Menteng a place to dine under the stars

Hera Diani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

With its well-planned homes set in spacious grounds, Menteng was the model suburb for the Dutch. That was then; Jakartans today find its side streets are a great spot to grab an evening bite and let the night pass into morning.

With the rainy season back in full force, dining out al fresco is not an option for many.

Yet, on one evening last week, visitors still flocked to the lane off Jl. HOS Cokroaminoto, Central Jakarta, although their numbers have dropped slightly from before the rains hit.

Amid an occasionally gusty wind and intermittent drizzle, they sat on the plastic chairs provided on the pedestrian sidewalk, or occupied the porch of a closed office building, while ordering meals from the dozens of street vendors there.

Forget Jl. Sabang or the Cikini area, other popular street hangout spots in Central Jakarta.

Jl. HOS Cokroaminoto has so much to offer, including cheap and tasty meals, entertainment (pirated DVD haven) and a more convenient space, to bring back wayward diners.

Regular visitors simply refer to the spot as Menteng; it is located between the Jl. Prof. Moch. Yamin and Jl. Imam Bonjol intersections, and is the street where the Plaza Menteng can be found.

The strategic spot smack in the center of capital is one of the most important reasons why people flock there every night. The number of visitors doubles on weekends; it is then impossible for vehicles to pass the around 500-meter-long stretch without getting stuck in a traffic jam on the two-way street.

But it does not deter people like Krisna, 30, who has been a regular visitor since 1997.

"The place is easy to reach, the food's great and cheap, and it's open until early morning. But I think the location, which is practically near to everywhere, is what matters most," said the employee of a private company in nearby Jl. Proklamasi.

The area is not exactly deserted during the day with the banks, restaurants, department store Keris Gallery -- the hippest place before the advent of grandiose malls -- and several shops, as well as a photography studio.

But things really get going at dusk, and continue that way until 3 a.m. or 4 a.m..

Vendor Hendi, 45, said the area began to develop into a popular hangout around 1985, six years after he first opened his business selling siomay (a type of dim sum).

In the past three years, the popularity of the area has increased as a safe haven for pirated DVD/MP3.

It's an area of contrasts; along with the once swank department story feeling the squeeze of street vendors, there is Mario's Place club, offering alcohol and loud music, almost facing a mosque.

If you are coming from Jl. Prof. Moch. Yamin, there will be a soccer stadium on your left where the line of street vendors begins.

On offer are noodles, satay, fried rice to toast, with prices ranging from Rp 1,500 (for a piece of siomay) to around Rp 20,000 for larger dishes. But each group of vendors has its own respective attractions.

Beside Plaza Menteng, alongside Jl. Sidoarjo, is the most comfortable place, with long tables and benches. The highlights of the meals are, yes, hot dogs/burger/steak, with easy-on-the- wallet prices ranging from about Rp 15,000 to Rp 20,000.

Move to the vendors in front of Lippo Bank for tasty nasi uduk (rice cooked in coconut milk) with side dishes like grilled chicken and fried tofu, Hendi's yummy Siomay 1001, dim sum, Padang-style satay and many other choices.

Across the street, in front of the Al Hakim mosque, is pempek (fish dumplings) and es podeng dessert.

A little bit further, almost at Jl. Imam Bonjol, is an open, well-lit box car selling a variety of seafood snacks on sticks, where you dip them in boiled water and eat with different kinds of sauces.

Vendors are organized and cooperative so that you do not have to go to each one to order or to pay for the meal. Just find a comfortable spot to sit, and somebody will take your order and later give you the bill.

Pirated DVD sellers are all over the place, but the man who really knows what he sells and the quality of the picture is stationed several meters to the right of the mosque.

Last week, however, DVD sellers were nowhere in sight. A food vendor said they were having a quiet week because of a police raid. "They will reopen again on Sunday," he said.

As with other street hangouts, there are plenty of beggars and street singers trying to cut in on the action. Once in a while, there are some artists or even a full band with a loud microphone, all performing on a corner, tying up the traffic some more and seemingly oblivious to the existence of the nearby mosque.

If only the city tourism office was a bit more creative -- and inclusive of what it means to live in the city of Jakarta -- the place should be listed as a tourist destination. Visitors will be able to see how some Jakartans live and get a good meal, just like other cities in the region have done (although there could a bit more attention to hygiene).

They would find out that Menteng is a nice place to hang out, dine, do a bit of shopping and pass the time with friends.