Romance is in the air at Padi-Padi Cafe
By Irene Sugiharto
JAKARTA (JP): Kemang in South Jakarta was once the elite, quiet residential neighborhood where a lot of expatriates chose to live. But that was a long time ago. Foreigners are still there, but not the quiet. Kemang has developed into a business district with many art galleries, restaurants and cafes.
Padi-Padi Cafe and Gallery is quite distinctive from other cafes in the area. Open less than four months, it delights in its "romantic Batavia Colonial" atmosphere.
The most notable characteristic of Padi-Padi Cafe is the long entrance to the 3,800 sqm complex. Enter the long hallway, and experience a sense of mystery, anxiously wanting to know where it will lead you. Not long afterward, visitors come upon the traditional Roro Blonyo Javanese statue.
With its joglo Javanese exterior, its interior design stuns with the cream draperies hanging on the walls and batik cloth combined with cream-colored cloth on each wooden table. The traditional wooden nuances take your breath away.
At the very front, the stage reverberates with traditional Javanese musical instruments such as kecapi string and angklung bamboo instruments accompanied by a single piano. Every Saturday Padi-Padi presents a combination of folk songs, oldies and Indonesian songs played using angklung modified for a modern band. There is live music from Wednesday to Saturday with professional singers.
For art lovers, Padi-Padi Gallery has a range of Javanese furniture and arts for sale.
Oscar, operational manager of the cafe, said Padi-Padi Cafe's plus was "We bring you Indonesia".
Seventy percent of the menu is traditional Indonesian fare, while the rest is European and American food. Those traditional foods include Selat Solo from Surakarta, Central Java, Nasi Campur Bali from Bali, Nasi Timbel from West Java and desserts such as Es Delima and Es Palu Butung from South Sulawesi.
The Batavia Colonial menus offers Bitter Ballen, Pannekoek and Poffertjes. The cafe invites you to taste their exotic creative drinks with Indonesian names like Roro Jonggrang, Andalas, Fatahillah, Jaka Tingkir and Borneo.
Craving expensive international drinks? Spoil yourself with a Rp 14,500 Draft, a Rp 49,900 Long Island Iced Tea, a Rp 39,900 Sex On The Beach or even a Screwdriver at Rp 29,900.
"It is not cheap, but that's all right. I enjoy the food and the drink," said a customer.
During a night out at Padi-Padi, some customers might prefer to sit in the beautiful garden, whereas some couples, or "wanna- be couples", would probably find the cream-colored sofas on the balcony more to their liking.
The place is suitable for those who prefer a romantic atmosphere and easy-listening tunes to blaring music in a highly charged setting. "If I want to listen to rock n' roll, for example, I'll go to another place," another customer said.
The cafe is usually crowded on the weekends, but parking is not really a problem even though the parking space is dark and its surface bumpy. It's easy to find space but high heels can make the journey to the restaurant a bit tricky.