Fatahillah Square in Kota Tua.
It looks like the street food menu is going to be more limited the next time you visit the Kota Tua (Old Town), the stretch of historic buildings and museums that serves as one of the city’s few viable tourist attractions in West and North Jakarta.
The government has banned unlicensed kaki lima street food vendors from the area, particularly around Fatahillah Square, the area’s most popular hang out spot. The Civil Service Police Unit (Satpol PP) are deploying 100 officers to clear out and keep the area clean from rogue street food vendors.
“And on Saturdays and Sundays, we double our personnel. We’ve been on standby for the past two weeks,” said West Jakarta Satpol PP Chief Kadiman Sijintak, as quoted by Vivanews today.
Over the past two weeks, the Satpol PP unit have evicted 100 unlicensed kaki lima vendors from Kota Tua.
But kaki lima street food isn’t entirely extinct in Kota Tua – the licensed ones have found homes under government-approved spots under brightly colored tents. You definitely won’t miss them during your next Kota Tua visit.
