The Taj Mahal in Agra, India is one of the world’s most awe-inspiring architectural achievements, so to name a rather rundown little eating establishment after the great mausoleum is - as we say in England - taking the piss to say the least.



That said, the Taj Mahal Jakarta is located in an interesting part of town – right on the northern fringes of Pasar Baru, a down-to-earth and historic shopping district in central Jakarta.

I came across the inconspicuous little restaurant just by chance and couldn’t resist the opportunity to nosh down some Indian grub as it’s not often I get to this part of town.

So was it worth it?

You bet! The food is certainly authentic and the vibe totally different from what you get in the other Indian restaurants in Jakarta like Kinara or Ganesha - which are much more upmarket.

But me, being a man of the people, was left totally satisfied.

The Taj Mahal Jakarta. Splendid indeed.

Taj Mahal
Jl. K.H. Samanhudi No. 10A,
Pasar Baru
Jakarta
Telp: 021 9840 4085

A journey along Jalan Gajah Mada doesn’t just take you from the center of Jakarta to bustling Chinatown. It takes you back in time – from the gleaming business district south of Monas all the way up to the crumbling colonial Dutch quarters at Kota.

It’s an area of Jakarta I like a lot. You have the history, the shopping and the insalubrious delights of Manga Besar’s nightlife. What else could you possibly want?

But I digress. This post is supposed to be about Gedung Arsip Nasional, or the National Archives Building, a simply wonderful old Dutch building built in (or around) 1760.



Tempo dulu…



…and now.

Bearing in mind the total traffic mayhem in this part of town, the best way to get here is by the busway (which links Blok M in south Jakarta to Kota in the north). Get off at Harmoni - the nearest stop to the National Archives Building.

The building is set well back from the main street and has a huge yard in front of it – a remarkable thing since there are virtually no open spaces in Jakarta that are safe from the clutches of today’s insatiable property developer. Give them an inch and they arrive with the bulldozers. You know how it goes.

The Suhartoes being the apparent antagonists behind plans to demolish this remarkable 250 year old building. But fortunately they never got their way (thanks to the timely intervention of krismon 98).

Built for the “Guvnor”, a certain Reinier de Klerk, the building simply oozes old world charm and is packed full of interesting artifacts from the colonial era. The collection of weapons is, in particular, very cool.

Until 1925 the building was still used by the Dutch as a governmental department for mining. Its function then changed and it was used as the place to document land records. After independence, the building was used to record “national archives” until 1992.

Aside from avoiding the destructive intents of property developers, the building also had a close shave during the devastating May 1998 riots when uncontrollable mobs went on an orgy of arson and violence, targeting the Chinese especially.

The bank next door was burnt down and the bank’s staff were given refuge in the National Archives Building. The mobs then tried to get in – presumably to either rape the bank’s female staff or burn down the building - but they met stern resistance from courageous workers who weren’t gonna let their restoration efforts go up in smoke.

These restoration efforts, which were funded by donors and sponsors, mean that the National Archives Building is now in really good shape. And let’s hope it remains that way!

National Archives Building
Jl. Gajah Mada No. 111
Jakarta

Telp : (021) 6347744
Operating Hours
Tuesday – Sunday : 09 am – 5 pm
Monday / Public Holiday : Closed
Entrance Fee : FREE OF CHARGE

We came across a lad from A company. He was ripped open from his shoulder to his waist by shrapnel and lying in a pool of blood. When we got to him, he said: 'Shoot me'. He was beyond human help and, before we could draw a revolver, he was dead. It's an image that has haunted me all my life, seared into my mind.
~Harry Patch (1898 – 2009)

Not many people know it, but nestled behind Jakarta’s Park Lane Hotel (just off Jalan Casablanca) there is a British World War II Cemetery.

I only heard about it from a good friend, and with Remembrance Day coming up (9 Nov Canada, 11 Nov UK), I decided to make a visit.

The cemetery is managed by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and it is to their immense credit - and to that of the Indonesian caretaker as well - that the cemetery is in absolutely immaculate condition.



All the dead are commemorated by a name on a headstone which are ALL exactly the same regardless of military or civil rank, race or creed.




It’s certainly a humbling experience to walk around the cemetery and read the poignant inscriptions on the headstones of the mostly very young men buried here.

Altogether there are over 1,000 graves (954 identified): those of the soldiers who died in the defence of Java and Sumatra during the Japanese advance in 1942, and also the many others who perished afterwards as Japanese prisoners of war.

Visiting procedure

The Jakarta cemetery can be reached by two main roads - Jalan Dr Saharto and Jalan Casablanca. It is open between the hours of 8.00am and 5.00 pm. Monday to Friday. Gain access to the cemetery by ringing the bell and waiting for the caretaker to let you in. He will ask you to sign a visitors’ book before you take a look around. The cemetery can’t get many visitors, so make sure to slip the guy a Rp20,000 note or something when you leave.

Also when you visit, take the opportunity to visit the equally poignant Netherlands Field of Honour which is located directly adjacent to the British World War II Cemetery.

Unlike the British, the Dutch do use crosses and the cemetery is just like those in Northern France or Belgium – with the crosses perfectly set and stretching far out into the distance…

There are bars you go to get pissed and there are bars you go to be seen. Needless to say, the extremely plush and fancy Face bar in diplomatic Menteng is firmly in the latter category.

Managed by the Face Group, this bar is actually one of the oldest in Jakarta and has TWO fine restaurants in the same building – the Lan Na Tai (Thai) and Hazara (North Indian).

So there’s no excuse to drink on an empty stomach! Hahaha!



Not your common spit-and-sawdust boozer, the Face Bar is the place you come to close a business deal or impress a worthy date.

Okay, so how does the bar measure up?

Well, it’s posh. Antiques are everywhere – and they are the real McCoy and not just cheapo imitations. The bar pays homage to the sort of tavern that traders would have rested at as they traveled the legendary silk route all those years ago. I’m not sure how that’s relevant to modern day Jakarta but it was probably just as quick to travel on a camel back then as it is to travel by car in today’s Jakarta.

So give the place a try some time.

And if you find it’s a bit too posh?

Well, the dangdut bars on Jalan Blora are only a stone’s throw away.
But that’s a different story altogether!

Face Bar,
Kusuma Atmaja No. 85,
Imam Bonjol,
Jakarta
Tel: 021 319 25037
E-mail: jakarta@facebars.com

On a recent sojourn around the Pasar Baru area of central Jakarta and I came across this old post office on Jalan Pos:




And tempo dulu, in 1947:



About the only visible difference appear to be that the post office used to have a clock!

Notably, this is the first post office to be built in Jakarta (around the mid-1850s) - and with its huge arch the building bears a close resemblance to the marvelous Art Deco Kota railway station located further to the north.

Credit should also be given to the Indonesian Post Office for maintaining the building in such excellent condition (the same cannot be said of the Jakarta local government whose painful mismanagement of the historic Kota area of Jakarta means that many fine old buildings are now gradually rotting away).

Kantor Pos Pasar Baru
Jalan Pos,
No 1 Pasar Baru,
Sawah Besar,
Central Jakarta

Who doesn’t crave a raw and tender steak now and again? An urge, no doubt, that can be traced back to primordial times, when we were still hanging from trees and the dinner didn’t just magically appear on the table every evening.

But those days are long gone, and even though there are tribes out there who still go hunting with spears and blowpipes, the rest of us will have our carnivorous hankerings handed to us on a plate (quite literally!), either at home or in a restaurant.

In Jakarta the number of steakhouses has mushroomed over the years thanks to rising incomes and changing consumer tastes. Some of them are pretty expensive, but smack bang in central Jakarta on the famous Jalan Wahid Hasyim street, you can find two affordable steakhouses that are located only a few doors apart.

They are the old man on the block, Abuba Steak, and its rival upstart, Alibaba Steak.

So where should you go to get your protein fix?

Well, let’s see how they measure up based on a number of criteria (one to five stars):

1) Ambience/décor
Abuba is a very utilitarian affair right down to the endearing vinyl tablecloths and simple (non existent?) décor. Besides the room with aircon they also have a smoking section. But after sitting there, I’m not sure it’s called a smoking area because of the smoke drifting in from the front where the steaks are being grilled, or because you can actually smoke a fag there! Alibaba by comparison is very different. It’s clean and airy but lacks - for want of a better word - “CHARACTER”. Abuba *** Alibaba *

2) The steak itself
On a steak quality scale from “rubbery Michelin tire” to “melt-in-your-mouth heaven”, the steaks at both joints are somewhere in between. Most times when I order a NZ or American sirloin from Abuba I usually get a fair amount of fat. Once I had a really bad rib-eye, although most cuts are passable I’d say. Perhaps the best value option at either joint are the local cuts which are virtually indistinguishable from the restaurants’ Aussie offerings. Abuba *** Alibaba **

3) Side servings/sauces
In the good old days before global foodstuff prices went mental, Abuba would give you a really generous portion of mixed veggies and chips (real chips, that is, and not the thin and stringy MacCrap kind). Those days are, alas, long gone, and the portions are now – it must be said – pretty pathetic. Thank God though for the mustard. Utterly essential for drowning your chips in. Abuba ** Alibaba ***

4) Price
Prices are low at both joints although Alibaba probably just edges it. Abuba *** Alibaba ****

5) Service/waitresses
Service is pretty good at both joints and I’ve never had a problem (although the waitresses are no match for those in Star Deli, Kemang!) Abuba *** Alibaba ***

So there you have it. Abuba’s a clear winner. Unless of course you have a spear in hand and fancy hunting one of the deer a short distance away at Monas!

Ali Baba Steak & Iga Bakar
Jl. KH. Wahid Hasyim No. 112, Jakarta
Phone number: 314 3501

Abuba Steak
Jl. KH. Wahid Hasyim No. 120, Jakarta
Phone number: 3193 5655