As I have mentioned before, an Angkringan is pretty much situated all around Jogja and it’s such a simple way to fill your stomach. Maybe when one first looks at it, they may think the place is somewhere anything but comfortable to eat. In front of office buildings, on sidewalks, it’s almost always full of people. And I just felt like enjoying that atmosphere this afternoon. This angkringan near the Tugu train station is larger than others, and the variety of fried fritters are just so deliciously crunchy. Not only that, they have rice, fried fish and stewed vegetables drenched in luscious spicy sauce.
There’s just something exotic in an Angkringan that you won’t really find anywhere else and I just felt one with the city. There’s a special enjoyment in sitting on wooden chairs, eating simple dishes, watching the seller make my iced lemonade in effortless, swift motions and all of that with the view of the street and all its busyness. Well it’s true, people said that the money you spent after eating at an angkringan is not as inexpensive as it used to be years ago but with the exoticness that you get by being there, it’s not such a problem. To this day, I still am wondering and amazed at why an iced tea at an angkringan is much more succulent than ones I drink in restaurants.
So all in all, the atmosphere is what people ultimately seeks in an angkringan. Moreover, several of them in Jogja are famous because they are long-lived therefore giving us that nostalgic value that you can’t buy anywhere else. If we look at the packed surroundings in an angkringan scattered in the city, we can also see that it’s more than just a roadside food stall. It’s where a person appears as a man in his natural role as social beings. No matter if you’re a university student, a lecturer, a bus driver, a businessman or even a governor, we are all welcome and can intertwine in a warm conversation. All kinds of conversations can flow through a meal at an angkringan may it be family issues, politics, and even the little things that we notice everyday. For a few minutes in a day, image or reputation is not what matters even if we don’t know each other. A girl doesn’t lose her beauty, but radiates even if she’s eating at an angkringan.
An angkringan holds and represents moral values that’s important to remember. The art of giving, sharing, understanding and helping one another, also known as gotong royong. With the rolling of ages that comes with modernization, it can be seen that the people of Jogja really does care about the angkringan tradition and how they are preserving in together. Once again, simplicity is not dullness, for a lot of people and myself, it’s happiness.