Bu Ageng is a restaurant with a slogan “Home-cook meals diner”. The thing about home-cook meals is that, they are very relative, depending on what your mom (or your mom’s cook) used to cook for you at home.

I’m not familiar with most of the food and beverages served at Bu Ageng’s since I wasn’t raised even remotely in Javanese culture. But I like all the menu that I have there!

The Bubur Duren Mlekoh (savory and thick durian porridge) is both savory and sweet. The Es Kopyor Duren (iced shredded durian and kopyor coconut) is also something I would come back for. And when in South East Asia, c’mon, don’t hesitate to try anything durian!

Diyan has the Nasi Campur Ayam Bakar Suwiran (steamed rice with shredded grilled chicken) and Sayur Asem (tamarind-based vegetable soup). His Minangnese taste buds don’t complain at all!

And my favorite part of the menu is the way they describe some of the food, like the one that I try, Eyem Penggeng. It’s written with a quirky story in the menu list. The Eyem Penggeng menu consisted of simply grilled chicken, which is “Ayam Panggang” in Indonesian. But they once heard a seller shouting out the food with a nasal voice and it sounded like “Eyem Penggeng”, hence the name! I like how playful they can be with the food names.

The ambiance is homey to my standard, as in laid-back and partly open-aired, just like the house in which I grew up. The back wall is decorated with black & white photos of big Indonesian names, from young Soeharto (our second President known for his corrupt empire and 32 years reign) to a well-respected Indonesian poet, the late WS Rendra, and Pak Tino Sidin, most Indonesian 80s children’s favorite TV personality for his drawing show.

Bu Ageng (translated to “Mrs. Big) restaurant is pretty spacious, though I wouldn’t consider it big. It’s located on Jalan Tirtodipuran, which is adjacent to Jalan Prawirotaman. Restaurants and batik boutiques are now popping up on the street, neighboring still with residential houses.

Prices range from IDR 8,000 – 30,000 for food and IDR 6,000 – 25,000 for beverages.

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