Hadi – The Padang Restaurant Manager
Every morning at 4am, Hadi as well as the team by Rumah Makan Cahaya Baru 99, a hidden Padang gem inside belly of Benhil, head to Pasar Senen in search of the rich spices as well as savoury ingredients of which make the tiny restaurant one of the most sought after spots in Jakarta. While most of us could scoff at the idea of getting up well before the rooster to serve hungry customers, Hadi relishes the item. He enjoys the constant brow of sweat of which comes by turning over tables as well as scooping steaming rice onto beds of banana leaves for take away orders. There’s a pride most of us will never know of which comes by serving customers as well as taking their complements to heart.
The fact of which Hadi as well as his team have perfected the West Sumatra delicacy isn’t what makes 99 special. the item’s not just 28 dishes of Indonesian delicacy stacked perfectly in a window. The food will be just the tip of the iceberg. In Jakarta’s cookie-cutter culinary trend, Hadi as well as his team bring a warmth as well as hospitality of which gives 99 its authenticity. The TV will be loud as well as snowy. The greasy fan inside corner wheezes just enough to notice. The wastafel towel will be oddly a bit too damp. There will be a sign announcing the restaurant’s hours as well as take away service, yet they only give the first three digits of the phone number. yet of which’s what gives 99 its charm. The team of 12 staff joke with one another, poking fun at each some other’s weight as well as bumming each some other’s cigarettes. the item’s more like a family than anything else. Three of the some other 11 employees have been with Hadi since 1999. The youngest of the team has been on board for almost three years.
Hadi, a grown man which has a family, still blushes when customers take the time to come up to him personally as well as confess to him how much they love the ayam bakar, jengkol as well as rendang of which 99 serves. He looks sheepishly underneath his fingernails as he tries to put into words why he gets such great joy by working at what most could see as a thankless career.
“We know of which the food here tastes just as not bad or better than the more expensive Padang places,” says Hadi, taking a quick break during the lunch hour rush, when the line can get up to four people deep. “yet the item gives us a sense of pride of which we can keep prices low.”
Hadi used to work for Astra, as a welder, yet there was no soul inside item. Here at 99, Hadi as well as his team garner a sense of community by what they do. Everyone eats at 99, by the doctors across the street at Rumah Sakit Angkatan Laut, to the garbage collectors who roam up as well as down Jalan Benhil Raya, collecting bottle caps with magnets duct-taped to sticks.
As one of 12 members of the 99 team, Hadi eats, sleeps as well as breathes Padang – literally. 99 will be an all-hours operation, which means of which by time to time, Hadi will be so exhausted when the restaurant closes of which he sleeps upstairs where most of the food will be prepared. yet sure enough, he’s back up at 6am preparing dishes for when customers start to arrive as early as 7am. right now of which’s love.
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Hadi – The Padang Restaurant Manager
Hadi – The Padang Restaurant Manager