Time-honored traditions at Bi Bet restaurant

Time-honored traditions at Bi Bet restaurant

JAKARTA (JP): Sundanese food offers some of the best of Indonesian traditional cuisine. Recommended eateries offering such food are numerous. Ratu Kuring on Jl. Buncit Raya, Jl. Mampang Prapatan and Sari Kuring on Jl. Melawai, in Kebayoran Baru, both in southern Jakarta. But there is one Sundanese restaurant that offers even cheaper prices than either of the above places.

Bi Bet Warung, Jl. Kemang Raya no. 90 A South Jakarta; Phone: 7181007 or 7180859; (across the road from Jimbani Cafe). Bi Bet stands for Bibi Beti (Auntie Beti) who owns the eatery and who hails from Bandung, West Java.

Open: 10 a.m. - 10 p.m. It is busiest at lunchtime.

What's It Got: Various kinds of Sundanese dishes such as pepes (steamed chicken, fish, egg, or tofu wrapped in banana leaves), nasi timbel (rice wrapped in banana leaves), karedok (uncooked vegetables stirred with peanut salad dressing), soto Bandung (clear soup consisting of soybeans, minced meat, and radishes), sayur asem (sour vegetable soup), and lalap (uncooked vegetables served with chilli sauce) including jengkol and pete beans.

Various kinds of fried food; banana, pineapple, jackfruit, fried rice, chicken, fish, salty fish, tofu, tempeh, various parts of the cow -- babat (tripe),usus (intestine), lidah (tongue), limpa (spleen).

Sundanese desserts; colenak (fermented cassava covered with liquid palm sugar and shredded coconut), urap buah segar (fresh mixed fruit covered with liquid palm sugar and shredded coconut), serabi manis (sweet pancake), kolak (banana or taro boiled with palm sugar and santan (coconut milk), tape ketan (fermented sticky rice wrapped in banana leaves) are available.

All the usual soft drinks, beverages and Sundanese beverages; bandrek (boiled palm sugar and water, stewed with peanuts, ginger and coconut), bajigur (boiled coconut extract, ginger and palm sugar), es cendol, es cincau hitam are also available.

Price Points: Cheaper than most well-known Sundanese restaurants in Jakarta. Pepes costs around Rp 2,000 to Rp 7,000, nasi timbel for Rp 2,650, nasi timbel komplit (a package of nasi timbel) at Rp 12,450 is on offer, soto Bandung for Rp 4,950, karedok at Rp 2,950, fried gurame fish for Rp 29,500 (the most expensive dish on the one-page menu), fried rice for Rp 8,650. All the beverages are priced around Rp 1,200 to Rp 5,250, desserts are between Rp 2,750 and Rp 3,750.

Looks: Bi Bet looks like a traditional Sundanese house. Its two dining rooms are set in a traditional atmosphere. The wooden chairs and tables are all in the traditional Sundanese furniture style.

Piles of bricks serve as the floor with wooden walls painted in natural colors. Landscape paintings and animal sculptures line the top of the wall.

There are many interesting Sundanese style hand-made household objects on each table such as a cempor (kerosene lamp), an ashtray, a tissue box and a glass jar.

Typical warung (streetside eatery) features are also found, such as a row of glass jars storing rangginang (crackers made of dried sticky rice) on a long table in front of the minibar.

Efficient service and a warm welcome from waiters wearing batik trousers are other positive points. Do not worry about toilets, air-conditioners and public telephones. Bi Bet takes care of these public utilities.

Popular with...: Workers from Jl. Kemang, office and retail staff along Pangeran Antasari, Jl. Sultan Iskandarsyah as well as residents from the surrounding Mampang area.

Taste Factor: Bi Bet truly understands how to make delicacies that can satisfy the Sundanese tongue. Recommended dishes are the delicious fish and tofu pepes, a basket of fresh lalap, hot sambal and a timbel that has the typical smell of banana leaves. A small portion of Bi Bet's fried rice and appetizing soto Bandung could be a worthy alternative choice.

Minus Points: Don't complain about Bi Bet's parking area when it is busy because it can only accommodate three cars. Unfortunately, this otherwise romantic place for dinner has damp batik table cloths, dusty chairs and damp walls.

Verdict: Cheap prices, delicious pepes, and a romantic place. Bi Bet is an authentic Sundanese traditional eatery, suitable for a family or group party (available for 80 people) for either lunch or dinner. (Deni Putri)