The alternative hangout: Street cafes
The alternative hangout: Street cafes
JAKARTA (JP): Cafes have long been a second office to
executives. They provide a delightfully different atmosphere in
which to hold business meetings.
One evening a marketing executive was awaiting his associates
in an alternative venue to his office, but this place was not the
standard yuppie cafe, it was a street food stall in Kuningan,
South Jakarta. Stalls in the area, of which there are a number,
are clean and presentable enough for executives and have
consequently earned the name street cafes.
Anton Atmadja, a private bank executive, was here to conduct
serious, albeit informal business.
"At work there's not much time for me to chat or learn more
about my associates. And during a crisis like now, you have to
maintain relations because you never know when you might need
them," said Anton, who took his friends to a seafood street cafe.
"The food is just fine and the prices are reasonable. Besides,
there's music and you can stay as long as you like, just like in
upmarket cafes," he added.
Streets in certain areas have become strewn with stalls opened
and patronized by celebrities which have become an alternative
place to go to see and be seen in.
A stylish teenager, busily talking into her mobile phone, was
seen trying to find a parking space for her latest model BMW on
Jl. Raden Patah, South Jakarta.
The young woman and her three female friends then finally
decided to pay a visit to Warung Merah Putih, owned by senior
actress Christine Hakim and one of many street cafes in the area.
"It's not the first time we've come here," said Susi, a third-
year student at a private university in Grogol, West Jakarta.
"We like to try different food stalls," she added.
She said she started visiting street cafes last month.
Previously, she used to hang around in upper class cafes such as
the Fashion Cafe, Hard Rock Cafe and Planet Hollywood.
But when the word went round campus that many famous people
had started spending a lot of time at street stalls, she followed
the crowd.
She and her friends claimed not to miss the atmosphere of
fashionable cafes. "For us there's no real difference ... We
didn't come to eat or to get drunk, we just want to chat and look
around," Susi said with a grin.
"Besides, real cafes are getting more and more expensive, even
for drinks. It's no problem if we go out once a week, but me and
my friends like to go out at least five times a week," she said.
To maintain their newfound popularity, stall owners are trying
their best to offer comfortable atmospheres at affordable prices.
In Pharama Rasuna street cafe on Jl. H.R. Rasuna Said in
Kuningan, South Jakarta, live entertainment is staged every
weekend. Stalls on Jl. Tirtayasa and Jl. Raden Patah, also in
South Jakarta, have televisions and soft music playing.
Famed faces are frequently seen around the stalls.
On one evening Slank's vocalist Kaka had dinner in Nasi Goreng
Gugun Gondrong, a stall owned by model Gugun, and television
actor Jeremy Thomas was spotted in Warung Mat Angin on Jl.
Tirtayasa, a stall owned by Deddy Mizwar who plays in a popular
series of the same name.
His Betawi-style stall comes complete with a pair of ondel-
ondel (people dressed as giant dolls) which are a popular part of
native Jakartan culture.
The stalls attract a conspicuous class of mobile-phone
carrying patrons who smell of expensive fragrances, wear brand
name clothes and arrive in luxury cars.
In contrast to normal times, the city administration has
welcomed the presence of these new food stalls, although it
maintains they still require permits. It is hoped these
socialites turned food stall owners can provide some badly needed
jobs in the depths of the economic crisis.
Jobs are indeed what some of the patrons are looking for, and
not all intend to wash plates.
"I used to hang out in fancy cafes every night with my
friends, just to chat and to share information on jobs," said
Sari Karlina, a young model.
"Now I can't spend money like in the old days. It's not easy
to get jobs nowadays and it's hard to stop going out with
friends," she said.
She said she liked the so-called street cafes for their
cleanliness, "proper management" and strategic locations.
"...unlike the usual food stalls, which are dirty and
dusty... , there are famous people here. Who knows, maybe I'll
get job information or even a job offer," she added.
Choices in the stalls range from light snacks to foreign
foods, including Japanese and Korean-style creations. Prices are
very reasonable -- barbecued chicken with french fries and
vegetables, for example, is priced at Rp 7,500. (ste)