Medan Young People Drive Culinary Delights

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A waiter serves Beef Steak at Tip Top Restaurant on Jalan Jenderal Ahmad Yani, Medan, North Sumatra, Friday (28/5/2021). In the midst of a pandemic, legendary recipes still maintain their trademark.

The youth have refused to give in amid the grim situation. They have started up their culinary businesses and worked hard to survive. Various innovations have been made to improve the quality of products and concept of catering. They serve online orders offer takeaway packages.

Culinary business start-ups, such as cafes, bakeries, restaurants and carry-away snack shops, have been springing up in Medan, North Sumatra.

Culinary outlets are growing from the city center to the suburbs. In the Kesawan area, new culinary vendors have emerged alongside those that have been operating for a long time.

One of the culinary outlets that was initiated during the pandemic era is To The Moon and Bake. The cafe is located adjacent to Kedai Kopi Apek, one of the oldest coffee shops in Medan.

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Set among historic old buildings on Jalan Perdana, the atmosphere at the cafe is designed in a such way it is reminiscent to cafes in Penang, Malaysia, or Singapore.

"To survive in the midst of a pandemic, we rely on products and services. We accept orders for products online or for take away," cafe owner Keryn Diegra said.

The 26-year old just arrived at her cafe on Wednesday (2/6/2021). She immediately checked the kitchen to ensure all food and drink orders were being served with care on quality.

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Ice cream with peaches and chocolate mocha bread is served at Tip Top Restaurant, Medan, North Sumatra, Friday (28/5/2021).

Keryn has been hailed for being daring enough to take up the business move with the To The Moon and Bake opening in May 2020, when business panic set it against the pandemic outbreak. At that time, several existing culinary businesses fell out. But Keryn, who had planned the business before the pandemic, went ahead with her venture.

A few months earlier, she had begun services online and remained focused on product development. The menu offered at her cafe includes various types of bread, coffee, processed meat, fish food and spaghetti.

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Among the cafe’s signature breads is the Cinnamon Roll, a Swedish specialty roll filled with spices and cream, which she boasted being then a novelty among culinary-craving public.

The cafe has launched a monthly menu offered exclusively to loyal customers as part of a strategy to increase sales.

One of the specialties ever made is beef bourguignon, a kind of beef stew cooked with typical French spices. Special menus are also served on special occasions, such as private dinners.

Keryn always tries to tweak strategies through product innovation to keep the business up and running as she did on Christmas Eve 2020. The cafe served food, the making of which was, as she said, by using molecular gastronomy techniques

It also served food that looked to be emitting colorful glows to create a unique dining experience on Christmas Eve. "In the midst of pandemic, product innovation is a must for us to survive," she said.

The glass partition between cafe\'s kitchen and the dining room allows customers to peer into the chef at work.

The interior design of the cafe, which occupies a two-story building measuring 4 x 10 meters, is created to bring a homely atmosphere with four small tables and one large table inside. The glass partition between cafe\'s kitchen and the dining room allows customers to peer into the chef at work.

To The Moon and Bake seems to merge with the surrounding culinary outlets. In the morning, the cafe door is wide open and the air conditioner is turned off. People sitting in the front and mingling with street drink vendors can order food from Kedai Kopi Apek.

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Tip Top restaurant in the Kesawan area which is the historical center of Medan City, North Sumatra, Friday (28/5/2021).

Keryn realizes that only relying on online services is not enough. Efforts must be pursued to improve product quality. “Because other shops serve the same service. There must be distinctly signature product,” he said.

Wahid Hasyim\'s culinary

One of the culinary centers that is currently also growing rapidly in the city is on Jalan KH Wahid Hasyim with the emergence of new cafes and restaurants .

One of them is Diujung Senja Kopi. The cafe, which occupies a 4 x 6 meter room, was initiated by a group young people in 2019.

“Several months into operational, we were faced with the pandemic. However, we did not give up and continued to improve product quality, innovate, and offer affordable prices,” said barista Rahmatulloh Dian Cahyo (20).

With limited space for service engagement, the premised cafe relies more on take-away or online order via apps.

The cafe menu includes Morning Milk Coffee, Sunset Milk Coffee, chocolate drinks, mocha and taro. The milk coffee is offered using espresso (one shoot for Sunset and double shoot for Morning) imbued with milk and palm sugar.

“We use palm sugar which we process ourselves to ensure its quality. Palm sugar is the hallmark of our product," Dian said.

The cafe launched a hamburger product last February. They have now tried different kinds of hamburgers to attract diners. They prepare the beef themselves and serve it in thick meat portions. The hamburger is now becoming one of the favorites.

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A traditional Indian menu, Mutton Mogulai Paratha is served at Cahaya Baru Restaurant, Medan, North Sumatra, Monday (1/6/2021).

“In the future, we will launch other products that are appealing to take home. The types of menus don\'t need to be large, but go down to the taste," he said.

In addition to cafes, Jalan KH Wahid Hasyim has also turned into a carry-away food snack center. Starting there was Ucok Durian, before other shops followed, such as Bolu Napoleon, Bolu Toba, Bolu Stim Menara and Medan Par Par. Some have closed due to the pandemic.

Innovation

Leonarce, Co-Founder of MakanMana (Mama) Culinary Medan, a culinary info provider on social media, said that culinary businesses require innovation to survive in the face of pandemic.

Many foods found on the menus of big restaurants are now available at cafes that can be taken away or ordered online.

"Many cafes even make frozen or vacuum packaged food so that it can be shipped to other regions," Leonarce said.

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The culinary businesses cannot be only dependent on tourists. However, the ongoing situation has caused a decline in people’s purchasing power and customers are keen to hunt for products at discounted prices through apps.

Rita Margaretha Setianingsih, a lecturer at the Medan State Tourism Polytechnic, conceded to the dire condition besetting the culinary businesses in Medan due to the sharp drop in foreign and domestic tourist arrivals. Online services were said an option to help a way out from the glooms.

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A number of traditional menus from South Tapanuli are served at Padang Sidimpuan Restaurant at the Sei Belutu intersection, Medan, North Sumatra, Saturday (29/5/2021).

Despite the discouraging situation due to the pandemic, culinary delights are enticing culinary enthusiasts from the food and drink outlets at city corners, driven by young people.

(This article was translated by Musthofid).