If anyone were to have any complaints about the legendary Nasi Goreng Kebon Sirih joint in Central Jakarta, it would not be about the food but about the warung’s cramped alleyway location on Jalan Kebon Sirih, which has been serving up what is arguably the most delicious nasi goreng in Jakarta since 1958 but has also been causing traffic jams in the area for nearly as long.
Jakarta Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama seems to be a fan of the spicy lamb fried rice from the warung too, as he specifically said he’d love for Nasi Goreng Kebon Sirih to move to JakBistro, a new culinary center that just opened today in City Hall.
“Now [Nasi Goreng Kebon Sirih] is causing traffic jams on Jalan Kebon Sirih every evening. The lamb fried rice sellers should move inside (to City Hall) so that people can eat nasi goreng while enjoying the view of Monas,” he said, as quoted by Metro TV today.
Ahok added that he hopes many of Jakarta’s best street food vendors would also move to JakBistro, where the food quality and hygiene is closely monitored by the Food and Drugs Monitoring Agency (BPOM).
Nasi Goreng Kebon Sirih is actually located not far from City Hall. It has evolved into a franchise over the years, with several booths opening up in mall food courts throughout Jakarta. That said, most people still far prefer the original warung on Jalan Kebon Sirih. In fact, we love the original Nasi Goreng Kebon Sirih so much that we included it in our 20 Things to Do in Jakarta video:
