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KAI revives onboard kitchen service to sate hungry rail travelers
The revived service hit Argo Bromo Anggrek on June 1 to huge social media buzz, and a KAI spokesman says the railway operator remained open to "a possibility" of offering the service on other trains.
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Chefs prepare freshly cooked meals to order on the Argo Bromo Anggrek, a luxury train service operated by the state-owned railway company, PT Kereta Api Indonesia. (Argo Gede twitter/Courtesy of PT KAI)
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T Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI), the state-owned railway company, has been serving freshly prepared onboard meals since June 1 on the Argo Bromo Anggrek luxury train service connecting the nation’s capital and Surabaya, the provincial capital of East Java.
Pictures of onboard chefs have been circulating online, raising enthusiasm among social media users over the prospect of ordering freshly cooked food during the 8.5-hour journey. Passengers can head to the restored kitchen car to order and watch as the chefs prepare their meals, or order directly from their seats through the Virtual Assistant provided by KAI services subsidiary PT Reska Multi Usaha.
According to KAI public relations vice president Joni Martinus, professional chefs provide the onboard cooking service to the industry’s strict hygiene standards.
The current onboard menu includes Nasi Goreng Parahyangan Legend, Nasi Rames Ayam Serundeng, Selat Solo and Bakmi Godog Jawa.
The social media buzz seems to indicate that many travelers have been missing freshly cooked meals on KAI trains, according to a Twitter thread started by user Sepurman (@Argo_Gede) on the service’s launch date. Several users have replied to express their excitement at the service’s return, while others wondered if this also meant that iconic dishes from the past, such as rawon (beef soup with black kluwek nut) and bistik (beef steak), would also make their return.
Twitter user Wira (@wiraurmansyah), who has tried the dishes, tweeted on June 2 that it was probably the best food he had ever eaten on any transportation service, and at a relatively cheap price.
“Ordered Nasi Goreng Bakso on Reska last night at 11, thought I was going to get cold leftovers from the afternoon. Instead, I got steaming hot fried rice, fresh from the frying pan. Amazing,” user Goldman (@_MadeinHeaven_) shared.
Although the kitchen service is only available on the Argo Bromo Anggrek, Joni said that the possibility of offering the service on other trains remained open as part of KAI’s strategy to restore its onboard catering services.
