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).