Local Guide

Glodok: The Chinatown of Jakarta

Hello FlokqJune 20, 2020

Jakarta as the capital city of Indonesia is surely diverse because of its long history. Jakarta used to be Batavia, a place where tons of things related to the Dutch East Indies are taken place in here. In Batavia, a lot of people from different countries such as China, India, and Saudi Arabia are also trying to trade, buy, or even sell something here. After a long time, a lot of races decided to settle in Batavia for good. One of the popular areas is Glodok. The Dutch East Indies established Glodok back in 1740 as a Chinese residential place. 

Nowadays, Glodok is famous as Jakarta’s Chinatown. With a long history, this place is not only memorable but it is also a home for a lot of historical places. And also, if you’re looking for something that might be more affordable even with the same quality, a lot of people will recommend you to go to the Glodok area to buy and find things. Glodok is divided into 3 different parts; Petak Sembilan, Gang Gloria, and lastly the Pancoran street.

Petak Sembilan

Petak Sembilan might be a memorable place for a lot of Jakartans. The origin of its name might be unsurprising because the locals said that there is only 9 home inside this place at first. As time goes by, a lot of stores and homes started to be built here. This place is also crowded when the Chinese New Year is coming. In this area, you can find a lot of stalls and street food alongside the street, making this place a packed one. In Petak Sembilan you can find a lot of things, from food until Temple. 

When the Chinese New Year season comes, you’ll see that the stall and stores beside the street will sell a lot of decorations or kinds of stuff to fulfill the needs of Chinese-Indonesian that celebrates the new year. Decorations and also stuff such as incense sticks and lanterns can be easily found in this place. If you’re looking for traditional medicine, Petak Sembilan might be one of the best places in Jakarta to find it. A lot of traditional medicine stores can be found here and it been operated for a long time ago and it usually a family-run store. 

Gang Gloria

Gang Gloria might be the best place to find your favorite dishes. Not only that, but a lot of restaurants or coffee shops that you can find here are also usually have been established for a couple of decades. You can also try the famous Es Kopi Tak Kie in here.

Es Kopi Tak Kie

Jakarta surely has a rapid transformation in its culinary sector. And coffee might be one of the important parts of it. A lot of cafes are built and it might be hard to choose where is the best place to go to. With its fast-paced lifestyle, a lot of people need to gulp a cup of coffee in the morning to wake their bodies. Because of the demands, a lot of places tried to give the citizens a lot of different types of coffee that they can choose from. 

But, Kopi Es Tak Kie is surely different. Kopi Es Tak Kie is a Coffee shop that is located inside the Gang Gloria. This place is famous because the taste that is provided by Kopi Es Tak Kie is always consistent since its establishment that has been happening three generations ago or to be exact in 1927. Yes, this place has been established when World War II happened and it’s been famous since then. Like what we have mentioned before, Kopi Es Tak Kie is different because this place is not offering a lot of selection of coffee in its menu. They stick to 2 selection of coffee, Es Kopi Susu Tak Kie (an iced coffee that is made with selections beans and mixed with milk) or the regular Es Kopi Tak Kie (a black iced coffee made with selections beans).

The taste that is given by Es Kopi Tak Kie might kick you, a taste that is memorable and hard to be replicated. It is also nice to gulp a glass of Es Kopi Tak Kie because the hot weather of Jakarta might be stress your body function. Es Kopi Tak Kie is also affordable, something that might be rate to find when you remember about the long history that this place holds. You can also try the unique cuisine in this place. Pioh or turtle soup can be your choice to accompany your Es Kopi Tak Kie, or you can also order a plate of Nasi Campur to fulfill your hunger. 

Not only the taste of Es Kopi Tak Kie that might give you memory about Jakarta, The Interior that this place has might also memorable for you. Kopi Es Tak Kie surely preserves the originality of its interior since it was built, it feels like the time is not ticking when we’re talking about its Interior. With an old feeling of white walls and pictures that are hanging on the walls that might be interesting to talk to why you sip your coffee, is why we said that this place is not changing much. A large signboard that says the name of this place is also another thing that might be unique about this place.

Phone Number: +62819-3117-3518

Address: Gang Gloria, Glodok, Jl. Pintu Besar Selatan III No.4-6, RT.7/RW.6, Pinangsia, Kec. Taman Sari, Kota Jakarta Barat, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta 11120

Opening Hours: 

06.30 – 14.00 (Monday – Thursday)

06.30 – 12.30 (Friday – Sunday)

Jalan Pancoran

Pantjoran Tea House

Glodok might be so fast-paced and also chaotic. With a lot of things that are going on in this place, you might want to take a rest a bit so you can finish your journey in this Place. If you’re planning to do so, you can head out to the Pantjoran Tea House. As the name of it, Pantjoran Tea House is a tea house that is located just across the famous Glodok Market (Pasar Glodok). This place might be interesting to look at because it is a revitalized building that is one of a plan that is initiated by the Governments of Jakarta. 

Pantjoran Tea House is surely a historical building that is preserved. In this place, you can try a lot of tea variants from Japan, China, Indonesia, and also English. Not only that, but you can also order a selection of Indonesian dishes here to fulfill your hunger. This place is surely a go-to if you want to experience a different ambiance in Jakarta. 

Phone Number: +6221 6905904

Address: Jl. Pancoran No.4-6 Glodok Tamansari 9, RT.9/RW.5, Pinangsia, Kec. Taman Sari, Kota Jakarta Barat, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta 11120

Opening Hours: 

11.00 – 20.00 (Monday – Friday)

8.00 – 20.00 (Saturday – Sunday)

Glodok is surely a place that you need to look for if you’re looking for something new. Not only look is it lively and might be a little chaotic because a lot of things are happening here, but Glodok is also a place if you want to look for historical buildings. You can try to explore Glodok.