Linawati poses in her stall in Pasar Santa, South Jakarta. (Brilio/Retno Wulandari)
Among hipster shops and fancy snack stalls, her Warung Jawa brings Pasar Santa back to its roots as a traditional market.
4 Maret 2017 10:54
Pasar Santa in South Jakarta is no ordinary traditional market.
It has transformed into a popular shopping center among young people of Jakarta since it started to sell out-of-the-box snacks, vinyls, vapes, old records and customized jewelry. The market even has its own Instagram account.
But Pasar Santa never loses its soul as a traditional market as most of the stalls are still the same humble and modest stalls that have been there for years.
Amongst the grocery stores and hipster shops are some traditioal food stalls, and one of them is Warung Jawaowned by Linawati.
Linawati sells various kinds of food, but her best sellers are Soto Ayam and Gudeg,asignature dish fromYogyakarta that consistsof seasoned hard-boiled egg, stirred cow skin (kerecek), boiled chicken, and sweet jackfruit stew. I took some time to talk to her.
How long have you been running this food stall?
Ive been here for about a year and a half. Before, my stall was located at a shopping complexnot too far from here, but now ithas beendemolished and fenced. They said it causedtraffic jam, so no one is allowed to open any stall anymore there. So, I moved here in2015.
Did you lose customers?
No, not really. My customers knew that I moved here and they still come. I also get new customers here, so this place is okay to do this kind of businesses. People come here to get breakfast and lunch.
Do you cook all these food by yourself? How do you manage to do that?
Yes, I do. Every single day. After I closed my stall, I go shopping to get my vegetables and eggs. I cook atnight and continue very early in the morning, around3:30 a.m.. After that, I go shopping once again to buy meat, chicken and fish and then cook them so they will still be fresh when served. I have to get things done as early as possible because I have to open my stall at 7 a.m.. People usually come here for breakfast.
How manyingredients you purchase and cook every day?
I buy rice monthly and I cook about 8 to 10 liters of it every day. For eggs, I buy around 7 kilograms each day. I buy one kilogramof onion, one kilogram of garlic. I also buy two packs of salt, two kilograms of palm sugar, four kilograms of cooking oil, six to seven kilograms of cow skin and young jackfruits, six coconuts, seven to eight chickens, vegetables and some other stuff. Thats in general.
Linawati's warung
2017 brilio.net/Retno Wulandari
Do you have any assistant to help you?
No, for cooking, I do it alone. My husband also runs a food stall just like this in Kuningan Barat area. I have two children but the girl is still in the secondary school and the boy just graduated from a vocational school and is currently lookingfor a job.
What are peoples favorites here?
Soto sells very well, especially in rainy days. Usually, people look for something soupy and hot to warm them up. But sometimes gudeg gets sold out first.
