Google Maps: Jakarta Pasar baru

I visited another famous area in Jakarta, “Pasar Baru” or “New market”, is a trade area founded in 1820, and is the oldest shopping areas in Jakarta. Pasar Baru was built in 1820 as “Passer Baroe” when Jakarta was still called Batavia under the Dutch rule.




People who shopped at Passer Barue were the Dutch people who lived at Rijswijk (now Jalan Veteran). The shops in Passer Baru built with traditional Chinese and European architectural styles.



It is a large area bordered by shops on both sides of the roads and peddlers on the streets selling various wares, there are shops of clothing, textiles and tailor shops, footwear and sports equipment, shop glasses, gold jewelry shops, fabrics, furniture, sports equipment, soft-toys, foodstuffs, all sorts of various utility items that you might need.









The south end is bordered by New Market Road Between Road and South New Market Street and Post Road adjacent to the Gedung Kesenian Jakarta. The north end of New Market Road is bordered by Jalan Kyai Haji Samanhudi, near Metro Pasar Baru and Jalan Ayam Church.




In my quest to try the local exotic fruits, in Indonesia, I came across warung selling a unique-looking fruit. When inquired, the hawker replied it as the Lontar fruit (Buah lontar). The Lontar fruit (Borassus flabellifer), is also known as the Asian Palmyra palm, Toddy palm, Sugar palm and sometimes “Ice-apple” in English. It is native to Southeast Asia, Pakistan and Indonesia.



It comes from one of the Sugar palm group, the tree is robust and can live 100 years or more and reach a height of 30 m. The large trunk resembles that of the coconut tree and is ringed with leaf scars.



The Lontar looks like a small coconut with a green-black husk, and is borne in clusters. It is a fruit that is a cross between looking like a small coconut having a juicy jelly-like interior similar to the “atap-chee” fruit usually found in desserts like ice kacang. Just an information tidbit, the “Atap-chee” is actually scientifically known as the Nypa fruticans, and is known as the attap palm in Singapore, buah nipah (Malaysia), nipa palm (Philippines), and buah atap (Indonesia).




The top portion of the fruit must be cut off to reveal the sweet jelly seed sockets, translucent pale-white. The jelly-like toddy can then be easily removed and consumed directly, although the texture and appearance is similar to the atap-chee, it’s got a milder sweet taste and a juicy interior that will ooze out sweet juices when bitten.



That sugary sap is called toddy, and can be fermented to make a beverage called “arrack” by the locals, or it is concentrated to a crude sugar called jaggery. It is called “Gula Jawa” (Javanese sugar) in Indonesia and is widely used in Javanese cuisine.

So that was probably the most interesting that I came across today at Pasar Baru, I wasn’t interested in buying anything else. After that, I made my way back to Senen and discovered another traditional market.


Really really old cameras.



Next: Jalan Pasar Proyek Senen (alamat: Ankot dari P. Baru halte 12)
Google maps here: Jakarta Jalan Pasar Senen



Pasar Senen is one of the oldest markets in Jakarta. Pasar Senen was developed around 1735 and was actually only opened on Mondays, it became so crowded that it eventually opened everyday, and for a history spanning for more than 274 years; this market area has accumulated many historical happenings such as the pre-independence era of the 1930s, the gathering of underground independence fighters, some movement leaders like Chairul Saleh, Adam Malik, also Sukarno and Mohammad Hatta, often held meetings in the region. In the Japanese colonial era (1942) until the 1950s, the area around Pasar Senen become a favorite gathering place of artists from the era of new poets.



During the 1970-1990s, the growing area of Pasar Senen grew as an economic and entertainment center with theatres being built as well as the first parking building facility.



Unfortunately, since the mass riots in 1998, the prestige of the area began to dim. Looting and harassment of several women of Chinese descent took place here, resulting in investors who are generally residents of Chinese descent fleeing the area. Now, in 2011, 276 years of history - Pasar Senen area becoming obsolete.


The Historic market area is poorly maintained, it is now dirty, grimy and absolutely filthy, the interior looks like a scene out of a WW2 holocaust massacre, so much so that most of the tenants have moved out of the building or have set up booths outside the building under a large tarpaulin. Kiosks are now replaced by the big vendors that hold merchandise up to the curb. market area and even then began to become rundown and not maintained.

A sad condition for what used to be one of Jakarta’s historical glory, you can almost feel the sighing breath of the dying place.


CAKES CAKES CAKES




Cakes Galore!



Now the place is more of a pastry whole-sale area, every night, people continue to throng the area that is now filled with cakes galore with almost every kind of cake and pastry imaginable, beautifully designed cakes and pastries, that tempted me sufficiently enough to buy some to try for myself.

I bought a whole box of cupcakes for 20,000 (S$3).




















"Buaya" crocodile cakes...