Saturday night out on the town for a chat, drink and snacks

Saturday night out on the town for a chat, drink and snacks

By Claudine Frederik

JAKARTA (JP): Jakarta's nightlife has grown a lot more varied through the years. Witness the sprouting of pubs, discotheques, music rooms and karaoke bars, not to forget the number of new eateries. Entertainment given by local and international music performers is in at the moment with Jakarta's youngsters.

But what is the average family doing on an evening out?

Most of them go out on Saturday evenings, although this might soon be different with the government's recent declaration making Saturday officially a holiday and thereby moving the weekend up with another day. Already, entertainment managers are expecting a good turn up on Friday evenings.

One of the favorite scenes drawing families in droves on Saturday nights are the building blocks in Central Jakarta: the Sarinah department store, Jakarta Theater, and the Sari Pan Pacific Hotel. Opposite the hotel is Jaya Pub, one of the first pubs in the capital which has managed to reflect the real ambience of a rowdy drinking hole. It is mostly patronized by the capital's expat community and a good sprinkling of local yuppies.

We had set our priority on the Green Pub that weekend. It is one of the first outlets, if not the first, to serve Mexican food when the majority of Jakartans had no inkling at all what Mexican flavors were like.

Going through the quasi Mexican door made of unpolished wood at 10 p.m., it came down on me that the choice was a bad one. The place was packed. We managed to get standing room. The chance to relax at one of the tables and have a late snack and drink was obviously quite slim. Still, we didn't give up hope that easily. Efforts to draw a waiter's attention were successful after minutes, but our forebodings became reality when we were told that it would be a very long wait before we could be seated.

Understandably, we were disappointed. We had expected to be entertained to the tunes of a live band under the wood rafters of the pub, and sip a glass of the now famous Mexican margaritas.

However, we did not dwell after the discouraging words of the waiter. It was not the only entertainment spot, after all. Although the pub is an all time favorite of local junior executives and their spouses or girlfriends who like to relax with a drink and listen to the live band on Saturday nights.

Once outside, it struck me that new bars and dining places have sprouted in the neighborhood. Take the Hard Rock Cafe for instance, whose opening seemed only like yesterday and where people drop in not only to listen to good contemporary music but also to taste Mexican delicacies and order hefty American steak.

In the same block of the Green Pub, a new spot, calling itself "Rumah Makan Meksiko", has opened. We gave that a miss because of its unexciting outer facade.

Across the road on the side of the Jakarta Theater building, however, a new drinking and dining spot, its colored lights winking rapidly and illuminating a medium-sized billboard that announced cheerily, American Chilis - Grill and Bar.

We reached the entrance after a brief trip on the escalator of the Sarinah building. Heading up the neat and new corridor, we were met with music from a laser disk. The place buzzed with laughter and the small talk of families on a Saturday night out.

"It has been like this since we opened six months ago," said Mieke Lontoh, manager of Chilis. "But, we expect customers volume to settle after a while. Jakartans always flock to a new place in search of new thrills, a new scene, new food, you know."

A quick glance at the menu, which was proffered with miraculous speed to our table, disclosed that the main fare consisted of popular Mexican dishes. There were the inevitable Nachos, Chili pies, Beans and so on. American steaks are served here too under the menu heading South West Grill.

"We are not entirely serving Mexican fare. We have, as you can see, a combined menu. Our customers are mainly middle income families who like to lunch and dine with their kids," Mieke said.

Closing time is usually around 1:30 a.m. on Saturdays.

Chilis has an unobtrusive bar that is able to seat about 50 people. In this corner, customers drop in mainly to watch international news on television while sipping on a tall drink.

After the traditional dinner hour, a waiter, clad in Mexican garb, offered shots of tequila, the national drink of Mexico, to the every table.

"Do you care to try a glass, madam? Before pouring the drink, you have to suck on some salt first. The price per glass is Rp 9,000."

At such late hours, what do people go for?

"They drop by for a chat, drink and snacks," replied Mieke.