Cafe Batavia

     Weeks ago I was planning to catch up a photographic session with my friend, Melissa, as part of making a photo essay for my Indonesian People and Society class final project. One of the rubrics we plan to fill is the socio-economical development of Indonesian and Kota Toea, the historical landmark of Dutch colonialism would be a perfect setting for our project.

     Two-hour ride from Depok to Kota is tiring, but the view we got from Kota Tua is amazing! We arrived at 4 o'clock and decided to park our car facing Kali Besar (one of the waterway through the Ciliwung River) and walk our way through the buildings. Too bad all of the museum were closed, we were told by the local vendors that the museum's operating hour is from 10 am to 3 pm. The news were unfortunate but at least the sky is treating us nicely that afternoon. We got some shot we wanted in capturing the essence of Kota Tua.

     After taking several shots, we decided to have lunch at the notorious Cafe Batavia. The now fully operated cafe was actually first built as one of the Vereegnide Oost-Indische Compagnie in 1805. If you learn your nation's history correctly in elementary school, the compagnie is the sail in which took over Indonesian spices plantation for the company's trades and is the beginning of Dutch colonization in Indonesia. The office then were turned into a gallery by a Frenchmen and was latter turned into a café by an Australian in 1991. The timeline tells how Cafe Batavia today is filled with many portraits and is famous of its artistic décor.

     Regarding to the café, the food itself is very satisfying. Although not cheap, it is worth the scenery of Taman Fatahillah facing the Jakarta Historical Museum and a wide landscape of the Kota Tua landmark. The menu of Cafe Batavia is consisting of various dishes varying from Chinese, Italian and Indonesian cuisine. Ambiance is the focal point of this particular cafe that embraces the impression of dining in a colonial era atmosphere. Seen from the the carpentry, puffy carpet, batik tablecloth and the seating itself it can be concluded that the decoration is very well thought in order to capture the right vibe (minus the tension of colonization).

Spaghetti with Meatball Sauce, IDR 65 thousand (excl. 21% tax and service charge)

Fettucini Carbonara, IDR 72 thousand (excl. 21% tax and service charge)

     The food was all great and well portioned, although the addition of cream in the list of ingredients in the Carbonara makes me question the authenticity of the food itself (remember, traditional Italian carbonara recipe DOES NOT includes cream). But overall it was delicious. As for the drinks, I did not order any as we brought our own water bottle. We are seated next to a big window in the non-smoking area upstairs and the advantage of this area is that you'll get better view from a leveled floor. The dining area also had a bar and a lounge for live music performance.

     If you are visiting Kota Tua, don't worry about having to starve because there are wide array of street vendors nearby. I really recommend people to come and visit Kota Tua to relive the hype of local tourism as well to support the rejuvenation effort of preserving histories as inspiration for the future generation in protecting Indonesian national culture and heritage. Many lessons are learnt here as I was enlighten to pay greater respect to the nation's heroes in all the effort they took in to reach independence. This trip is inspiring indeed :)

Cafe Batavia

Jl. Pintu Kecil No. 14 Kota
Jakarta Barat
+62 21 6915973
cafe.batavia.jakarta@gmail.com
Website