Garuda Indonesia Colours Magazine March 2018 | Page 71

Explore | Flavours
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Petty Elliott shares possibly the most sociable
dining experience to be had on any visit to Indonesia
and a chance to really ‘go local’.
Any visit in search of local culture in the
cities of Central Java would not be complete
without dining angkringan style. This is your
chance to assume the persona of a local, to
imagine a time past when life was simpler,
slower. A time when you could be social with
a total stranger, face to face, not face to
phone. An opportunity to swap a story or
two, pick up a useful tip or some local
knowledge and just watch the world go by.
This is the essence of angkringan. Derived
from the Javanese word angkring or
nangkring meaning ‘to sit in comfort’, this al
fresco experience involves a wooden carry
cart festooned with an array of simple foods
and beverages at the roadside. A
phenomenon of the 1960s, it was a popular
means for the poorer in society to sustain
themselves with a modest meal. The carry
cart featured two wooden boxes, one
containing a cooking fire and simple pot, the
other acting as a hold-all for the various
ingredients on offer. Originally, customers
simply gathered standing up around the food
seller and his cart, gestured to what they
wanted to eat, and passed the time of day
while it cooked.
Today’s angkringan often features a colourful
tent or tarpaulin stretched out above a
long wooden table with plenty of working
space atop a longer cart in order to properly
display more varieties of food. The customers
sit on a mat at a low table. The old
philosophy has stayed intact: the angkringan
represents the humble spirit of every human
being, equality for everyone who dines in
such style. It is a place for people from all
walks of life to gather. The only requirement
is the ability to pay the modest bill.
Whoever you are, you are welcome.
The angkringan is a friendly place where
seller and customers can enjoy great
conversation. Angkringan is all about being
honest. A blackboard announces what is on
offer; there’s no fixed menu and no bill
presented afterwards. You pay for the food
based on what you’ve served yourself and
the angkringan represents
the humble spirit of
every human being,
equality for everyone
who dines in such style.
1 Angkringan experience: portions of rice
with shredded chicken, wrapped in banana leaves,
varieties of sate, fried and braised soya c ake
or tempeh and tofu.
2 No waste! Varieties of sate including
chicken skin and intestine sate.
3 Water for coffee and tea boiling
over hot coconut charcoal.