TEMPO.CO, Makassar - When Indonesians study abroad, it does not mean their time overseas is spent only obtaining an academic degree. For example, Muzayyin Arif, an English literature major at Griffith Univeristy in Australia used his time to also open up a typical coto Makassar (typical soup dish from Makassar) warung (eatery) restaurant in Sydney.
Muzayyin decided to open a coto Makassar restaurant for one very simple reason: because he is from Makassar. "The name of the restaurant is Lontara, the first coto Makassar eatery in Sydney," he said on Thursday, May 2.
The name Lontara is the name for a Bugis script. The restaurant opened on April 28 and is located on 222 Military Road, Neutural Bay, Sydney. Lontara can fit between 15 to 20 diners.
"The food is cooked by Sitti Fatimah, a cook who was flown especially from Makassar," said Muzayyin. "So the flavor is guaranteed to taste like the best coto in Makassar."
The idea to open Lontara came from Muzayyin’s desire to introduce coto as an alternative Asian dish to tom yam soup from Thailand, laksa from Singapore, and nasi lemak from Malaysia, which are all well-known in Australia. Aside from that, he established his restaurant in order to help Indonesians living in Australia, especially those from South Sulawesi, overcome their longing for coto Makassar.
Muzayyin chose coto because of its strong character. After a little research, Muzayyin discovered that manysoto dishes in Indonesia are based on coto Makassar. "The advantage of coto Makassar is that many can accept its distinctive taste, including foreigners," said Muzayyin. "Foreigners say that this dish is 100 percent different."
Muzayyin said that many of his customers, who are mostly Australian, often ask for second helpings of cotoMakassar. This has given him confidence that Lontara will flourish in Australia.
When you are in Sydney, you can visit Lontara from Tuesday to Sunday. On Mondays, Muzayyin gives his employees a day off. However, the price of Muzayyin’s coto is far from its original price in Makassar of around Rp7,000 to Rp10,000 (approximately AUS$ 0.70 to AUS$ 1) per bowl. In Sydney, you can enjoy a bowl of coto for AUS$ 9 per bowl.
"We open from 10.00 to 14.00 for lunch," said Muzayyin. "After that, we take a break and then open again from 17.00 to 21.00 for dinner."
MUHAMMAD YUNUS
