Brunch at the Batavia

Had brunch at the Cafe Batavia on historic Fatahillah Square. The cafe is housed in a building dating back to the early 19th Century, though the current establishment has only been there for about three decades.

The cafe is 1930s/1940s themed with Big Band music playing in the background.  It feels like any moment Humphrey Bogart might enter the place hunting for Sidney Greenstreet. Pictures of celebrities of the era adorn the walls, although I don't know why Princess Diana's photo is up on the wall too. I guess I am ignorantly unfamiliar with her connection to the 1930s. Perhaps it's somehow related to a mastery of time travel of which none of us had ever been aware.

Brunch was superb.  Though it was 35 degrees outside, of course I had to order the Erwtensoep, AKA Dutch Split Pea Soup. It is a particular favorite of mine from living in Holland all those years ago. Followed it up with Gado Gado, an Indonesian vegetable and tempeh salad drenched in cashew-peanut dressing. And when I saw that they offered a homemade version of my favorite flavor of ice cream, rum raisin, well I couldn't resist that. Everything washed down with festively-presented Batavia Punch, a refreshing mix of lemon, soursap, and pineapple juice. 

What a delightful, pseudo-retro way to end my 48-hour staycation in old Jakarta .



















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