Jl. Kramat Raya offers more than just dates

Jl. Kramat Raya offers more than just dates

Tantri Yuliandini, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

There is nothing like the fasting month to make Muslims so
enthusiastic about food. Suddenly, they are in a frenzy over what
to eat for the breaking of the fast, and the sahur meal before
daybreak, the takjil snacks eaten to break the fast and even the
main meal can be a topic of conversation.

Hotels offer special menus for Muslims during Ramadhan and
restaurants give free snacks for those who come in between 6 p.m.
and 7 p.m. -- usually dates, es cincau (shaved ice drink with
black jelly), or hot kolak (a drink of cassava and bananas stewed
in coconut milk and sugar) -- while friends, families and even
companies organize breaking of the fast gatherings.

"How about a sahur gathering for a change," a friend joked.
Sahur meals are eaten between 3 a.m. and 4 a.m.

It is only during Ramadhan that sweet dates bought by the kilo
-- an instant boost of energy just after the dusk call for
maghrib prayers, which signals the end of the day's fast.
Similarly, restaurants and food stalls are stocked to the maximum
capacity of their pantries, and even bottled water sellers make a
killing selling to Muslims stuck in traffic.

"I was stuck in traffic and had to break my fast with only
bottled water -- they hiked up the price but what can I do? I
have to break my fast with something," said Vita, who works at a
private firm.

Other food vendors cashing in on the opportunity are located
on Jl. Kramat Raya that runs along the length of the Senen
flyover.

Specializing in spicy West Sumatran food, popularly known as
Padang food, vendors sell their wares from sundown to sunup.

They set up their stalls on the sidewalks with a variety of
dishes displayed atop their carts, and customers eat at makeshift
tables and benches.

Each of the stalls vie for hungry customers, and friendly
calls to come visit their stall and helpful hints on their
specialties can be heard.

Grilled chicken with spicy Padang seasoning are suspended from
the beams of the stalls, ready to be re-grilled to order, while
large tubs of rendang (meat simmered in spices and coconut milk),
and gulai kepala kakap merah (curried head of mangrove red
snapper) stand at the ready to entice customers.

Other delicacies on offer include curried cow's brains, chili-
fried prawns, curried beef hock and fried cow's lungs.

They may not sound so delectable in English, but take my word
for it -- they are mouthwatering.

The owner of one of the stalls said she began cooking as soon
as she returned from market early in the morning.

"I took over the business from my mother, so this is a family
business," said the woman from Solok, West Sumatra, as she took
an order from a family with two small children.

"I don't often come here with the family, but it is convenient
as an alternative, and my wife can also buy food for sahur here,"
said the head of the family, Bambang.

My dinner of rice, curried cow's brain, rempeyek udang (shrimp
cracker), and a glass of hot sweet tea came to Rp 12,000
(US$1.43).

Besides the heavy spiced fare of West Sumatra, sellers of
snacks and cakes are also resident along Jl. Kramat Raya.

Ibu War has been selling cakes and snacks there for about 10
years, and although she comes from Cepu, Central Java, she sells
sanjai crackers from Bukittinggi, West Sumatra.

"I saw that snacks are popular with customers here, so I
started selling them," she said. On a typical day, she sells
lemang (glutinous rice roasted in bamboo), tape ketan hitam
(fermented black sticky rice) and a few types of cakes.

During the fasting month though, Ibu War goes all out, selling
crackers and colorful cakes such as bugis cake, talam srikaya
(glutinous rice cake with sweetsop paste), talam ubi (glutinous
rice cake with cassava paste), dadar gulung (rolled pancake
filled with sweet coconut shavings), kolak and lemper (sticky
rice cake with chicken filling).

Her earnings for the fasting month is double that of her
normal days, Ibu War said, despite competition from seasonal
vendors.

For Rp 500 ($0.6) each, I brought home Rp 16,000 worth of
cakes for the next day's takjil -- a veritable feast!