'Lesehan' offers Javanese treats

'Lesehan' offers Javanese treats

Leony Aurora , Jakarta

In the melting pot of Jakarta there is still a small corner where
people turn a little bit Javanese, or at least those able to
speak a few words of the language, as they step into the lesehan
food stalls in Melawai, Blok M, South Jakarta.

"Sampun, Mbak (I'm done, elder sister)," said a customer
originally from eastern Indonesia to Istiqomah, a stall keeper.
"Piro? (How much?)"

The stalls generally have low plywood tables that sit on red-
and-black plaited mats, as lesehan -- a Javanese word -- means to
sit on the floor.

Many people associate these types of stalls with Yogyakarta's
main thoroughfare of Jl. Malioboro. They also think about gudeg.

A complete gudeg meal comprises gudeg (young jackfruit),
kerecek (spicy cow skin and tofu), hard-boiled egg and chicken.
All the food is cooked in coconut milk and a full meal costs just
Rp 10,000 (US$1.12).

"Many people come here to reminisce about the time when they
were in Yogyakarta," said Sukindro, a stall owner who has been in
business since 1990. "But we have Metro Minis (public minibuses)
here, not motorcycles as in Yogya," he added with a grin.

Not everyone comes for the memories. "I'm just hungry," said
Yati, a regular customer who had just finished shopping. "No, I
don't come for the gudeg either."

Yati prefers the other dishes served at the stall, which
include spicy eggplant, fried tempeh, fried egg, quail egg satay
and bitter melon.

Sukindro's son-in-law, Ivan, quickly added: "The competition
is tough. There are three lesehan stalls outside (the Blok M
shopping complex) and four more inside."

Yoyo, who watches over a stall that he says was the first in
the area, said there were 20 tables in the stall in 1989 when his
uncle and aunt started the business.

"People lined up waiting for us to open the stall," he said.

Now there are only four tables crammed between potted plant on
the sidewalk on Jl. Melawai.

"You can see for yourself that this place is not very
comfortable," he said. Unlike the other lesehan stalls, there
were no customers in sight and the waiters played cards and
chatted to pass the time.

Sukindro and Yoyo's stalls are open from 7 p.m. to 4 a.m.
Other stalls, such as the one owned by Bu Margono inside the
Melawai shopping center, open earlier.

"The stall opens at 4 p.m.," said Untung, a frequent customer.
"The favorite dishes are gone by 8 p.m. The best dishes are
cooked papaya leaves and jengkol (a kind of bean)."

Even though most of the lesehan stalls occupy sidewalks, the
owners have not been targeted for eviction by public order
officers because the stalls are not considered to disturb
traffic.

Sukindro said they used to pay money to public order officers
and the police. "But that was in the past. I don't know why they
stopped (asking for money)."

Some of the stall owners have to pay as much as Rp 75,000 a
month for electricity to the shop owners who provide them the
lines.

The area livens up the later it gets at night. "It's pretty
busy around midnight, as people come for a bite after finishing
their shifts in restaurants or on their way home from parties,"
said Untung.

Bu Margono has been able to open two more food stalls from the
profits from her lesehan stall, which she opened eight years ago.

The recipe to her success is simple: "Even if the food is not
that great, if you apply standard prices and you spice up the
atmosphere with a little chitchat, people will come."

Indeed, the mood at her lesehan stall was jovial and friendly,
with the owner greeting each customer from behind her dozens of
plates of food.

"All kinds of people come here, from young executives in
Jaguars, artists and journalists, to the night butterflies
(prostitutes)," said Untung, nodding his head in the direction of
two young women with heavily made-up faces.

"Everybody feels welcome here."