Celebrate Chinese-Indonesian culture by exploring Petak Sembilan Market
We have the start of the Year of the Monkey to thank for this first long weekend of the month. Sure, you could celebrate Chinese New Year by feasting away at one of Jakarta’s many awesome Chinese restaurants, but if you really want an up close and personal look at Chinese culture in Jakarta, head to Petak Sembilan in Glodok, North Jakarta.
The closest thing Jakarta has to an old-school Chinatown, Petak Sembilan is an area filled with traditional shops selling everything from traditional medicine to exotic animals (mostly for eating). The tiny alleys shooting off the main roads are great places for urban explorers to find awesome little eateries and mysterious storefronts.
If you’re in the area, you’ll also want to check out the oldest Buddhist temple in Jakarta, Vihara Dharma Bhakti (Jin De Yuan), which was first built in 1650 and will be packed with visitors this weekend looking to pay their respects.
We’ve given you a good starting point for your Petak Sembilan explorations in the map below, but The Honeycombers has a great guide to the area if you want more info.
Shop in a park under the sun at Garasi Menteng (Feb 6-7)
Pray for sunny weather this weekend so that you can head to Taman Menteng (one of the Jakarta’s nicer parks) to check out the goods at Garasi Menteng. With everything from clothes and accessories to toys and books on offer, it’ll be a good place to scratch your shopping itch without heading into a mall.
Check out film posters elevated into an art form at the “Méreklamékan Pelém” exhibition
You rarely, if ever, see them nowadays, but there was a time not so long ago when the giant film posters hung up outside theaters around Jakarta were handpainted replicas of the real thing, (since artists were cheaper to hire than printers at the time). A new exhibition called “Méreklamékan Pelém” (“Turning Film into Posters”), organized by cutting edge modern artist Oomleo, takes that tradition and gives it a modern twist by showcasing avantgarde film posters created by 100 of his fellow artists. The exhibition is taking place at the A.P.A. Space on Plaza Indonesia’s 5th floor and the opening party starts this Saturday at 7pm. The exhibition will run from Feb 7-15
Dragonfly Sunday Treats (Sun night)
Really take advantage of this long weekend by taking the rare opportunity to party at the club on Sunday night. If you haven’t checked out the recently renovated Dragonfly, this Feb 7 might be the perfect time to do so as they’re having a special “Sunday Treats” session. Ladies will be especially happy to know that Dragonfly’s usual strict dress code is not in effect for the night, so feel free to leave your high heels at home and come dance in your flats or evens sandals!
Get down with Jerome Isma-Ae at Colosseum (Fri night)
If you can’t wait until this Sunday to hit the dance floor, or if you’re a fan of the pulsing beat of progressive house, head to Colosseum this Friday night for a special Cirque D’Colosseum night with house hero Jerome Isma-ae from Germany spinning the decks. FDC 100k.
