Djulaeha, Culinary Dedication from Cihapit Corner

KOMPAS/CORNELIUS HELMY

Djulaeha

She is already 90 years old. However, the spirit of Hj Djulaeha, better known as Bu Eha, has never waned. Most of her journey in life has been dedicated to the culinary specialties of Nusantara or Indonesian archipelago from a corner of Cihapit market, Bandung.

Atun, 58, forgets how many times she has visited the food stall, Warung Makan Bu Eha. Dropping in for the first time 40 years ago, she almost always returned on Friday at noon. At the time, she went there with her lover, now her husband, when she was a student. Now, she and her spouse dine together with their children.

“With my two children graduating from college now, Bu Eha remains our idol,” said Atun, a resident of Antapani, around 10 kilometers from Cihapit, on Saturday (18/6/2022). She likes chicken, fried tripe and instantly prepared red chili sauce. Although they are on the old menu, she always enjoys their freshness when savoring the dishes.

Their longing is not merely related to cooking. The hospitality of Eha makes them miss her. Eha always appears with a smile on her face. She also has a strong memory at her near-centenarian age. Eha, for instance, remembers well the favorite food Atun is going to order.

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Eha is indeed special. Besides her good memory, her physical condition does not seem to be worn by age. Both her legs remain sturdy. She claims that she rarely gets sick. Despite the closure of her business for four months due to the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, she has so far been getting on quite well. “Only my lower tooth had to be extracted for being shaken,” she said.

Nonetheless, of all her endowments, her tongue may be champion. No longer cooking herself, she still tastes all of the dishes herself before handing them out to costumers from 06.00. The eatery, measuring about 12 square meters, is busy until it closes at around 15.00 and serves as evidence of her tenacity.

“I guarantee the flavor of cooking here never changes. It’s as delicious as what was always instructed by Bu Enok,” said Eha.

Family legacy

The late Enok was Eha’s natural mother. She started this business in 1947 in Cihapit. The cooking ability of Enok was developed as she frequently helped with cooking chores in Dutch people’s houses in Cihapit, which was known as an elite zone in the past. Many wealthy Dutch citizens with a strong appetite for food lived there.

Eha said when the stall was opened, her mother offered a typically Dutch menu like steak, stews, boiled peeled potatoes and red bean soup. As time went by, especially when Eha was entrusted with managing the stall in the 1970s, a varied menu was offered such as fried rice noodles, sauteed gourds, various wrapped spiced food, fried and spiced chicken. Most of them were typically Sundanese specialties.

“The original dish preserved since the time of Bu Enok is soto Bandung (soup). It still draws a lot of customers,” said Bu Eha, who needs around 25 kilograms of beef and 25 chickens daily.

KOMPAS/CORNELIUS HELMY

Djulaeha

What also remains unchanged is the steadfastness of Eha to go to the stall every day. Rising at about 03.30, she performs her dawn prayer and then prepares food ingredients at her home in Cimuncang, Bandung city. When everything is ready, she, along with her family members, leaves for Cihapit, four kilometers from home. “We used to walk with Bu Enok from home. Now they take me there by car,” she said.

In Cihapit, seven helpers cook together. Opening the stall at 06.00, she remains there until it closes at 16.00. “I like staying at the stall as I can meet with many people. It’s the secret to living a long life,” she pointed out.

The food stall’s customers are varied. For students living around Cihapit in the 1970s, for instance, Eha was the one to satisfy their hunger. There was hardly any eatery at the time. More specially, Eha had no objection to their deferred payment for reasons of having not yet received monthly remittances from their parents.

Some students forgot to pay their debts until they graduated. “There were those who came and left lots of money after dining. They said they had not yet paid the sums owed when they were students,” related Eha.

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Not only cash-strapped students, but regional and state officials have also often visited the stall. She mentioned former West Java governors from Dani Setiawan to Ahmad Heryawan. Present West Java Governor

Ridwan Kamil is also her customer. The children of (first president) Bung Karno, Guntur and Guruh Soekarnoputra and Megawati Soekarnoputri, were also said to be fond of Eha’s cuisine.

Now it’s like a success story that she would like to hand down, Eha has prepared the third generation to continue her business. One of them is Yusuf Supriadi, 63, her fifth child.

Hospitable to customers like his mother, Yusuf said Bu Eha had always stressed the need to be loyal to flavor. The times may change but the flavor should be preserved. The various detailed processes of cooking should never be forgotten.

Yusuf gave an example that from decades ago to the present, Eha had used one brand of coconut oil for frying. The coconut oil is believed to make the flavor unchanged. The instant chili sauce also only uses two brands of selected shrimp paste. If the shrimp paste is replaced with other types, customers can protest as the taste will be different. For the piquant taste, Eha uses beef broth instead of monosodium glutamate.

The method of cooking remains the same. The first cooking oil must be used for frying tempeh. This makes the tempeh more appetizing and the other dish-cooking processes are not messed up.

Many people dining here leave some prayers for me in order to live a long life.

The menu for processed beef also has a special place. Eha herself selects the silverside (outside of the leg) from newly cut beef no more than one night before.

Besides, the way beef is cut after being boiled for several hours needs some technique. It’s not easy to cut thick beef to make tender gepuk (spicy fried beef). If mistakenly cut, the beef will be broken during cooking.

Although her children promise to continue her food stall business, so far Eha does not yet intend to quit her job. She will keep greeting customers and controlling the specialties offered. She believes that apart from making her healthy, everything she handles is part of religious devotion.

“Many people dining here leave some prayers for me in order to live a long life,” she proudly said.

With her smile and hospitality, Bu Eha makes herself complete as a legend by her dedication to Nusantara culinary delights.

This article was translated by Aris Prawira.