'Warung' contest serves up food for all tastes

'Warung' contest serves up food for all tastes

By Yogita Tahil Ramani

JAKARTA (JP): Food vendors and warung (roadside food stalls)
are a dime a dozen on this city's streets but imagine them
littering a part of Jakarta Hilton International's compound in
Central Jakarta?

With a food vendors' contest currently underway, various
warung from the streets of North, South, Central, West and East
Jakarta have been put up in the hotel's compound, right behind
the Tomat At The Pizzeria restaurant.

The contest, featuring 22 warung, began on Aug. 1 and is
scheduled to end Aug. 30. It is a collaboration between the hotel
and MTV music station.

Whether spelling out Chinese dishes, western desserts and
fast foods or the main fair -- provincial dishes from Sumatra,
Kalimantan, Sulawesi and Java -- the warung names reflect a
variety of influences, including Warung Panda, Pondok Soto
Sulung, Warung Kemayoran, Red Rooster, Warung Dabu Dabu, Walls
Ice Cream, Warung Tong Seng and Ndut Cafe.

Hilton's public relations officer, Nieke P. Handayani, said
the hotel's food and beverages representatives, headed by the
department's coordinator, Alexandra Sutopo, took to the streets a
month ago and handed out entry forms to interesting and clean
warung. The warung chosen were observed for a few days before the
forms were distributed.

"They ranged from a roti bakar (toasted bread) warung to some
selling ice cream," Nieke said.

"The surroundings had to be clean and hygienic. Even the
water-filled buckets where dishes and glasses are washed must be
clean. Their way of serving food should be polite. Then the forms
were handed out," Nieke said.

Nieke said that the plan from the start was to pick less than
30 warung, due to lack of space at the hotel's compound. Each
warung owner entering the contest had to pay a Rp 100,000
deposit.

"For each day they don't come and open their warung, we cut Rp
10,000. On the final day, we give them their money back," she
said.

With food and drinks at the different warung priced typically
low, they are packed with people.

Some diners seemed engrossed in chatting with friends and
enjoying their meals while most warung owners were seen sitting
amid customers and chatting or serving guests.

Owner of Warung Dabu Dabu, Eko Wibowo, said that this warung
was his first and he, like the other warung owners in the
contest, were in it for the promotion.

Eko said that he wanted people, both Indonesians and
foreigners, to appreciate North Sulawesi's Manadonese cuisine,
his warung's speciality.

"Our most saleable dishes are nasi campur (rice with
vegetables) accompanied by fish soup, bubur Manado (Manadonese
porridge) and ikan bakar (barbecued fish)," Eko said.

While soft drinks at the warung cost an average Rp 2,000, ikan
bakar and nasi campur with fish soup are priced at Rp 8,500,
bubur Manado Rp 6,000 and nasi kuning (yellow rice) Rp 5,000.

Eko, who has invested Rp 5 million in his warung, hopes to win
first prize but the strength of the other warung menus, service
and decorations is going to make it a tough run.

Winners, according to Nieke, will be announced on MTV on Aug.
30. The first-prize winner will bag Rp 1 million in cash, the
second-prize winner Rp 750,000 and the third-prize winner Rp
500,000.

Separate awards will be given for the Most Wanted Warung, the
warung with the best design and the warung selling the tastiest
food.

Shaker, a warung noted for its blue-and-white tablecloths and
banners, sells fruit punches and milkshakes at Rp 6,500 each.

It is considered to be one of the most-crowded warung by
contest representatives. According to the owner, Iskandar, 75
people to 80 people come in every day.

"Some milkshakes and fruit punches sold at this warung are not
sold at any outlet of Shaker, whether in Kelapa Gading (North
Jakarta), Bintaro (South Jakarta) or its main branch on Jl
Tirtayasa (South Jakarta)," Iskandar said.

Among the drinks he offers is a Harley, a coconut-and-milk
punch with a distinct taste. He said punches sold here are not
made from real fruit juice, only concentrates or essences.

Shaker usually sells dozens of different flavors at its
outlets but the flavors picked for the warung contest are
specifically selected.

"There are about 15 sold here, eight for milkshakes."

He added that his idea of entering the contest was mainly to
promote new products and test the market's reactions to them.

Owner of Warung Pojok Cirebon, Edy Purnomo, said that he
entered the contest to promote Artha Sari Catering, his mother's
catering service on Jl. Melati Bakti, Pondok Bambu, East Jakarta,
which sells dishes a la Cirebon, West Java.

Drinks, ranging from hot coffees to iced desserts, are priced
at Rp 3,000 each, while the meals are priced, on average, at Rp
6,000.

"This is excepting Nasi Jamblang (Cirebon rice dish), which is
more of a buffet-style dish," he said.

Other dishes served at his warung include nasi lengko (rice
with vegetables), mie kocok Cirebon (Cirebon noodle dish) and
Serabi (a local pancake).