Peace, pleasure and pancakes at Milas

Peace, pleasure and pancakes at Milas

Zora Rahman, Contributor, Yogyakarta

Indonesia is not exactly what you would call a popular,
overcrowded tourist destination these days. While Khao San Road
in Bangkok is bursting with travelers from all over the world,
corresponding areas on Java or Bali are trying hard to get even a
small fraction of those tourists to come this way.

Walking along Jakarta's Jl. Jaksa or Jl. Sosrowijayan in
Yogyakarta, one can't help but notice that hardly any restaurants
have more than a handful of guests.

This is not the case, however, for Milas, a vegetarian
restaurant close to Prawirotaman, the southern tourist area of
Yogyakarta, near Jl Parangtritis. Guests coming here for dinner
might have problems finding a place to sit, especially if they
had their heart set on sitting in one of the bamboo pavilions in
the garden.

Simple but creative furniture dominated by wood, bamboo and
kain (traditional fabrics) greet diners as they enter the house.
The light is pleasantly diffused by lamp shades made from
kukusans (traditional bamboo baskets used for rice). Flagstones
and a wooden walkway lead to the airy pavilions in the garden,
where guests are able to stretch out on large cushions beside low
tables on a floor covered with wicker mats.

The exclusively vegetarian menu promises freshly prepared
Indonesian and western food, using organically grown rice and
vegetables, as long as they are available. The restaurant also
guarantees that all raw ingredients are only washed with cooked
water.

A lot of travelers seem attracted to this offer, perhaps after
suffering less than comfortable experiences after their stomachs
have had a taste of oily noodles or spicy chicken.

Milas offers traditional Indonesian meals as well as a wide
range of western dishes and other international fare. So you can
find gado-gado (mixed vegetables in peanut sauce), lodeh (boiled
vegetables in coconut milk) and nasi goreng (fried rice)
alongside potato and pasta salads, pumpkin and carrot soups as
well as Indian curry, Mexican guacamole or creations that include
tempeh burgers. But the best thing is all the dishes cost less
than Rp 10,000. Unfortunately, the Asian dishes have been
westernized, and apart from the chili, the Indian curry resembles
a Dutch vegetable soup. Another letdown is the tempeh rujak
(fermented soya in spicy sauce) in coconut milk, which is not yet
ripe enough to develop its full taste.

Very recommendable, however, is the menu choices for
breakfast: sandwiches, pancakes, yogurt and fruit, porridge,
omelettes and even Swiss roesti or muesli are available. It's a
pity that the restaurant is open only in mornings during the
weekend and not the rest of the week. Beverages range from
coffee, tea, the common commercial soft drinks and lassis (yogurt
shakes) to traditional hot beverages, such as bandrek (made from
cinnamon, cloves and ginger) and bajigur (similar ingredients
cooked in coconut milk).

For many travelers coming here, food may not be the main thing
on their mind. Milas provides not only daily newspapers and
magazines in English, but also a library with books in more than
one language, travel guides and even language course books on
Indonesian, cards and board games and -- not to forget -- a
community information board as well as a drinking water fill-up
station.

In addition, there is also an art shop selling handicrafts and
the work of local artists as well as street children. The
latter's involvement is a result of the restaurant's cooperation
with Girli, an organization that helps children and youth living
on the streets of Yogyakarta by encouraging them to develop their
creativity and use environmentally friendly materials in the
hopes of maybe earning them a better life one day.

Both the restaurant and art shop are nonprofit and whatever
income they do make is used to support social and cultural
programs, although donations are welcome, of course. The
management describes their mission as: "striving to increase
awareness and offer healthy, creative alternatives in a world of
fast food and mass production".

Consequently, the traveler's world at Milas still seems
intact, and worries about terrorism and war stay outside.
Australians meet with German backpackers, while French travelers
settle into conversations with tourists from Japan -- the global
village is peacefully united while eating organic food and
playing backgammon or dakon (a Japanese board game).

This is obviously what the restaurant's visitors are looking
for. A German tourist wrote in the guest book: "This place is
frequented by people with good hearts. I wish the world was like
Milas, with a good spirit, calm and positive energy, silence,
consciousness and pleasure. Thanks for the experience".

I-box:

Milas
Jl Mantrijeron MJ III 897 A
Yogyakarta 55143
Opening hours: Tuesday to Friday: 3 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Saturday and Sunday: 10 a.m. to 9 pm; closed on
Mondays.