Roemahkoe: Solo’s Must Visit

Travel Notes
Roemahkoe: Solo’s Must Visit

Text and Photos by Teguh Sudarisman


So while I was waiting for the Solo Batik Carnival opening at two that afternoon, I was browsing through the Solo Tourism Catalog a friend had given me to see if there was something I could do to fill the next few hours. Near the end of the catalog, my eye lit upon "Roemahkoe Bed & Breakfast". The only information in the catalog was an address; no phone number. No problem; I asked a becak driver, he knew where it was, and he took me there.

The front façade of the house, with two round main pillars on either side with two curved lines at the top, immediately reminded me of something: obviously this was an art deco style house, built some time between 1920 and 1940.

So I went into the lobby, and was I impressed! The half-open lobby combined solid walls decorated with lovely stained glass ornaments with a tinge of yellow at the top, and elements of dark brown teak, giving a strong Javanese flavor.

From a poster in the lobby, I learned that this house, standing on 2,000 square meters of land, was built in 1938. Originally it belonged to Ibu Hajjah Pusposumarto, a Laweyan batik trader, and eventually it passed to Nina Akbar Tanjung. In 2000, Nina turned the house into a restaurant/bed & breakfast – a concept popular in Britain since World War II – maintaining its original historic décor.

"Everything here – the tiles, the walls, the wood, the stained glass – is original," explained Sugi, who has been entrusted to manage the place, along with a staff of eleven. "If a piece of glass gets broken, the replacement has to be identical, or as near as possible to the original." I glanced at the tiles below my feet and was entranced. The floor was composed of 20x20 cm pink tiles with a kind of polka-dot pattern like splashes of water. In some of the corners, this pattern was surrounded by a line of yellow tiles of the same size and pattern. Charming!

The middle part of the house, which is separated from the lobby by wooden doors with stained glass decoration, is on a slightly higher level, with solid teak pillars on either side, and a bridal dais in the middle. Not surprising: Roemahkoe (the old spelling for rumahku, meaning "my house") is also used as a venue for wedding receptions, and can accommodate up to 400 guests for a standing party. "There's no need to decorate the dais, because it's already beautiful by itself," Sugi said, adding a note of promotion; but it's true.
Behind the dais is a private room containing wardrobes, an old piano, and silver jewelry and accessories.




A wooden door and four wood-framed windows, each with antique hinges, leads to the middle section along the left and right sides of the house, which form an open U-shaped corridor that also runs around the back part of the house. The corridor is adorned with gay, elegant paintings, contrasting with old photos and antique tables and chairs. From here, after passing through a small garden with a carp pond with sounds of burbling water, I came to the guest rooms, which also form a U shape surrounding the main house.

The house has ten deluxe type rooms (at Rp 375,000 per night), one junior suite (Rp 430,000 per night), and two royal suites (Rp 645,000 per night). Though I couldn't peek into the royal suites because they were occupied, I was certainly impressed by the deluxe room I saw: a wooden bed on an elevated platform with plywood siding; an ornamental mosquito net above it; antique photos and furniture; and wood-framed windows with colored stained glass. Well, what could be more delightful than a wooden window with stained glass? Even five-star hotels don't offer such luxury.

Laras Restaurant, behind the main house, attracted my interest. Three women were chatting and enjoying their meal by a wall with a large painting. Though there is also an international menu, I chose from the traditional dishes that are the restaurant's signature: nasi jemblung, wedang cemol, es cincau kawista, and pisang owol. Bonus: a basket of krupuk gendar.

The nasi jemblung was served in a unique presentation: upon a banana leaf, the rice is laid out like a wheel, with beef tongue semur in the middle with a rich, thick sauce. Sambal (chili paste), lalapan (raw vegetable salad) and krupuk rambak (buffalo skin crackers) completed the meal.

Wedang cemol is a hot drink made with ginger, sugar syrup, peanuts, young coconut, slices of bread, and kolang-kaling (sugar palm fruits). The strong ginger aroma reminded me of Indian cooking. "That's because we roast the ginger first and then pound it before it's boiled," Sugi explained.

The es cincau (iced drink with plant gelatin) looked standard, but tasted different from usual because it uses kawista syrup imported from Rembang, in the northeast part of Central Java. And then the ultimate desert: pisang cemol, contrasting hot and cold. Four hot roast bananas covered in chocolate sprinkles, served with strawberry ice cream. Hmmm….

You can sit wherever you like to enjoy these dishes. If you come on a Thursday or Saturday night, your dinner will be even more memorable; Thursday nights they have live music, and Saturday nights, live gamelan. Guests can also learn to play gamelan, make batik, or read the primbon (Javanese horoscope).

And how much did I pay for the meal? Only Rp 63,000!
If I hadn't been assigned to cover the batik carnival, I certainly would have stayed longer, enjoying the beauty of this great house. I made a note to myself as the becak was taking me away from Roemahkoe: next time I come to Solo, I must stay here.


Roemahkoe Bed & Breakfast
Jl. Dr. Rajiman No. 501 Laweyan, Solo 57148
Tel: 0271-714024, Fax: 0271-720097