Light still shining bright on Cahaya Kota restaurant
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)