. Thamrin, and always has a huge smile and a joke for the
regulars. Customers remember his welcoming manner as the old
regulars of The Sportsman's Bar and Grill in Block M remember its
vivacious former head waitress Mariolyn, whose infectious
laughter brightened many a late afternoon and evening.
Jakarta may not be "a barfly's Valhalla" as one writer
described Kyoto in Japan but there is still a whole host of
places to have a drink and socialize. Of course, these run the
whole gamut from the seedy, legendary haunts like Blok M's The
Club and Tambora (burned down last year) to the sedate; from
those strictly off-limits to the prudish to those where you can
comfortably take the children.
Into the last category falls The Orient Express in the Grand
Wijaya Center on Jl. Dhamawangsa Raya. Doubling as an Indian
restaurant, it has none of the brashness of some bars, no
itinerants of various kinds to pester you, and food at very
agreeable prices (Chicken a la Kiev, Rp 12,000). It is, like
Orleans, a hostelry where you can actually hold a conversation
without fear of your words being drowned out by rap; a little
oasis to forget the sounds of bajaj (motorized three-wheeled
vehicle).
If it is live music that you want, the Tee Box opposite the
Wijaya Center offers just that (their regular group is rather
mysteriously, or is it cheekily, called Bum Band). Raunchier by
far is Oscar's in Blok M, a haunt where the strains of Chuck
Berry's classic Johnny B. Goode have been heard perhaps a world-
record number of times. You can dance until the early hours here.
Expatriates tend to flock together but for those seeking the
local flavor, the bars of Jalan Blora have always been a draw.
Blora? That's the strip that runs alongside the flyover at the
north end of Jl. Sudirman. Here at the Parahiangan, you can
listen to the haunting suling (bamboo flute), riffs of live
dangdut and shuffle your feet to joget, all without the slightest
sign of trouble.
Perhaps you are an aging 1960s figure. If you do not fancy the
raucous Oscar's or Jl. Blora, then you might seek out Mel's
Drive-In, the only watering hole in town with a jukebox. Ray
Charles, Buddy Holly, the Supremes, The Beatles and Peggy Lee all
feature on this unsung music machine.
Televised sports is a big draw in the global village age and
despite Star TV's withdrawal from the local scene, there is still
plenty to watch. Pappa is probably the cheapest venue to watch
English or Italian League soccer at the weekends. The franchise
bars Front Row and Champions offer international sports in
plusher surroundings, as does Chili's. Fans of the game of Rugby
Union are always looking for a haunt, and with the approach of
the 1999 World Cup finals, will probably look to Orleans as a
commodious place to view the action.
What of the new wave of street cafes? Some people
instinctively turn their noses up at the thought of eating and
drinking at the roadside, but Jakarta has places where you can do
this in comfort. One is the double dog-leg of semi-alfresco
eateries outside Kelapa Gading Mall in North Jakarta, a very
mellow venue at the best of times. Here, there is a wide choice
of food: Indonesian, Chinese, Vietnamese, Indian, Korean and so
on, as well as an unhurried atmosphere. Another new area has just
opened up behind the Jakarta Bourse and includes converted
double-decker buses among other outlets.
The American writer Kurt Vonnegut once said, "What is
flirtation but a sign that life must go on." Many people feel the
same about the bar and cafe life. A chance to socialize, to share
news and views, hear a story or a joke, watch your favorite sport
in company. Despite everything, Jakarta still provides that
chance.
-- David Jardine