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inding it hard to get authentic Indonesian food in the capital? Or feeling too tired to go around the city hunting down traditional cuisine? Kemiri offers a variety of local delicacies all in one place.

A woman clad in a batik blouse and black skirt, her hair pulled into a bun, smiled warmly and said, "Welcome to Kemiri," when the Sunday Post stepped inside the Kemiri (literally "coriander") food court on the third floor of the Pejaten Village mall in South Jakarta.

"This is your table number. Please come this way," said the woman, handing us a numbered card and escorting us to a table.

The ambience of the food court was amazing. It was like walking around in a kampung with its modest, traditional wooden houses, far from the hustle and bustle of the metropolis.

Traditional Javanese lamps litter the place, shedding warm light (not too bright yet not too dim) over the food court. Empty birdcages hang in some spots, and kites are hooked on trees.

In some houses, clothes, including sarongs, hang from clotheslines.

Antique homewares, such as an old, flat black iron (heated with charcoal) and green-and-white tin mugs, were also visible in some of the houses. Baskets of fresh fruit were placed in some areas.

Old black-and-white photos, capturing olden-day Indonesia, hung on the walls, strengthening the feel of antiquity.

"Indonesian cuisine has been pushed aside for many years. It's now hard to find certain traditional dishes on the street," said Alvert Buntaran, Kemiri's managing director.

"We want to promote and bring back the popularity of traditional food to the public."

The food court, he said, holds 90 wooden tables to accommodate around 360 visitors.

When it came time to peruse the menu, we found it hard to decide what to order, as each house, serving as food stalls, offered various kinds of delicious dishes, displaying them in tempting styles, arranged on bamboo or clay plates draped with banana leaves.

A list of the dishes available was displayed in the front of each house, written in colored chalk.

The beverage and dessert corner was decorated attractively with long colorful pennants down the center.

The beverages range from soft drinks to a variety of juices and local favorites such as es campur (shaved ice with fruit) and es cendol (shaved ice with glutinous rice droplets).

There is also an array of hot drinks, from tea and coffee to local varieties such as bir pletok (ginger and cinnamon drink), sekoteng (ginger-flavored drink) and bandrek susu (ginger and milk drink with palm sugar).

Kemiri offers dozens of traditional dishes to choose from, including Javanese, Sundanese and Betawi.

In the Sundanese corner, there's steamed rice with various fried dishes such as chicken, fish, tempeh or tofu. Fresh vegetables and sambal (spicy sauce) are also available to complete the dish.

Those hankering for some Betawi fare can opt for nasi uduk (rice cooked with coconut milk) with side dishes like fried chicken, chicken liver, tempeh and tahu.

Javanese food lovers can order tongseng kambing (lamb stew), mi jawa (Javanese noodles) and kupat tahu magelang (rice cake and fried tofu).

Need something green and fresh? Gado-gado or karedok (both mixed vegetable dishes with peanut sauce) are the perfect options.

Chef Indra Sudarmodjo said they tried to keep everything authentic to bring out the original taste of the dishes.

"We don't replace the original ingredients because we want to serve the authentic taste," he said.

The concept of the food court is similar to that of local wedding receptions, which feature a variety of separate food stalls, including one for kambing guling (spit-roasted lamb), which is often the signature dish of the party.

In addition to local cuisine, you can also opt for Western dishes, with the offering ranging from grilled sandwiches to steaks.

If you're looking for something a tad lighter, you can grab the lumpia udang mayonnaise (shrimp rolls with mayonnaise), Bitter Ballen and tahu pingpong isi otak-otak (fried tofu stuffed with fish cake).

The traditional Indonesian snacks include serabi solo (pancake), kelepon (round, steamed glutinous rice cakes stuffed with palm sugar and topped with grated coconut), getuk lindri (crushed cassava) and martabak (deep-fried pancake).

Don't forget to bring your table card if you want to order something, because the server will swipe the card to record your order.

The other interesting thing is the cashier section, which uses three carts for the payment.

But once you are in Kemiri, don't be in any hurry to leave the place, because sitting on the wooden chairs here while enjoying local delicacies and chatting with friends or family is really something else.

Kemiri

Pejaten Village

Jl. Warung Jati Barat No. 39, Jati Padang, Pasar Minggu, South Jakarta