Glodok,Jakarta’s Chinatown, is full of surprises. Centered on Jalan Gajah Mada, it isone of Central Jakarta’s busiest commercial districts, bustling with markets,food stalls, restaurants and shopping centers, where you can find anything fromlive insects to pirated DVDs, cheap electronics, herbal medicines and shots ofcobra blood.
Shoppers here know what they want, and they know where to get it in the area’s hotand crowded marketplaces. But even seasoned shoppers in the busy streets ofGlodok need to put their feet up sometime and enjoy a cool drink or a lightsnack to keep them going.
Bordering Jakarta’s Kota Tua (Old Town), Glodok boasts some of the city’slongest-standing and most popular food stalls. Trying out these time-testedinstitutions is an essential element of the Glodok experience.
Cendol PIX, a food stall offering ice-cold jelly drinks, has been providingshoppers with a spot for respite and refreshment for 39 years. The PIX in thename stands for Petak IX, the old name for the area. Cendol is the Indonesianname for a kind of dessert usually made with coconut milk and filled with arange of bright and bubbly jelly pearls. Cendol PIX keeps things simple withtwo types of drinks on offer: es cendol , made with layers of shaved ice, andbubur kacang hijau , or sweet mung bean porridge.
Its specialty cendol comes with white, worm-like jelly pearls made of riceflour served with chilled coconut milk, shaved ice and a generous serving ofpalm sugar syrup drizzled over the lot.
While mung bean porridge is usually served warm in a bowl, here it is servedcold in a glass with shaved ice.
If sweet jelly drinks haven’t hit the spot, Gloria Alley, opposite the oldGloria Building, is the next stop for food stalls and cafes offering localdelicacies.
Not far from the main road, about a five-minute walk down the alley, you’llfind Bakmi Amoy, a little restaurant renowned for its mie ayam (chicken noodlesoup) and bakso goreng (fried meatballs).
Amoy is the name of the 60-year-old Chinese-Indonesian woman who has beenrunning the place since 1980.
But if it’s more of a Betawi dish you’re after, the best place to look is atiny blue stall at the end of Gloria Alley called Gado-Gado Direksi.
Owner Shinta Dewi said the name Direksi, or Directors, was suggested byofficials at Bank Eksim, now Bank Mandiri, who ate at the stall. The bankdirectors seem to have left their legacy not only in the stall’s name but alsoin its financial fortunes. Shinta’s daughter, Giok Lie, who now runs the stall,said she’s in no hurry to change the name. “It brings good luck,” she said.
The specialty on offer here is, of course, gado-gado , the traditionalIndonesian vegetable salad served with a generous helping of peanut saucedressing.
Shoppers here know what they want, and they know where to get it in the area’s hotand crowded marketplaces. But even seasoned shoppers in the busy streets ofGlodok need to put their feet up sometime and enjoy a cool drink or a lightsnack to keep them going.
Bordering Jakarta’s Kota Tua (Old Town), Glodok boasts some of the city’slongest-standing and most popular food stalls. Trying out these time-testedinstitutions is an essential element of the Glodok experience.
Cendol PIX, a food stall offering ice-cold jelly drinks, has been providingshoppers with a spot for respite and refreshment for 39 years. The PIX in thename stands for Petak IX, the old name for the area. Cendol is the Indonesianname for a kind of dessert usually made with coconut milk and filled with arange of bright and bubbly jelly pearls. Cendol PIX keeps things simple withtwo types of drinks on offer: es cendol , made with layers of shaved ice, andbubur kacang hijau , or sweet mung bean porridge.
Its specialty cendol comes with white, worm-like jelly pearls made of riceflour served with chilled coconut milk, shaved ice and a generous serving ofpalm sugar syrup drizzled over the lot.
While mung bean porridge is usually served warm in a bowl, here it is servedcold in a glass with shaved ice.
If sweet jelly drinks haven’t hit the spot, Gloria Alley, opposite the oldGloria Building, is the next stop for food stalls and cafes offering localdelicacies.
Not far from the main road, about a five-minute walk down the alley, you’llfind Bakmi Amoy, a little restaurant renowned for its mie ayam (chicken noodlesoup) and bakso goreng (fried meatballs).
Amoy is the name of the 60-year-old Chinese-Indonesian woman who has beenrunning the place since 1980.
But if it’s more of a Betawi dish you’re after, the best place to look is atiny blue stall at the end of Gloria Alley called Gado-Gado Direksi.
Owner Shinta Dewi said the name Direksi, or Directors, was suggested byofficials at Bank Eksim, now Bank Mandiri, who ate at the stall. The bankdirectors seem to have left their legacy not only in the stall’s name but alsoin its financial fortunes. Shinta’s daughter, Giok Lie, who now runs the stall,said she’s in no hurry to change the name. “It brings good luck,” she said.
The specialty on offer here is, of course, gado-gado , the traditionalIndonesian vegetable salad served with a generous helping of peanut saucedressing.
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