Light still shining bright on Cahaya Kota restaurant
JAKARTA (JP): Cahaya Kota, established in 1942 under the name Tueng Kong, is one of the oldest Cantonese restaurants in town.
It used to occupy a plot of land in the Menteng Raya area, right on the spot where the Pak Tani statue now stands. When the statue project started in 1965, the restaurant moved a couple of hundred meters to Jl. K.H. Wahid Hasyim No. 9 in Central Jakarta and became Cahaya Kota.
Long a popular place for wedding receptions, especially in the 1970s and 1980s, it is not as crowded as it once was, but it's still a favorite for many, especially longtime Jakarta residents.
Open: Daily from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
What's it got: As soon as you take your seat on the wood and rattan chair, the restaurant staff will immediately bring you the menu and serve complimentary tempting cucumber pickles and tasty fried peanuts.
On the menu, which smartly uses Indonesian, English and Chinese characters as well as color photos of the dishes, there is an enormous selection of beef, chicken, shrimp, fish, squid, mushroom, crab, pork, frog, pigeon, duck, noodles or vegetables cooked in over 100 different styles.
There are hardly any desserts, but beverages include instant tea and coffee, seasonal fruit juices, soft drinks, cold beer and whisky.
Price points: Mostly quite reasonable for a mid to high price range restaurant. Vegetables are about 20,000 per serving; the chicken-based dishes range from Rp 25,000 per serving for ayam cah tausi (chicken with fermented black bean sauce) to Rp 50,000 per serving for ayam rebus ham/tirem (boiled chicken with ham or oyster).
Shrimp dishes range from Rp 20,000 per serving for regular boiled shrimp to Rp 75,000 for shrimp in butter sauce.
Crabs fried or sauteed in oyster/sweet soy sauce range from Rp 20,000 to Rp 35,000 per piece, cheaper compared to that offered in other similar restaurants.
The Soeharto's reported favorite, gorengan a la Cahaya Kota (a platter of fried crab, pigeon, shrimp and shrimp rolls), is expensive at Rp 120,000 per portion (but then that probably never stopped them). Other expensive dishes include the bird-nest soup with crab spawn at Rp 300,000 and abalone in sauce with broccoli for Rp 200,000.
Looks: Cahaya Kota is an old-fashioned restaurant that comfortably seats around 300 people. It has no fancy decor, but is fully air-conditioned and clean.
The staff may look rather unenthusiastic and awkward, but they get their job done and the service is prompt.
Parking space is limited to a dozen cars, taken care of by local preman.
Popular with: Former shining lights of Indonesian politics, such as former vice president Try Sutrisno, and veteran actors like Mieke Wijaya, Roy Marten and Yessy Gusman. Younger celebrities such as Dede Yusuf and Ari Wibowo have also been known to dine here.
The restaurant, a staff member said, also supplies food for gatherings at the Soeharto compound, not too far away on Jl. Cendana.
Taste factor: Rightly famous for delicious prawn fried with black pepper sauce, barbecued duck, carp with tofu and soy bean sauce, crabs with oyster sauce, puyunghai istimewa (omelette with a generous filling of crab meat and a tasty sweet-and-sour sauce) and fried rice with salted fish.
The exorbitantly priced abalone, however, was bland and unappetizing. It seems the only reason why many people still order these flavorless dishes in fancy restaurants is to show off to others about how rich they are.
Minus points: There is no dessert, but you may not need it anyway after the main courses. Be warned that if you do not pay the parking attendants Rp 1,000 or above they will yell at you.
Verdict: All in all, a pleasant dining spot. Since the portions are quite large, lunch or dinner with family and friends can be quite economical. (Chris Tumelap)