Local cafe culture blossoms in Jakarta

By Angela Romano

JAKARTA (JP): The opening of a new cafe in Jakarta's Mandarin Oriental hotel last week reflects a blossoming local "cafe culture". KafeKafe is the latest in a stream of cafes, bistros and cafe-cum-nightclubs to open in the city in the past year, buoyed by the apparently unquenchable thirst of Indonesia's newly prosperous for fresh entertainment experiences.

KafeKafe's official opening on Monday night attracted a mixed crowd, including foreigners in business suits who rubbed shoulders with somberly attired local businesspeople and members of Jakarta's glamorous design set.

The scene was vastly different 10 years ago when patrons were almost exclusively expatriates. In the 1990s, Indonesians have moved in to take their place at the table. KafeKafe estimates that 70 percent of its patronage to date has been Indonesian. B.A.T.S., at the Shangri-La hotel, has similarly found that 65 percent of its clients are locals.

This flowering of Indonesian cafe society reflects broader social changes which have stemmed from economic development. B.A.T.S. manager Randal Linhart attributed the vibrancy of the cafe scene to a new confidence and poise in the growing middle and upper classes.

"Along with more money and more success, Indonesians are recognizing the fact that they can now relax and enjoy their leisure time, to thank themselves for the hard work they have done," he said.

The Mandarin's general manager, Ingo C. Peters, noted that this new Indonesian market is becoming increasingly cosmopolitan and sophisticated.

"In the last few years people in Jakarta have become very switched on in terms of their understanding of food concepts. Indonesian people have started to travel more abroad for business or to study, and this has exposed them to new food trends," he said.

Cafe Batavia's manager Bryan Bickham said increasing contact between foreign and local businesspeople has had a similar effect.

"Businesses know that foreigners worry about the hygiene and water quality at smaller restaurants. So they take their foreign clients to the larger places they would not normally visit, and the business lunch becomes an educational process for them," he said.

Bickham believes that rising levels of imported goods has also boosted demand for foods that would not have been tolerated five years ago.

"Imports from the United States and Europe have introduced new influences," he said. "People who wouldn't eat water buffalo from their hometown might try buffalo steaks from Denver, Colorado."

Beyond developing a new daringness in food, patrons are also demanding greater creativity in service and entertainment. Linhart noted that Jakarta's nouveau riche are always seeking novelty, quickly tiring of the same fare.

"Indonesians tend to float around to different exotic venues, unlike expats who tend to stick to a few favorites," he said.

KafeKafe has catered to this adventurous spirit by moving its kitchen into an innovative multilevel dining area. Diners stroll around various "food stations", watching and drawing in the aromas as the chefs pull the chickens from the Indian tandoori oven, toss the steaming contents of the woks at the noodle station, slice fish at the sushi bar, brew fresh coffee, and so on. Diners participate by instructing chefs on how they wish their meal to be prepared.

It is still early days for KafeKafe but the Mandarin's resident manager, Martin Rinck, is encouraged by initial customer response.

"In the afternoon from three to six o'clock, when restaurants are traditionally quiet, KafeKafe is still alive. It's like the buzz never stops. It keeps going around the clock," he said.

Even in the early hours of the morning, the cafe is serving customers -- often the post-party, post-disco set who pop in for their ayam bubur and other culinary pleasures.

Other cafes and clubs have responded to demands for innovation by trying (not always successfully) to create a distinctive ambience.

Cafe Padussi and the Jimbani Cafe, for example, reproduce the soothing aura of a Balinese cafe -- the Padussi with its cool porch, fine teak furnishings and ikat hangings; Jimbani with artwork and ornaments, and the gentle swish of waiters who walk by in black-and-white checked sarongs.

B.A.T.S. and the Poster Cafe were among those who chose a more gritty, modern style. The Poster Cafe's T-shirt and sandal-clad clientele eat with their fingers in a warehouse-style venue. B.A.T.S. has a New York industrial atmosphere, with unpolished wood and exposed bricks, table accessories made from car parts, chunky glassware and plates designed with crack-marks.

Such variations in style are indicative of two markedly different groupings in the cafe scene.

The first set go out to see and be seen. Bickham, for example, is not shy about describing Cafe Batavia as "a place where beautiful people meet.

"Mixing with the models and designers is good for your prestige and a lot of fun. These people have a lot of attitude. And once you start meeting some of these people, you go a lot further in society," he said.

Linhart said his clientele belong to a second grouping, which prefers a casual, friendly, down-to-earth environment.

"They want a way to say that 'I've made it', without wearing their money on their sleeves. They don't go around telling people how expensive their car is. I think they want to say they have worked hard for their money, and now they've got it," he said.

One regular B.A.T.S. patron, Bambang, raised his eyebrows at suggestions that keeping in the public eye is an important part of the cafe scene.

"I like to be alone, with my wine and good music. I don't worry about the rest," he said.

With so many venues offering different services and settings, proprietors must work hard to maintain a long-term clientele.

The three-year-old Cafe Batavia is one venue planning to overhaul its image. Bickham admits its clientele is mainly expatriate because it has lost most of its original Chinese customers to cheaper Chinese restaurants nearby. Bickham hopes to lure more middle to upper-class Indonesians -- the so-called AMEX crowd -- possibly by increasing Batavia's emphasis on creative cuisine.

"We are looking at introducing fusion cooking, where the chefs take the best ingredients and cooking techniques from different countries and ethnic groups, and fuse them together in each dish," Bickham said.

He added that cafes and restaurants cannot stay in business if they follow the same format for more than a few years.

"Customers are fickle. They are not loyal all. They may come back for special occasions, but you have to keep up with market trends if you want them to come regularly," he said.

Architect and urban designer Brendan Seage agreed that proprietors must be willing to revamp and update because customers "tend to get bored with existing things".

"The key is to introduce sufficient change, without going for gimmicks which quickly lose their appeal," he said.

Linhart also warned that continuous dramatic change is counterproductive.

"Nervous club managers will always try to be the chameleon and change to become whatever's hot. A lot of people change every year, going after a completely different market because they think there's a new market out there.

"Once the opening crowds die off, you need to identify who is in your reliable market, to recognize the people's personalities and their needs. Those people will keep coming back and they'll bring their friends too," he said.