JP/19/CAFE

JP/19/CAFE

Sobo Cafe performs, organically

Tarko Sudiarno
Yogyakarta

Stay healthy in style is the motto of Sobo Cafe, which is located
across Puro Pakualaman, Yogyakarta, the palace residence of the
Paku Alam royal family.

Although the cafe is just two weeks old, it has already had
the honor to entertain the family of Yogyakarta Sultan Hamengku
Buwono X and scores of ambassadors and ministers. Culinary expert
William Wongso has also dropped by to sample Sobo's specialties.

The cafe owes its popularity to its vintage ambience and
healthy cuisine. Sobo is owned by a joint venture, which include
Indonesia's "King of Monologue" Butet Kartaradjasa and a former
member of the Bengkel Theater, Iskandar Waworuntu.

"We built this cafe in response to the lifestyle of the upper
class in Yogyakarta. But in the future, we will also target
gourmands from the middle class, so a gastronomic experience
could be had here at just Rp 15,000 (US$1.60)," said Butet.

So here we are, a group of cafe regulars, sipping cups of
nasgitel tea -- a strong, sugary tea that is served piping hot --
and carrot-pineapple cake on a terrace at Sobo on a fine evening.
The cafe is in an old house that was built in the 1850s, boasting
many well-preserved antique interiors and furniture.

Suddenly, hundreds of white storks fly from all directions and
perch on an old banyan tree nearby, making us aware of the dusk.
White storks are a rare sight in downtown Yogyakarta, and perhaps
in other big cities elsewhere across the country.

"I just noticed that the storks have nested in the tree. They
are cool," quipped Butet, who had recently returned from a month-
long European tour.

Iskandar, who also accompanied us for evening tea, explained
that the cafe used organic ingredients and served non-alcoholic
drinks. He said Sobo was likely the only cafe that offered such a
menu.

"From the raw ingredients to how they are cooked and served,
the cuisine is health-oriented. We take basic ingredients like
rice, veggies and fruits from an organic farm that cultivates
food without using any chemical fertilizers," said Iskandar, who
spent 20 years developing the farming method.

In processing bean curd, for example, he said, "We make our
own bean curd from soya beans grown on our farm. We are against
imported soya beans, although they look good and are cheaper.
Bean curd and tempeh made from local soya beans are actually very
tasty."

Iskandar said he made snacks, such as kue okara -- which
literally means "explosive cake" -- and plain bread from residual
products of bean curd processing. In some parts of Java, the
bean curd residue is usually used to make tempe gembus, a poorer
substitute to real tempeh, yet still rich in nutrients.

The list of organic ingredients in Sobo's cuisine is seemingly
endless, and the cafe uses even homemade cooking oil made from
coconuts. Another plus is that Sobo does not use monosodium
glutamate.

For rice, the cafe uses the fragrant, organically grown rojo
lele, which is pounded before it is cooked.

"Our rice's aroma and color are different from those sold at
the market. Our rice looks rather off-color, compared to the
stark white rice that we expect to see. To tell you the truth,
the reddish color of our rice is the color of healthy, natural
rice," said Iskandar.

The cafe also offers dessert and pastries specially made with
bread fruit and oat flour.

The artists-turned-cafe entrepreneurs use organic foods as a
medium, imbued with the elegance of their performances, to show
us simply that healthy food is good food.