Fasting is usually affiliated with takjil. There are certain foods or drinks that are becoming people's favorite takjil during Ramadan, such as dates, compote, fruit soup, and fried foods. As for me, the most favorite takjil that I would not miss every Ramadan is Bubur Kampiun. Unfortunately, I have not yet found this typical West Sumatra food in Jakarta.

This Ramadan, I took the time to hunt for various bubur kampiun as takjil for iftar. I started my hunt at several takjil markets and centers in various areas of Jakarta. Here are some places I visited.

Panjang Street

Every month of Ramadan, on Jalan Panjang, Kebon Jeruk, West Jakarta, there are many food and drink stalls for iftar. At first, I had a little trouble finding the location of the road. However, the JakPeta feature in JAKI helped me find the street location. After that, I just needed to walk down the street while looking for food and drink stalls.

Jalan Panjang itself has indeed become people's favorite destination for takjil hunting since a long time ago. One of the reasons is that Jalan Panjang which leads to Kebayoran Lama is often passed by people during rush hours. In addition, the snacks that are sold also vary, ranging from fried foods, and main courses such as rice cakes, to various kinds of ice. Unfortunately, when I visited, the takjil I was looking for had sold out.

Some sellers on Jalan Panjang do sell their foods or drinks earlier, which is from 2 p.m, but there are also many sellers who start selling later in the afternoon. If you are looking for takjil here, you need to spend the extra effort, for parking, considering that the takjil market is on the side of a congested road, so it is quite difficult for customers to find parking spaces. Apart from that, the takjil market on Jalan Panjang is really recommended for you as an option for takjil hunting locations in West Jakarta.

Santa Modern Market

After not succeeding to get my favorite takjil through my visit to Jalan Panjang, I decided to visit Pasar Santa. Access to this market is quite easy. By using MRT, I only needed to get off at Blok M BCA MRT Station, then walk to the market around 1.1 kilometers. To make it easier to estimate the time of leaving for the MRT, I used the JakLingko feature. Not only MRT, you can also check routes and fare information for other modes of transportation such as Transjakarta and LRT Jakarta.

Unlike most markets, Pasar Santa is a bit special, because it does not only sell vegetables, fruit, clothes, and so on but also becomes a creative economy space for young people. This can be seen in the rise of coffee shops, modern casual clothing stalls, vinyl record kiosks, and similar stores. 

In the month of Ramadan, Pasar Santa offers a wide selection of takjil. Smartcitizens can choose snacks according to your own taste. Inside the market, there are culinary specialties that you can try, for example, Jang Manies, Koka Sikka Se'i Sapi, to Dapur-dapuran. However, if you exit the market and walk the streets to the left and right of the market, you will find street vendors selling typical Indonesian snacks for iftar. The variety of food is also quite diverse, such as rice cake, compote, marrow porridge, fried foods, and others. It was in this market that I finally managed to find the bubur kampiun I had been looking for.

Satisfied with my takjil that afternoon, I decided to go home. The shopping experience at Pasar Santa is very enjoyable. You need to try it because besides it providing lots of takjil, you can also visit various modern stores for the sake of hanging out. 

Kue Subuh Senen Jaya

Still on a mission to find other deliciousbumbur kampiun  in Jakarta, I visited the Kue Subuh Senen Jaya. The place is located in the Senen Jaya Parking Buildings 1 and 2. As the name implies, the Kue Subuh Senen Jaya is open only until dawn, from 6 p.m. to 5 a.m. Here, various takjil market snacks are available, ranging from wet cakes, light snacks, fried foods, and sponge cake. The price per item is relatively cheap, such as lemper for Rp. 2,000, mochi for Rp. 5,000, even grilled rice for Rp. 6,000. Even so, because I was late, I didn't find the bubur kampiun among the remaining market snacks.
 

If you want to visit Kue Subuh Senen Jaya, you don’t need to worry about transportation! Both private vehicle and public transportation users get easy access to Kue Subuh Senen Jaya. Vehicle parking payments can be made cashless via Flazz, Brizzi, Tap Cash, and e-Money. They even gave free parking last February! Meanwhile, public transportation users have quite a lot of options. You can take the KRL and get off at Pasar Senen Station, take the Transjakarta and get off at the Pasar Senen Busway Stop that is already connected to Senen Jaya 1 & 2, or take a Mikrotrans and then get off at Pasar Senen Terminal. If you want to know more about Senen Jaya Dawn Cake, you can also visit @senenjayaofficialon Instagram.
 

Blok M

Apart from the month of Ramadan, Blok M has indeed become one of the mainstay culinary areas in Jakarta. Various culinary places and creative spaces for young people are also located there, making it more attractive for visitors. During the month of Ramadan, Blok M is observed to be increasingly crowded. There are many choices of takjil centers that you can visit, one of which is snack stalls near the exits of Blok M Square. Various foods are available, ranging from grilled sausages, and crispy baby crab, to drinks such as teh tarik and boba. Apart from that, you also have other choices of snacks for your iftar, such as several food franchises in the Blok M Square area.

After enjoying takjil, you can enjoy heavy culinary delights in Blok M, namely gultik or gulai tikungan. To be able to find gultik, all you have to do is walk through the corner of Jalan Mahakam. There, several street vendors selling gultik are lined up. The gultik they sell consists of a beef curry filled with meat or other parts such as innards. Gultik is also equipped with side dishes such as satay, and so on. Please note that portion of gultik is usually not much, so there is a possibility that you need to order more than one portion. For one portion of gultik, the price is usually around IDR 10,000 to IDR 20,000.

Benhil Market

The last takjil hunting destination I visited was Benhil Market. Located in Tanah Abang, this market is often visited by people who want to buy takjil every year during the month of Ramadan. Uniquely, this market is only open during Ramadan, although it was closed at the beginning of the pandemic and reopened in 2023. This year, there are approximately 50 stalls selling snacks at Benhil Market. Various takjil are provided, such as oncom, risoles, as well as heavy meals like grilled chicken and Padang dishes. At this market, I found my favorite takjil, the bubur kampiun.

When I was about to pay for my food, I just found out that to make it easier for customers, Benhil Market is gradually providing payment via QRIS. Therefore, I pay for my purchases using the JakOne Pay feature. Customers also don't need to worry about the convenience of shopping, because the stalls are provided with tents. In addition, access to the market is so easy. For public transportation users, you can use the JAK 08 public transportation with route Roxy - Benhil or JAK 54 with route Grogol - Benhil. You can also use Transjakarta and get off at the Bendungan Hilir stop, then walk 700 meters towards the market.

That’s all on my experience visiting five takjil hunting spots in Jakarta. Among all of those places, I told you about, is one of them your favorite takjil market too? Are you interested in visiting one of them? If you are, don't forget to download the JAKI application through Google Play Storeor Apple App Store, so it can help you more during your journey. Happy takjil-hunting!