Jakarta 'lesehan' stalls offer more than 'gudeg'

Leony Aurora, Jakarta

In the melting pot of Jakarta there is still a small corner where people turn a little bit Javanese, or at least those able to speak a few words of the language, as they step into the lesehan food stalls in Melawai, Blok M, South Jakarta.

"Sampun, Mbak (I'm done, elder sister)," said a customer originally from eastern Indonesia to Istiqomah, a stall keeper. "Piro? (How much?)"

The stalls generally have low plywood tables that sit on red- and-black plaited mats, as lesehan -- a Javanese word -- means to sit on the floor.

Many people associate these types of stalls with Yogyakarta's main thoroughfare of Jl. Malioboro. They also think about gudeg.

A complete gudeg meal comprises gudeg (young jackfruit), kerecek (spicy cow skin and tofu), hard-boiled egg and chicken. All the food is cooked in coconut milk and a full meal costs just Rp 10,000 (US$1.12).

"Many people come here to reminisce about the time when they were in Yogyakarta," said Sukindro, a stall owner who has been in business since 1990. "But we have Metro Minis (public minibuses) here, not motorcycles as in Yogya," he added with a grin.

Not everyone comes for the memories. "I'm just hungry," said Yati, a regular customer who had just finished shopping. "No, I don't come for the gudeg either."

Yati prefers the other dishes served at the stall, which include spicy eggplant, fried tempeh, fried egg, quail egg satay and bitter melon.

Sukindro's son-in-law, Ivan, quickly added: "The competition is tough. There are three lesehan stalls outside (the Blok M shopping complex) and four more inside."

Yoyo, who watches over a stall that he says was the first in the area, said there were 20 tables in the stall in 1989 when his uncle and aunt started the business.

"People lined up waiting for us to open the stall," he said.

Now there are only four tables crammed between potted plant on the sidewalk on Jl. Melawai.

"You can see for yourself that this place is not very comfortable," he said. Unlike the other lesehan stalls, there were no customers in sight and the waiters played cards and chatted to pass the time.

Sukindro and Yoyo's stalls are open from 7 p.m. to 4 a.m. Other stalls, such as the one owned by Bu Margono inside the Melawai shopping center, open earlier.

"The stall opens at 4 p.m.," said Untung, a frequent customer. "The favorite dishes are gone by 8 p.m. The best dishes are cooked papaya leaves and jengkol (a kind of bean)."

Even though most of the lesehan stalls occupy sidewalks, the owners have not been targeted for eviction by public order officers because the stalls are not considered to disturb traffic.

Sukindro said they used to pay money to public order officers and the police. "But that was in the past. I don't know why they stopped (asking for money)."

Some of the stall owners have to pay as much as Rp 75,000 a month for electricity to the shop owners who provide them the lines.

The area livens up the later it gets at night. "It's pretty busy around midnight, as people come for a bite after finishing their shifts in restaurants or on their way home from parties," said Untung.

Bu Margono has been able to open two more food stalls from the profits from her lesehan stall, which she opened eight years ago.

The recipe to her success is simple: "Even if the food is not that great, if you apply standard prices and you spice up the atmosphere with a little chitchat, people will come."

Indeed, the mood at her lesehan stall was jovial and friendly, with the owner greeting each customer from behind her dozens of plates of food.

"All kinds of people come here, from young executives in Jaguars, artists and journalists, to the night butterflies (prostitutes)," said Untung, nodding his head in the direction of two young women with heavily made-up faces.

"Everybody feels welcome here."