TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Who could imagine that a Royal Family would like to pay a visit to a simple bakwan Malang (Malang-style meatball) stall? But that was what happened when Queen Maxima of The Netherlands came to Indonesia a few days ago.
The kiosk, named Bakwan Malang 23, is located at H. Agus Salim street, Central Jakarta, or known as Sabang area. That stall which has a cyan color nuance for its interior has been operated in Sabang for 8 years.
The owner Ken Kusuma said that a bowl of Bakwan Malang which consists of fried meatballs, boiled meatballs, tofu, steamed and fried dumplings, is only priced at Rp15,000. There is also a soft mixed Bakwan without meatballs with a price of Rp13,000.
The sauce is tasty, nothing to be added anymore because of its rich flavor. In 2015, this kiosk was expanded up to 7 long tables in the area.
Last year, Ken's meatball stall was burned, along with a few shops next to his. The fire made him out of business for some time. “Before the fire, the sales turnover reached Rp3 million until Rp5 million in a day,” he recalled.
To increase the sales he cooperates with Go-Food from Go-Jek application. “I heard from those who join Go-Food, the business is increased,” said Ken. The result is true, his food sales increased about 30-40 percents.
Earlier, Ken had been notified by the Go-Jek about the visitation of Queen Maxima, representatives of the United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development.
They had a conversation about how Go-Food works and its benefits to the restaurant. “The order is varied, sometimes it is just once in a day, but we ever had 10 at most,” said Ken.
One of the benefits Ken mentioned is the promotion. The application manages to let people outside Sabang know the existence of his stall since then.
ANTARA