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ituated between two main roads at the heart of the city '€” Jl. Sudirman and Jl. Gatot Subroto '€” Bendungan Hilir or otherwise known as Benhil has transformed from being a predominantly residential area into one whose thoroughfares offer a variety of convenient services that cater to either business or pleasure. Some services are unique to Benhil and warrant a visit from residents who do not live or work nearby. Here are five reasons to go to Benhil:

Eating spots

Benhil offers a wide range of places to eat, from coffee shops, street food, restaurant chains and unique eateries, some of which are quite well-known.

Several restaurants in Acehnese food throughout the area, offering authentic dishes such as ayam tangkap (Acehnese fried chicken), Acehnese fried rice and noodles. Meutia and Seulawah are the most famous ones.

Across the street from the Bank Central Asia (BCA) office, seafood lovers can dine on succulent dishes while enjoying live music at the same time.

Adrian, 27, a private employee said that he and his friends liked to eat in Benhil because of the choices on offer. He said people can find both cheap eateries or expensive ones in Benhil. Youngsters who love hanging out at convenience stores in the evening will find all the well-known franchises such as 7-Eleven, Lawson and Circle K.

During the fasting month, the city market, Pasar Bendungan Hilir, features a food bazaar that opens from the late afternoon until around 7 p.m., specifically for the breaking of the fast.

Digital printing and photocopy shops

Benhil is famous for its many digital printing and photocopy shops that boast large machines, allowing customers to print or copy on large sheets of papers. Many of them are even open for 24 hours.

Workers from nearby offices and high school and university students frequent the shops to print their business cards or put together photo albums.

Rendy, 26, who works in Kuningan, South Jakarta, said that he often visited the shop to print maps for his company.

'€œThere are many options here. So if one shop is packed, I can easily move on to a neighboring shop to get my errands done quickly,'€ he said.

Beauty salons

Passersby and motorists will notice plenty of beauty salons, with some providing full spa treatments and others the standard hair and makeup.

Laris Love salon was perhaps one of the longest running and well-known salons in Bendungan Hilir. The salon has been around for 39 years and it is known to open its doors early, catering specifically to female employees of companies on Jl. Sudirman who need to have their face made up and hair styled on the way to work.

Stationery stores

Several stationery stores are also available at the Benhil market Jl. Bendungan Hilir. They are slightly difficult to spot at first because they are situated behind the food stalls. All the stores are open from the morning until the evening.

Although the buildings of the stores are rather old with simple decoration, the stores sell various kinds of stationary, paper and binders among other items.

Besides hundreds of offices nearby, stationery stores in Benhil also facilitate college students in two nearby universities '€” Atma Jaya University and the graduate school of Pelita Harapan University '€” as well as some schools in the area.

Locksmiths

A unique trait of Bendungan Hilir is its locksmiths. People can find dozens of locksmiths along Jl. Bendungan Hilir Raya, but most of them are located in a row at the front of Bendungan Hilir market.

Locksmiths have been plying their trade in the area since 1980. Jainal, who has had a stall in the area for 33 years, said that when he opened his stall back in 1980, many other locksmiths had already opened stalls in the area.

Many of them display their names and cellular phone numbers on their booths.

The locksmiths work around the clock in shifts, so if for some reason a person is locked out of their house at 3 a.m., Benhil is the place to go. '€” JP