This is the piece I write for JAX about Tugu Kunstkring Paleis in Jakarta.
The original article with photos and video can be found here: http://jax.co.id/tugu-kunstkring-paleis/
Tugu Kunstkring Paleis
THE ART, SOUL AND ROMANCE OF INDONESIA
Text by: Astrid Amalia
A BEAUTIFULLY PRESERVED OLD BUILDING IN THE HEART OF JAKARTA, TUGU KUNSTKRING PALEIS TAKES ITS PATRONS TO EXPERIENCE LOCAL AUTHENTIC FARE WHILE REVISITING THE DUTCH COLONIAL ERA.
Despite its 300-year colonial, the Dutch has unquestionably left some historic trails in the archipelago. In Jakarta, there are still several old buildings sumptuously standing with their own history to tell, tracing back to the old story of Batavia (the former name of Jakarta).
Heading to the center part of the capital is where you can find Tugu Kunstrking Paleis, a Dutch colonial heritage building where you can trace some of the trails that leave Indonesia’s romantic nostalgia.
Entering this beautifully preserved building, which today functions as F&B establishment, you will not miss the grand lounge with art objects surrounding the interior. The restaurant, lounge and café at Tugu Kunstkring Paleis are stylish, exotic and romantic in setting.
The grand historical building originally housed the Fine Arts Circle of the Dutch East Indies (Nederlandsch-Indische Kunstkring of the Dutch East Indies) when it was first opened on April 17, 1914. This organization was founded on April 1, 1902 in Batavia, with the purpose to promote the practice of and the enthusiasm for the fine and decorative arts of the Indies. Throughout the history, the building has had various functions, as it stays faithful to the mission of promoting anything related to the art. It featured various creative artworks between 1934 and 1939 as well as world-class masterpieces of Vincent van Gogh, Pablo Picasso, Paul Gauguin, Marc Chagall and the likes.
“Under the management of Tugu Hotels & Restaurants Group that works together with Lingkaran Seni Indonesia, the grand building has been decorated and returned to its original splendor as the center of art exhibitions, as well as other events with high appreciation to the beauty of arts and history. It also houses a gallery where patrons can buy beautiful artworks, jewels, lifestyle products and other design items, aside from functioning as a fine-dining restaurant, a grand elegant lounge and a tea house”, Rosiany Chandra, the Public Relations manager, says.
The Prince (Pangeran) Diponegoro Room is something that you will not miss when entering the building. It’s a dining room with a grand-high ceiling space featuring the beautiful 9 x 4 meters painting, called “the Fall of Java”. The picture tells about the capture of Prince Diponegoro on March 28, 1830 at the house of Magelang Residence, after the betrayal of General De Cock from the Dutch-Indies Government. In Indonesian art history, this legendary scene of Prince Diponegoro’s capture has only been shown through paintings by J.W Pieneman and Raden Saleh. This makes “the Fall of Java” as the third painting in the world which portrays one of the most iconic events in Indonesia history. At the sides of the room, there are ancient guardhouses used to place beautiful flowers.
Suzie Wong Bar is where patrons usually have a sip of drink after the main courses in the dining room. The bar is inspired by the famous novel and the big hit movie in the 1960s The World of Suzie Wong by Richard Mason, which starred William Holden and Nancy Kwan. The movie is about bittersweet love story that took place in the Hong Kong post-war in the late 1950s. It’s a romance of a beautiful prostitute known as Suzie Wong and an English painter who had just arrived in Hong Kong, Robert Lomax.
The bar also displays the signboard of Nam Kok Hotel, the brothel in Wanchai where Lomax rented a room to live in and also the Suzie Wong’s world – the world of the Hong Kong brothels. The bar is also decorated with two giant posters about the movie created in 1960s, a rickshaw from Wanchai, and many other ornaments that bring back the romantic aura of the movie.
On the second floor, there is Sukarno Room in 1950. The room is dedicated to the proclaimer of the Independence of Indonesia, the first president, the national hero and an avid art lover. Bung Karno’s taste of art and beauty can be seen from a large photo depicting him sitting with three exotic Legong dancers from Bali. Besides metal heritage pieces and other paintings that show the beauty of Bali, there are many pictures of Bung Karno that tell the historical stories of his life from his teenage to his last farewell when he was buried in Blitar, East Java. Patrons can sit on an oversized table of solid wood surrounded with 24 seats while seeing all the pictures in the room.
The bar also displays the signboard of Nam Kok Hotel, the brothel in Wanchai where Lomax rented a room to live in and also the Suzie Wong’s world – the world of the Hong Kong brothels. The bar is also decorated with two giant posters about the movie created in 1960s, a rickshaw from Wanchai, and many other ornaments that bring back the romantic aura of the movie.
On the second floor, there is Sukarno Room in 1950. The room is dedicated to the proclaimer of the Independence of Indonesia, the first president, the national hero and an avid art lover. Bung Karno’s taste of art and beauty can be seen from a large photo depicting him sitting with three exotic Legong dancers from Bali. Besides metal heritage pieces and other paintings that show the beauty of Bali, there are many pictures of Bung Karno that tell the historical stories of his life from his teenage to his last farewell when he was buried in Blitar, East Java. Patrons can sit on an oversized table of solid wood surrounded with 24 seats while seeing all the pictures in the room.
Created by the inland Dutch to explore the best of what Indonesian food has to offer, the grand meal consists of dozens of different Indonesian dishes varying in spices, color and flavors, mainly from the island of Java.
The waiters, uniformed in Betawi circa 1910 style, present the dishes in the artistic Betawi yoke (pikulan-pikulan). This ceremonial dining is enlivened by musicians who usually perform the festive, traditional music of the ‘Ondel- Ondel Betawi’, a pair of colorful giants characterize old Jakarta street parade. The number of waiters who serve the Rijsttafel depends on the number of the menu presented; it therefore can be two, 12, 22 or even more waiters. The maître d’hôtel expertly explains miscellaneous menu to the host of the party who is usually seated at the end of the table. It is usually served in the Diponegoro Room.
Patrons can go to the Ban Lam Wine Shop & Tasting Room for a wine. The place was previously known as Stam en Weynes, a very popular café serving fine food and wine while offering the view of Menteng neighborhood from Balkon van Menteng.
“We want the guests to enjoy the old and new beautiful artworks, feel the souls that have been living inside the beauty of the art, and experience the romance in remembering them in our Kunstkring”, Rosiany Chandra, Public Relations Manager of Tugu Kunstkring Paleis.
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