Jakartans get a taste for chocolate
Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta
Three young sit women sit on the terrace of Dapur Cokelat on Jl. Wijaya I, Kebayoran Baru in South Jakarta eating pastries.
Inside, customers are inspecting the candies and pralines displayed on the two-meter-high rack and the pastries in the display chiller.
On the left side, a kitchen set and a chocolate fountain, which is about one-meter tall, decorate the four-by-four-meter room.
The outlet, which recently opened on Sept.1, is the third outlet of Dapur Cokelat.
The first outlet on Jl Achmad Dahlan, South Jakarta, was opened in 2001 while the second one in Menteng, Central Jakarta, started operating in 2003.
The opening of three outlets -- and one delivery point in Bekasi -- reflects the growing enthusiasm over chocolate in the capital.
"Sales increase every year," Dapur Cokelat marketing manager Rico Paat said in his office recently.
In spite of the chocolate craze, Rico said he did not plan to open more outlets in the city. He added that the decision was made to maintain the exclusivity of the product.
Rico, a graduate of tourism school in Bandung, West Java, said mothers with children came to the outlet in the morning and students and employees in the day time. But the outlet is busiest after office hours.
Dapur Cokelat's Opera Cake costs from Rp 125,000 (US$12.5) to Rp 375,000 ($37.5) depending on its size. A slice of Opera Cake is Rp 9,000.
Tiramisu Cake and Peach Orange Choco are offered from Rp 135,000 to Rp 405,000.
Candies and Praline Mix are sold for Rp 12,500 and Rp 17,500 per 100 grams, respectively.
The outlet's friendly attendants are happy to provide information on the chocolates, which are boxed for customers after selection.
The growing number of chocolate enthusiasts in the country -- a producer of cacao beans, which are used for making chocolate -- was evident in the number of visitors to the 3rd Jakarta Chocolate Expo held recently at the Semanggi Expo in Sudirman Central Business District.
The three-day event included a chocolate fashion show and chocolate design contest.
Young adults from various design schools took part in the contest.
The children, meanwhile, could play around the 6.7 meter high chocolate castle, which was made from two tons of chocolate.
Elvira Koto, personal relations and marketing manager of Tulip, said the Jakarta Chocolate Expo was designed to promote Indonesian-made chocolates.
"This is also an effort to introduce chocolate to the people," Elvira added.
Just five years ago, it was difficult to find chocolate pastries, candies or praline as they were only available in luxurious hotels.
Today, when a craving hits, chocolate is always at hand.