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