Busy Jakarta still finds time for breakfast

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Unlike many global urbanites forced to skip breakfast or resort to grab-and-go meals, Jakarta residents still see breakfast as the most important meal of the day.

The sight of warung (food stalls) and food carts thriving in alleys behind city skyscrapers attests to the morning dietary habits of Jakartans.

Working people from all walks of life gather at the many makeshift eateries sprawling across the city to feast on morning delicacies such chicken porridge, roti bakar (toast), nasi uduk (rice cooked in coconut cream), ketupat sayur (rice in plaited palm leaves in coconut soup with crackers) and instant noodles with poached eggs.

Proximity, comfort and flexible opening hours are the top considerations from customers. Sanitation and taste come second.

"I often have breakfast around here," said Dayat, a bank employee, pointing to the short stretch of warung along Jl. Setiabudi Utara I in South Jakarta.

Dayat lives in Ciledug, West Jakarta, and works at the Landmark Building in Setiabudi. He leaves home early in order to beat the city's infamous traffic.

"I leave at 6 a.m. and arrive at the office at a quarter to seven. If I leave any later than that, I don't make it to the office on time," Dayat said.

"It would be too early for me to have breakfast before leaving the house, so I'm having it here."

Dayat ordered oxtail soup with rice and a glass of tea without sugar, costing Rp 8,000 (less than US$1) at one of food joints along the stretch, Warung Sunda.

Warung Sunda offers several breakfast meals. Instant noodles with poached eggs, however, is the stall's most popular dish, while roti bakar is the second most ordered breakfast meal, stall helper Nani said.

Dewi, a regular who works in a nearby office building, is a fan of Warung Sunda.

"Even though I heard that instant noodles aren't healthy to eat daily, they're still a personal favorite, " the bank administrator said.

"I try to alternate between soto (clear soup with shredded chicken or beef), mie pangsit (noodle soup with dumplings) and roti bakar each day."

She said there are food stalls near her house in Slipi, West Jakarta.

"But none are open early enough for me to eat before leaving for work at half past seven," she said, adding that food from the warung was cheaper than fast food.

"I spend around Rp 5,000 to Rp 6,000 on a meal including drink," Dewi said. "It's still cheaper than the cheapest fast food."

A breakfast package consisting of a donut and a cold drink or juice at Dunkin Donuts, which opens daily at 6 a.m, costs Rp 7,900 at the least, not including tax.

David, a customer of Warung Kopi -- a food stall adjacent to Warung Sunda -- gets a daily lunch allowance of Rp 11,000 from his employer, a nearby bank.

"The allowance only covers lunch, so I pay extra for breakfast. (But) I don't mind since breakfast is important," David, said.

Despite the many visitors frequenting the Setiabudi food stalls, Kamil, a food stall owner, said business had been significantly slower since 1998.

"We used to consume up to three boxes of instant noodles per day, but now we are lucky enough to finish up a box," Kamil said.

"Many companies have closed shop since the flood of 1998, taking most of our customers with them."

Similar sentiments were shared by Ida, the owner of a rice stall near the Mega Kuningan complex in South Jakarta. Ida said that she first opened her stall three years ago, around the same time the nearby Ritz Carlton Hotel project started.

"Many of my customers then were construction workers," she said.

"Business really flourished at that time, but ever since construction stopped at the Mega Kuningan complex, profit has decreased significantly."

Ida, whose breakfast specialties include nasi uduk and fried fritters, now mainly provides breakfast for security guards and drivers working at the Ritz Carlton Hotel.

"I send over about 20 servings of nasi uduk to the security post every morning at 6 a.m," Ida said.

A portion of nasi uduk costs Rp 4,000, or Rp 5,000 with coffee. "I make enough to support myself," she said.