During the colonial time, Maison Bogerijen was one of the most prominent eatery in Bandung. It was located in the middle of the avenue of Braga. This restaurant was built in the early 1920s by the family of Bogerijen. For the white population in Bandung (which was quite big at that time), Maison Bogerijen was their primary place to savor the fine European cuisine. It was famous for its royal menu such as Koningin Emma Taart (Queen Emma Cake) and Koningin Wilhelmina Taart (Queen Wilhelmina Cake).
Today, not much of classic European ambiance left since Bandung is growing into a big modern city and the remnants of colonial period are abandoned. Nevertheless, it remains one of the major tourism destination in Indonesia. Bandung now is famous for its apparel products, home for notable universities, and a great place for a serious eater.
A gastronomic adventure may go to the numerous new restaurants in Dago area that offer a selection of good and unique food. But for those who has passion to taste the old colonial recipe and to breath the atmosphere of colonial heritage, Maison Bogerijen is still there, in Braga Street. Only the name is no longer Maison Bogerijen, it has transformed into Braga Permai.
Not only the name has changed, but also had the shape of the building. A lot of renovation has been made since 1960s, so that today we cannot see the original shape of the construction anymore.
The good thing is that they still keep the terrace area where they set out tables and chairs with umbrellas. It somehow gives the customer a sense of european style restaurant as they can enjoy their food while watching people pass by the busy street of Braga.
One Sunday evening, few weeks ago, I decided to invite some friends from Belgium to sample the food of this restaurant. To my surprise, the terrace was quite occupied and so were some tables inside the restaurant. I still remember last year one afternoon when I decided to stop by at this place for a glass of ice cream and coffee, I was the only customer during at least two hours.
“The business is getting better now, more and more customer come,” one of the waiter told me. It turned out that some change has been made. Larger portion on the dishes and almost fifty percent price cutting. I couldn’t agree more with their new strategy.
Looking back how this restaurant developed the past few years, I was worry that they would shut. The restaurant has lost its fame. But that afternoon, I was delightful to see more people coming as if I was the owner.
The dining area inside the restaurant is looked much formal than the terrace. The tables and chairs are set out neatly but the style is unattractive. White furniture with red napkin and blue table cloth dominate the decoration of the restaurant.
The staff were very helpful and friendly. The duty manager of the restaurant, Edi Rukaedi, 51, who has been working there for 30 years, told that they has made some modification to the menu to adapt with the Indonesian tongue. But in order to attract foreign tourist who come to Braga street to see and feel the atmosphere of the colonial era, they still keep some original menu from the first owner.
However, they fail to enhance one’s memories of the past with the choosen furniture and decoration. Only the pictures of old Maison Bogerijen-hung on the wall can remind people of the glorious of this restaurant in the past.
Beside western food, they also serve Indonesian and chinese cuisine. As I wanted to savor the historical cuisine of Braga Permai, the waiter recommended their Braga Beef Steak. But before that, we were served a plate of Bitterballen. Bitterballen is a Dutch meat-based snack, mainly containing a mixture of beef (minced or chopped), flour, parsley and pepper. Edi said the recipe is descended from the first owner.
After the tasty Bitterballen, I had my beef steak. It was not as interesting as I expected, but the flesh was tender and I love its delicious curry taste sauce. But the side dishes-salad and french fries were not really appetizing. The selection of western food are including Filet Mignon, a pan fried tenderloin beef served with potato puree and garlic sauce and Lamb Shank-oven roasted and grill lamb shank served with grill vegetable.
My friends opted for oriental menus which satisfied their European tongue. They took Stir Fried Shrimp with vegetable, Duckling with Champignon Sauce and Sweet and Sour Shrimp.
But actually, what makes Braga Permai gained fame and still up to now is their patisserie (bakery) and ice cream. Some 27 different taste of ice cream are available in this restaurant.
I tried one called Winer Melange, a mix of coffee, vanilla ice cream and whip cream. My friend tried their strawberry vanilla ice cream. She really loved their big fresh strawberries on the glass.
Its patisserie offers a various selection of bread and cake and we still can find some with the Dutch name such as Botter Staff, Ontbijtkoek and Bokkepootjes.
Ontbitjkoek, for instance, is a breakfast cake in Holland. This cake has a unique taste because it is spiced with cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg or known for Indonesian as bumbu spekoek or only spekoek for Dutch.
If one comes to Braga Permai with the excitement to feel an ambiance of classic era atmosphere as if go to Batavia Café in Jakarta, he or she might likely be disappointed. But just to remember the history of this restaurant has with the legendary Braga Street plus a reasonable price, maybe it’s still worth to try.
 |
| A photo of old Braga Permai |
No comments:
Post a Comment