Kafe Foto turns a lens on good food, ambience

Kafe Foto turns a lens on good food, ambience

Broto Dharma, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Most cafes come and go in this city, with a short shelf life
determined by their 15 minutes as the next best thing.

With everything tried and tasted, hip patrons move onto the
next establishment of the moment, until they also tire of what
little it has to offer.

It's a case of a fickle market determining their fate, but it
also has to be said that many of the shortlived "cafes" are
posers, serving desultory cuisine against a forced facade of
class and obligatory, pounding house music thrown in to win over
the young crowd.

That is not the story of Kafe Foto, which had built up a loyal
customer base in Kemang, South Jakarta, before the economic
crisis struck in 1997. Then came the expatriate flight during the
ensuing years of insecurity and, internally, some different
directions of the gallery's partners.

When it had to close its doors, photographer-cum-restauranteur
Deniek G. Sukarya dreamed that, one day, he would once again be
able to combine his twin loves of a good meal and great art.

"I kept paying the wages of the two cooks, hoping that one day
we would be able to get the restaurant and gallery going again,"
Deniek said.

That day came last August, with the reopening of Kafe Foto a
few hundred meters from its previous abode. There is a photo
gallery, with exclusive exhibition space to display 30
photographs (the first exhibition featured the works of respected
Kompas photojournalist Arbain Rambey).

And then there are the merits of the cafe itself, an intimate,
well-lit space with beautiful photographs, many by Deniek himself
of his native Bali, adorning the walls.

Whether it's for a quick afternoon coffee escape, or a
leisurely dinner, it's a great place to relax and unwind in a
comfortable corner of the city.

No, it's not the manufactured cafe ambience of the coffee-
store chains spreading their pseudo philosophies to these parts
and around the globe, but a genuine cafe experience, with
conscientious, personalized service.

Unlike other Jakarta cafes, it is also a place where you can
hear yourself think; blues music, selected by Deniek and his
German-born wife Karin, plays in the background, but it is not an
intrusive, overbearing presence that will have you straining to
hear your partner's murmurings.

Oodles of ambience is one thing, yet all style without any
substance -- meaning matters of the stomach -- will not establish
an army of regulars coming back for more.

In a word (two actually), the cuisine is very good, whether
it's the specialty of pasta, from spaghetti to fettucini and
lasagna, rice, hearty home-cooked soups, salads and sandwiches.

The cafe started out as Italian dishes only, until a few words
of advice from patrons made Deniek realize that he needed to
bring a bit of local flavor to the menu.

"Some of my friends came up to me at the end of a meal and
said, 'We like the Italian food here, it's very good, but we
cannot eat it every day, you know'. So, I decided we had to do
some things with rice."

Thankfully, it's not been a half-hearted stab at dishing up
some local fare. The cafe's Nasi Bali, an assortment of savory
dishes served with a piping mound of rice, has emerged as a firm
favorite.

I tried the Padang-style rice and accompanying dishes, which
proved a spicy, tasty treat, worthy of being served up in any
local West Sumatra eatery.

Many of the dishes are adaptations from Deniek's travels
around the world, including to his wife's homeland, the
inspiration for the mussel pot, here served with rice instead of
black bread, and a tuna salad with Bali-style dressing.

He also has a sweet tooth, apparent from several house
specialties, such as the Kafe Foto Crepe Smily (two crepes with
ample dollops of ice cream) and tiramisu. There are also sweet
and savory versions of Australia's own contribution to the world
of sandwiches, the jaffel.

Deniek hopes that this time Kafe Foto will stay the course,
especially when word gets out that it has more to offer than a
glimpse of pretty photographs.

"Some people pass by, and think that this is only a gallery,
because of all the photographs in the windows," he said. "It's
only later that they realize that this is also a spot where they
can stop by and get a bite to eat and a good cup of coffee."

Kafe Foto is at Plaza Kemang, Jl. Kemang Raya 15, South
Jakarta (tel. 719-3427).