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)