Jakarta's Chinatown
Text by Mirandhika Mirza Photos by Teguh Sudarisman and Mirandhika Mirza
The Pancoran area of West Jakarta is the largest Chinatown in Jakarta, and full of unusual and unique shopping opportunities. If you like exploring while shopping, be sure to visit this area for an extraordinary shopping sensation.
The pulse of life in this district is intense, starting from early morning. Tasty aromas emanate from the numerous food stalls in the little alleys on either side of Jalan Pancoran leading toward Petak Sembilan.
Gang Kalimati is one such alley, packed with a huge variety of enticing eats – everything from little snacks to get you going in the morning to full meals of rice and side dishes, and all in a strongly Chinese atmosphere. Many local residents still speak their ancestral language daily, and the indigenous architecture betrays strong Malay/Chinese influences. In many of the traditional Chinese coffee stalls, you can find older gentlemen enjoying yam cha, the tea drinking tradition originally from Guangdong, South China, which still thrives here.
Chinatown is also known for its medicine shops, which sell a wide range of dried herbal Chinese medicinal ingredients. These are one of the area's most interesting sights, all along Jalan Pancoran and heading toward Pintu Kecil. Nearby is a Chinese-language bookstore, Nadarin Bookstore, which features books on history, literature, and management as well as children's storybooks in Mandarin.
If you're a shopping freak, don't miss Pasar Pagi Asemka, where you can find a wide variety of high-quality imported accessories at low prices. There's also the Mangga Dua area, with all kinds of necessities such as clothing, bags, and watches, all at very affordable prices.
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