Getting away from the office at B.A.T.S. factory

By Johannes Simbolon

JAKARTA (JP): New factories have long been relegated to the outskirts of Jakarta, except for the "factory" built below the Shangri-La hotel.

The bar and restaurant in the basement of the hotel has a factory feel and is named B.A.T.S., to draw in the curious.

"It can stand for either 'Bar at the Shangri-La', 'Be at the Shangri-La', 'Beautiful And Talented Staff' or whatsoever appropriate," said Riza A. Soeryo, the director of communications of the five-star hotel.

Entering the bar feels like going into an underground factory. Metal rods hang down to support the roof. The walls are only partly plastered, exhibiting reddish brown bricks. The place has a pseudo-neglected look, like an abandoned factory.

The bar's paraphernalia has been meticulously selected to intensify the factory feeling, without over doing it. Pistons are used as ashtrays and the champagne buckets are made from other car parts.

The factory look has been a success. Just weeks after opening late last year, the bar established itself as one of the most popular nightspots in town.

According to Riza, 1,200 people cram into B.A.T.S on weekends. A more manageable 500 guests visit during the week, which is still a considerable amount compared to that of other nightclubs in town.

About 40 percent of the visitors are hotel guests, the rest are young professionals living in Jakarta. The number of expatriate visitors was initially higher than the locals, but the ratio has since leveled out. Some of the regulars have had their images immortalized by the hotel's artists on the bar's plastered walls.

"Some visitors come with their family, even their small kids," said Riza, pointing to a young boy sitting near the stage, watching the last performance of the Fire and Desire band last Thursday evening.

The guitarist goaded the boy into playing the guitar with him. He guided the boy's little fingers to the right strings. A dissonant sound was all that came out. Visitors smiled as they watched the intermezzo.

Dwight Smith, the flamboyant lead singer of the band, shook the boy's hand from the stage while singing a song. The boy hastily gave him his request on a piece of paper.

New York

"Our philosophy is to see and to be seen. Since there are few pillars here, visitors can see easily each other. As such, the guests feel like they are united," said Riza.

B.A.T.S is the brainchild of the staff of Jakarta's Shangri- La. Prior to its establishment, the hotel sent its food and beverage manager, Jean Michel Offe, to New York to study the pubs and restaurants in the city. Offe then returned to Jakarta with the idea of setting up a bar-restaurant with a factory ambience. It is not an imitation of any pub or restaurant in New York, but more the combination of many bars and restaurants there.

"We try to create a unique atmosphere here, where people can enjoy their time after working hard in offices throughout the day," Offe told The Jakarta Post.

"Here they can either wear a suit or casual clothes," he said.

The food is also cooked New York style, with all portions being oversized.

"We have the biggest pizza in town, 45 centimeters in diameter. Can you imagine?" Offe asked.

The tasty food is reasonably priced, but some visitors don't understand why they are served portions they can't possibly finish.

"In all the pub-restaurants I visited, side dishes are always included in the main menu order. Here, I have to separately order the main menu and side dishes, and pay twice," said Babe, who eats at the restaurant occasionally.

Riza said they deliberately separate the side dishes from the main menu because the entrees are more than enough to fill their guests. Riza added that the entrees are actually healthy.

Music

The narrow dance floor doesn't prevent people from dancing throughout the night to the sounds of Motown, funk, and rhythm and blues.

According to Riza, B.A.T.S is the only club to have live music during happy hour. Sylvia Howard and her gang are performing during happy hours up to June. Sylvia, an American, has made a long career as a pub singer in many countries, including in Indonesia. She has often appeared on Indonesian television shows. She has teamed up with local musicians: Trio on bass, Johannes on drums and Juhari on keyboards.

Sylvia can sing and even joke in Indonesian.

"Over the past five years, I always returned to Indonesia every three months after I finished my singing contract in other countries in Asia," she said.

Sylvia and her gang perform from 6 p.m. to 9.45 p.m., Monday through Friday, and from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. on Sunday.

Riza said house bands must perform familiar songs, dance onstage and make good contact with guests.

The Los-Angeles-based Fire and Desire was the first band to play in the bar. They have just returned to the U.S. after playing for five months.

Kool Company, also from Los Angeles, replaced Fire and Desire last week. The new band is optimistic they can win over the bar's regulars.

"We sing many styles, including Motown, disco of the 70s, the hiphop dance of the 80s and 90s, R & B. We don't sing reggae, except for Bob Marley," said Alton Williams, the lead singer of the band.

The band, founded in 1993, has performed in pubs in Japan and Germany. They just recorded their first album, Be A Lover, of R & B dance music in Los Angeles and plan to release it at B.A.T.S next month. They also brought along band T-shirts and caps to sell.

Kool Company is made up of Rei Williams on keyboards, Jeffrey Jackson on drums, Alyawesomes on bass, Kevin Costan on guitar, and Gwen Majors singing vocals.