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span class="inline inline-left">In love: Amid the many varieties of warung hik, some with fluorescent lighting, traditional ones that still use oil lamps remain favorite hangouts, the flickering of flames producing an atmosphere of romance. Going to Solo without relaxing at warung hik, the traditional food stalls of the city, is like listening to an unfinished melody.

At least that’s what most people visiting Solo (or Surakarta) for the first time claim. And, it is the atmosphere of such hangouts that counts rather than the food or the drinks enjoyed.

Wedangan is the local term for drinking and chatting at the stalls, which in Solo take the form of wooden handcarts measuring 1 by 2 meters with bright blue or orange tarps as roofing. Benches are located in front and on both sides of the carts, as well as several mats.

The stalls offer ginasthel (sweet, hot and strong tea of several brands), ginger tea, coffee, roasted sticky rice, fried bananas, sate, eggs, quail meat, spiced tempe (fermented soybean cakes), tofu, and sega kucing (rice with chili sauce and small milkfish wrapped in paper or banana leaves).

Some customers want to savor drinks like milk tea (with sweetened condensed milk), kampul tea (with sliced lime) and jos coffee (with smoldering charcoal inside). The popularity of a warung hik is usually determined by the flavor of tea the stalls serve.

“Tea is like a show window for warung hik. If the tea doesn’t taste good, customers won’t come back,” said Basuki, who has a stall in Purwosari.

Found on roadsides and alleyways, these traditional stalls have become the pulse of nightlife in Solo. Tea and sega kucing, which means cat’s rice, are customer favorites. Food, snacks and drinks are fantastically cheap, ranging in price from Rp 1,000 (11 US cents) to Rp 2,500.

In the 1960s, warung hik owners hawked their food and drinks in baskets on their shoulders along the road, now and again yelling: “Hik, hik!” Residents would then emerge to buy tea, coffee, roasted sticky rice and sega kucing. People would then enjoy their orders while sitting around the standing baskets.

The meaning of “hik” is unclear. Some say it is an acronym for hidangan istimewa kampung (special village dishes). Others try to explain it in cultural terms. The word is said to derive from a folk song sung to mark malem selikuran (the 21st day of Ramadhan) during the reign of Surakarta Sultan Paku Buwono X:

Ting-ting hik, jadah, jenang, wajik
Ojo lali tinge kobong…
(Hik oil lamps, glutinous rice
cake, sweet rice porridge, rice
with coconut milk and sugar
Don’t forget lest the lamps might blaze)

However, hik has no religious sense whatsoever. It is now only used as an identity or as a name of the wedangan stalls originally in the form of baskets or carts, with the sellers shouting “hik, hik!”

Today, warung hik owners have chosen strategic places in or around the hub of the city for their fanatic customers: Pak Wiryo in Laweyan, Pak Gerok in Adisutjipto, Basuki in Purwosari, Pak Kumis at the shelter of Manahan stadium, and hik honggowongso on Jl. Honggowongso.

People gather at warung hik more to seek an air of relaxation and chatting rather than merely to enjoy food and drinks. “At wedangan stalls, they’re buying the atmosphere. All the snacks and drinks are just complementing their mood,” said Muchus Budi Rahayu, a regular customer. Unsurprisingly, people linger for hours through the night, drinking two to three drinks.

“Now they serve as democratic and romantic hangouts. Even with only a glass of hot tea, we’re free to stay and chat till dawn and the stall owners won’t tell us to go unless they’re about to close,” added Muchus. Once the stereotyped eateries of low-income people, some of the stalls are now frequented by wealthy customers arriving in luxury cars.

Today, stalls with long tables triple the normal length of carts can also be found in Solo known as warung wedangan mejo dowo. This new version of stalls offers a wider variety of menus and brighter lighting, with visitors coming merely to dine instead of relaxing and chatting under dim lights like conventional warung hik customers do.

“Some hik stalls have created yet another version by imitating cafes with organs, karaoke, hotspots and cable TV. They look more modern but they sell the same sega kucing, snacks and drinks,” said Ari Sunaryo, a wedangan regular.

The residents of Solo are supporting the booming warung hik business, not only for the benefit of stall owners but also for the fortune of food and snack suppliers, dishwashers, parking assistants and street musicians. Suffice it to say, these stalls have become a key feature of the local economy.

— Photo by JP/Ganug Nugroho Adi