Suwe Ora Jamu

Roasted Rice

Jamu, a simple term of Indonesian traditional herbal drink, is getting less and less popular among teenagers. They usually prefer to hang out in modern coffee shops and lavish bubble tea drinks. However, you would see different scene in a place called Suwe Ora Jamu, located in Jalan Petogogan I no 28, Blok A - South Jakarta. You could see youngsters or even group of families with kids visiting this eatery late afternoon until late evening.





Light Meals & Healthy Beverages

Atin and I went there on a long weekend Friday evening. Our eyes came into contact with an interior of nostalgia (jadul) such as old bicycle, vintage radio, wooden cabinet, antique chairs. The plates, cups and teapots were like treasures from the past. The candies in the jar were the ones I had used to eat when I was still in elementary school. The menu, of course, was dominated by Jamu and other herbal drinks, but they also serve traditional snacks (camilan) such as banana fritters, tape bakar, Indonesian-style toast (roti bakar), porridges (bubur kacang merah, ketan hitam, kacang hijau), and just a few heavy meals, for instance: roasted rice, fried rice and fried noodle. We enjoyed the food and herbal beverages while listening to Indonesian and Western 80’s music. The tape bakar, fried tofu, red bean porridge and roasted rice we ordered were delicious and the beverages were refreshing. Moreover, the cost was inexpensive. Jamu and other drinks ranged between IDR 9-20 K, snacks IDR 10-20 K and the heavy meals were around IDR 20 K. Now we knew why people from all ages liked this place a lot… great food and drinks, combined with soothing and comfortable ambience. For me, there is an additional reason, very close to home!

Soothing Ambience