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t'€™s quite challenging passing through Jl. Serpong Raya in South Tangerang during lunch hours as traffic can often pile up in front of a three-story green building, where hungry customers swarm to eat at famous traditional Betawi soup restaurant Soto Betawi Hj. Mamat.

'€œIf you do not slow down, you will definitely miss the restaurant as dozens of cars are always parked in front of it blocking the sign,'€ said soup devotee Utari Maharani Sukotjo, 27, who prefers to be called Tari.

Established more than a decade ago by a man who had gone on the hajj named Mamat, hence the name, Soto Betawi Hj. Mamat has gained popularity among foodies for three of its most-popular dishes: soto, oseng daging (stir-fried beef), and sop (beef soup) shortened SOS.

Hj. Mamat'€™s soto looks like any other soto Betawi: a coconut milk soup with diced beef and rice noodles. However, it has attained the reputation as one of the best soto restaurants in town due to its tender diced beef and savory soup served with crunchy diced tomatoes and potatoes.

The restaurant'€™s tender beef, along with fine seasonings, has also made Soto Betawi Hj. Mamat a hot destination for its deliciously oily and salty oseng, in which sliced chilies and diced tomatoes are added to stir-fried diced beef in either coconut milk soup or clear soup.

Many customers also come to Soto Betawi Hj. Mamat to have a bowl of sop for their lunch.

Similar to soto, sop consists of well-seasoned diced beef and diced potatoes. However, it is served in clear soup without rice noodles.

Although beef is the favorite for the three dishes, they are also offered with entrails, chicken, or mix of entrails and beef. Each dish is offered at Rp 30,000 (US$2.2).

Aside from the soto, oseng and sop, the restaurant also offers other tasty dishes like all-time favorite nasi goreng (fried rice), daging empal (beef cutlets), bakwan jagung (corn fritters), bakwan udang (shrimp fritters) and perkedel (potato fritters).

Tari said that Soto Betawi Hj. Mamat had been one of her family'€™s favorite restaurants since she was in senior high school. She went on to say that after all these years, the taste of the dishes remains '€œspecial'€.

Tari further said that she could also buy es doger (a drink made from fresh coconut, black glutinous rice, fermented cassava, coconut milk and syrup) and otak-otak (steamed fish cake), which were sold in front of the restaurant by vendors.

Like Tari, banker Julian Rahmat Kasim, 39, also said that Soto Betawi Hj. Mamat was on his list of favorite restaurants. Julian, who prefers to go by Ian, said that he could come to the restaurant twice a month with his friends or family to indulge his appetite for beef-entrails oseng with coconut milk soup.

Ian suggested foodies wear thin clothes when sampling Hj. Mamat'€™s best dishes.

'€œThe place is not big and not air-conditioned and there are always a lot of customers. You will be sweating a lot while enjoying the hot delicious soto, oseng, or sop,'€ Ian said.

He also advised customers to arrive early to secure a seat.

Soto Betawi Hj. Mamat, which is currently run by the founder'€™s daughter Ida Rosida, is open from 8 a.m. until its dishes are sold out '€” often around 2 p.m.

It has opened branches in Gading Serpong and The Breeze food court, Tangerang regency; Rawa Buntu and AEON Mall, South Tangerang; Tangerang City mall, Tangerang city; and Cempaka Putih, Central Jakarta. (agn)