Rather than discussing specific street food that we always do in every issue, The Mommy and Me theme actually gave me an opportunity to do something a bit different but related with kids and schools. If you guys know what it means, then it’s time for jajanan sekolah time!

This conversation started perhaps six to seven years ago when I was neither a food blogger nor even a food writer. I overheard my colleagues discussing about where to go for lunch. One of them suggested her group to give it a go for jajanan sekolah in front of St. Theresia church. And of course, they concurred quickly but the idea of going back and forth Menteng and office in Sudirman under one hour was simply dreadful and I personally never had the chance to try it.

So here we are many years later and inspired by my eavesdropping, I decided to give it a test to the jajanan sekolah during a one hot, sunny afternoon. It was tricky to get a spot to park a car around these hours so you might want to really peel your eyes.

Turns out if you exactly arrived at 12 o’clock, you will encounter a decent amount of jajanan sekolah stockpiles in front of these two famous schools in Jakarta, St. Theresia and St. Bellarminus. By the way, by what I mean as jajanan sekolah means the snacks that the kids usually like and sold in pushcarts in front of schools. However, some of them are actually food for adults as well.

For example, I enjoyed my time having the chocolate flavored kue lekker. It’s a traditional thin crepes made in an instant by pouring the batter upon a spinning pan. Sometimes it is also flavored with strawberry syrup and banana. There are also other traditional stuffs such as kue rangi and rambut nenek (literally means “grandma’s hair”).

Other highlights during my short trip there was a really good mie ayam nearby St. Bellarminus on Jalan Lombok and the bakso sold on bicycle in front of the church. Another rarity that I discovered that afternoon was this particular pushcart who sells delicious Semarang’s version of lumpia filled with diced bamboo shoots and ultimately for dessert, the one and only es goyang filled with soybeans and showered with chocolate and nuts for only three thousand rupiahs!

So be sure to drop by here whenever you can and enjoy the nostalgia that you’re longing so much. As adults, of course we can easily buy all these delicacies that we’d love to try when we were kids. The time when we really want the snacks but neither we can’t afford all of it nor did our parents not allow us for that. However be sure to not unleash yourself too hard or you might have an uneasy stomach having all those treats at once!

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JAJANAN SEKOLAH AROUND ST THERESIA & ST BELLARMINUS
Halal-friendly
Some are suitable for vegetarians

Address:
Jalan H. Agus Salim & Jalan Lombok, Jakarta – Indonesia

Opening Hours:
Brunch and lunch time, but not later than 1pm

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Featured in THE FOODIE MAGAZINE October 2014 edition

Download it for free here via SCOOP!

Photography by Dennie Benedict