In vogue:  Youngsters hang out at popular new eatery Food Fighters on Jl. Melawai in South Jakarta last Saturday evening. (JP/FOY)

A crowd of young and stylish youngsters talk and laugh loudly in an attractive food court decorated with vintage arcade game murals.

'€œFood Fighters'€ is written in huge letters at the entrance of the newly-established food court located underneath a hotel on Jl. Melawai in Blok M, South Jakarta.

Only two months after it was first established, Food Fighters is already packed with urban youth, especially on weekends.

Rahmania, 21, is one of them. She came to Food Fighters with her two friends to check out the hip new food court one Saturday night. She and her friends had already been there for seven hours.

'€œIt'€™s a nice place to hang out. Besides, it'€™s new, that'€™s why we come here, out of curiosity,'€ said the resident of Cikini, Central Jakarta, adding that she had heard about the place via word of mouth.

Another visitor, Zaky, 18, who was playing Uno with his brother and four cousins while drinking coffee and eating, had similar sentiments.

'€œThe place is pretty cool. The tenants here offer affordable prices and the place is easy to reach from my house,'€ said the resident of Kebayoran Baru in South Jakarta.

Food Fighters management head Prayer told The Jakarta Post recently that the food court currently had 11 tenants, 10 of which were from Pasar Santa traditional market in Kebayoran, South Jakarta.

'€œNo two tenants can offer the same menu items. If one tenant sells coffee, no other tenant is allowed to,'€ Prayer said, adding that the management had no plans to add more tenants to the food court.

'€œWe don'€™t need too many tenants. What is important is that we can attract many visitors,'€ said Prayer.

According to Halim, the owner of Judas Kitchen, a health food stall at Food Fighters, his culinary career started on the top floor of Pasar Santa, with a place called Judas Bar.

He expanded his business by opening Judas Kitchen at Food Fighters. Both offer a similar basic menu: fruit and vegetables.

'€œWe try to create something different, but healthy, like combining spinach, orange and pineapple into a juice called Openaach. So, people can enjoy unique yet healthy food,'€ Halim told the Post.

'€œWe'€™re really serious about this business and the expansion is just one of many steps. We'€™ve been conducting many trials to create the menu, and will keep on trying for our next menu,'€ he added.

Kemal, a seller from Papricano kiosk, which offers Mexican food, said he and his friends had decided to open a new stall at Food Fighters after moving there from Pasar Santa, because of the more strategic location.

'€œBusiness at Pasar Santa has been slowing down recently, ever since the construction of overpasses on Jl. Wolter Monginsidi and Jl. Kapten Tendean began creating terrible congestion,'€ Kemal said.

As many food vendors at Pasar Santa relocate to Food Fighters, so do their loyal customers.

'€œI used to come to Pasar Santa to enjoy Papricano'€™s nachos. But knowing that Papricano is also available here, I prefer to come here as the place is easier to reach and it'€™s easier to get a parking space,'€ said Ridho, a resident of Cineru in South Jakarta. (foy)

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