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View all search resultsBefore sunset: A tajil center on Jl
span class="caption" style="width: 510px;">Before sunset: A tajil center on Jl. Kisamaun in Tangerang municipality is always crowded with people looking for sugary delicacies and drinks to break the fast. (JP/Multa Fidrus)
It has become a common sight every fasting month of Ramadhan that people from all walks of life open a stall selling tajil, the sugary delicacies and drinks to break the fast.
They gathered on a crowded intersection at Pasar Lama market, Jl. Kisamaun in Tangerang municipality, both of those who take the opportunity to make more money and others who just want to kill the time.
Some vendors erect tents or set up trestle tables in the tajil center near Tangerang Regent official residence, others sell their food and drinks out of carts or baskets or the trunks of their cars.
'Today, I cooked kolak pisang [sweetened banana compote], bubur sumsum [rice porridge with palm sugar sauce] and bubur kacang hijau [mung bean porridge]. Cooking helps me kill time waiting for breaking-the-fast time,' Siti Umairoh, a resident of Sukasari subdistrict, told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.
The 35-year-old mother of two arranged her kolak in neat rows on an old trestle table by the trunk of her car. A cardboard sign said it is Rp 6,500 (65 US cents) a cup.
'I make good money ' about Rp 150,000 a day ' instead of doing nothing at home.'
Siti sells two different sets of tajil every other day. On the other days she offers asinan (Betawi style vegetable salad), fruit cocktails and bubur ketan hitam (black sticky rice porridge).
Meanwhile, vendors Mardi and his wife Marsiyah also never miss an opportunity to make extra money in the fasting month.
They set up a table under a tarpaulin tent, selling various kinds of dishes to people who do not have the time to cook for dinner.
It displays sayur asem (Betawi clear soup), urap (boiled vegetables served with grated coconut), kentang balado (potato in spicy sauce), rendang (meat simmered in spices and coconut milk), fried fish, gulai tunjang (beef tendon cooked in thick coconut milk) and various types of satay.
The couple set low prices ranging from Rp 6,000 to 9,000, making them the busiest among other vendors.
'We can make up to Rp 1 million a day,' Mardi told The Jakarta Post. Whatever money they make will be spent at Idul Fitri holidays, he said.
'We have four children and we're going to buy them new clothes for Idul Fitri. We can use the money we make here to celebrate the big day and give some of it to our relatives. We thank God because people keep coming to buy our food,' Marsiyah said.
Usman, a tempeh mendoan ' fried thinly sliced tempeh covered with rice flour ' vendor at the intersection was run off his feet serving customers.
In the last week, the 36-year-old father of two has sold 700 pieces of tempe mendoan a day. It costs Rp 1,500 per piece.
'This is the first time I've joined the other vendors at the intersection,' he said, adding that he usually sells snacks at Malabar market in Karawaci, Tangerang.
Sulastri, a civil servant, said she usually buys breaking-the-fast food in the tajil center after work because she has no time to cook and prepare dinner at home.
'It's much more practical buying ready food here than having to going to the market and cook. It doesn't matter I spend more money for the meals during this month,' she said, adding that the presence of tajil vendors has been helpful.
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