Unique souvenirs to bring home from Jakarta
Looking for something genuine and unique to bring home from Jakarta is not an easy thing to do. But the following three souvenirs can serve as fresh options if whenever you are looking for stuff that really breaths Jakarta in this massive multicultural city.
Jakarta's Craft and Souvenirs Center
Hidden among giant skyscrapers on Jl. Dr. Satrio Jakarta, Jakarta's Craft and Souvenirs Center is a modest shop situated around 100 meters from Lotte Shopping Avenue. The humble shop is managed by Jakarta Tourism and Culture Agency and sells various souvenirs.
Traditional snacks and drinks like Bir Pletok (Betawi traditional herbal drink), Dodol Betawi (traditional sticky sweet confection) and Biji Ketapang cookie (traditional cookie made from flour and dried coconut) are sold there.
Most of the products displayed at the shop are made by small entrepreneurs who are supported by the Agency. Visitors can find souvenirs ranging from key chains, t-shirts, snacks, ondel-ondel miniatures to Betawi batik clothes.
Seven variants of snack produced by the small entrepreneurs are branded as Jempol Jakarta.
The Head of Jakarta Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises Agency, Ratnaningsih, said that the brand was launched last year because there hasn't been any distinctive brand launched as the city's official souvenirs.
Those seven traditional snacks include geplak Betawi, seaweed dodol, Betawi dodol, Biji Ketapang cookie, Ginger cookie, Kembang goyang (flower shaped cookie made from corn flour and coconut milk) and powdered Bir Pletok. Product prices ranges from Rp 24,000 to Rp 350,000.
Jampang
The shop gained its name from Betawi's legendary heroic figure but is also an abbreviation of Jakarta punya tampang, which means that all Jampang's products reflect the city's rich culture and creativity.
Jampang products consist of t-shirts, key chains, fridge magnets, bottle openers, mugs and tumblers.
Pontjo Utomo, the initiator as well as owner of Jampang, said that he started this souvenir business back in 2008. Initially, he only designed t-shirts for fun and handed them out to his friends in Yogyakarta. Surprisingly they liked the products. Then Pontjo decided to market his products via the Internet and has delivered them at several shops around Jakarta.
“Other than marketing the products online, Jampang products are also available and can be purchased at several shops such as Galeria Jakarta at Cilandak Town Square, Alun-Alun Indonesia at Grand Indonesia Shopping Town and Central Park, SMESCO building, and Pasaraya Grande,” Pontjo explained.
Jampang's customers varied widely from Jakarta's people who are about to go out of town and those who live outside Jakarta. Online orders have been coming from varied locations: Medan, Yogyakarta, Makassar, Malang and other cities in the country.
Jampang's best selling products are their mugs, with prices ranging from Rp 10,000 up to Rp 75,000. “Product prices at the shops might be slightly higher than online due to extra costs,” Pontjo explained.
Pontjo creates all the designs with one of his business partners, Huri. “The design inspiration comes from Jakarta's culture and its famed icons,” he remarked.
Bakers Town
If Medan has Bolu Meranti and Bandung has Amanda Brownies as famous food souvenirs, Jakarta still doesn't have iconic cakes or any food souvenirs.
Bakers Town, a bakery & cakes shop with two outlets at Plaza Semanggi and Kebon Jeruk is doing its best to create special cake and cookie products, which can represent Jakarta.
Aside from selling regular cookies and birthday cakes, Bakers Town also sells traditional Betawi cookies and creates special cakes using traditional cake ingredients such as Lapis Jakarta, Talas Keju and Cotta Jakarta.
Lapis Jakarta is made from black glutinous rice, while the Talas keju is made from fresh taro combined with savory cheddar cheese.
For chocolate lovers, you can try Cotta Jakarta, which is made from chocolate mixed with fermented cassava.
At Bakers Town, you can also find traditional cookies, such as Kue Satu (made from green beans) and Geplak Bakar Betawi (made from sago and dried coconut). Prices for the cakes and cookies range from Rp 38,000 to Rp 90,000.
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