Perhaps the time to open a new eatery, albeit a small one, was never more challenging than it was in 2021, when the pandemic still held the world in its grip and the food service industry was reeling from the impacts of the COVID-19 restrictions, with many restaurants, cafés and bars struggling to stay afloat.

But Gabriele Winata wasn’t deterred. In June 2021, more than a year into the pandemic, she opened Daily Warteg at a spot only a stone’s throw from Berlin Central Station. An outdoor seating area helped to attract customers during the summer months and for the colder seasons, she converted the storage area into an indoor dining room with a handful of tables.

Taste of Southeast Asia: Daily Warteg, located close to the central station in Berlin, serves a selection of Indonesian and Singaporean dishes. (Courtesy of Daily Warteg) (Courtesy of Daily Warteg/Courtesy of Daily Warteg)

Born to cook

Born in Sulawesi, Gabriele moved to Batam with her family as a young girl. After graduating senior high school, she decided to continue her education abroad. She lived in Dessau in the state of Saxony-Anhalt for a year before moving to Berlin in 2013 to study chemistry.

While juggling university classes and learning a new language in unfamiliar surroundings, Gabriele resorted to cooking for herself at home on most days. It was hard to find Indonesian food in Germany, she recalled, but love for food and cooking runs in her blood.

“Back home, my family has a catering business,” she said. “Ever since I was a kid, I used to help in the kitchen, from peeling potatoes to watching both my mother and grandmother and to asking them about recipes and different ways to prepare food.”

Even though Gabriele lived on a different continent, she continued her culinary education via video call with her family, getting tips and insights on how to best create Indonesian dishes. As a result, her love and passion for cooking only deepened, and her refined skills didn’t go unnoticed.

“I often brought my home-cooked food to university or to church on Sundays and later, when I was working at a start-up company, to work,” she says. “Many of my friends and colleagues were curious and after the first taste, asked me to cook additional portions for them.”

Cozy interior: To be able to keep the customers coming during winter, Gabriele Winata turned the storage room into a smalll indoor seating area. (Courtesy of Daily Warteg) (Courtesy of Daily Warteg/Courtesy of Daily Warteg)

Taking the plunge

Encouraged by her friends’ and colleagues’ appreciation for her food, an idea eventually formed in Gabriele’s head: Why not take the plunge and open her own place? At first, she was concerned about getting the necessary permits, but it went more smoothly than expected.

“I really didn’t have [any] expectations,” she admitted. “I went into this thinking, I’ll just give it a try. If it works out, that’s great; if it doesn’t, I’ll do something else. But as you can see, I was off to a good start.”

Gabriele decided to open a warteg (roadside eatery, usually serving Tegal cuisine) instead of a restaurant or café because it was more manageable, she reasoned.

On the side: At Daily Warteg, the Singapore Satay consists of three skewers of either meat or tempeh as well as pickled cucumbers and carrots. (Courtesy of Daily Warteg) (Courtesy of Daily Warteg/Courtesy of Daily Warteg)

And because Daily Warteg is located in a business district, many of her customers come during their lunch break when they have limited time. Incidentally, Daily Warteg is not far from the Indonesian Embassy in Berlin, which has obviously helped to attract a throng of loyal patrons.

A small eatery also doesn’t require an extensive menu. Indonesian staples such as tempe mendoan, ayam woku, nasi kuning and gado-gado are all on offer here, as well as Singaporean dishes like salted egg chicken.

“I added some Singaporean choices because I grew up in Batam, and thanks to its proximity to Singapore, I often visited [there] and had a chance to sample and fall in love with the food,” Gabriele said.

The ingredients for her recipes were relatively easy to find in Berlin, she added. In addition to one Indonesian supermarket that wasn’t too big but had a good selection, the city also had many Asian shops offering fresh produce.

“At the beginning, I had to experiment and adjust the dishes bit by bit,” Gabriele recalled. “Some customers said the food wasn’t spicy enough, others complained that it was too spicy for their palate. But I think I’ve found a good balance by now.”

Feel the breeze: Choose to sit on the outdoor seating area, especially during the warmer months in Germany. (Courtesy of Daily Warteg) (Courtesy of Daily Warteg/Courtesy of Daily Warteg)

Looking ahead

To run Daily Warteg, she enlisted the help of three Indonesian friends who were still studying, so only work part-time.

Gabriele also has plan in the works to add a daily meal subscription to Daily Warteg’s services, offering different weekly food options for delivering to a customer’s doorstep.

Asked where she imagined Daily Warung would be in five or ten years, Gabriele simply smiled.

“It’s too early to be thinking about that,” she said.

“First, I would like to establish Daily Warteg as one of the preferred [destinations] for Indonesian food in Berlin, get the meal subscription running and improve our delivery service. Only then can I start to make more plans for the future.”