Angelyn Liem

‘If the Place Gets Really Crowded, I Roll Up My Sleeves and Help Out in the Kitchen’

My Jakarta: Hartadi Hardana Abeng, Seafood Restaurant Owner

For Hartadi Hardana Abeng, 54, quality comes first is his psalm. He believes his attention to detail is the reason his outdoor restaurant, Santiga Seafood Benhil, famous for its kepiting saus Padang (crab in Padang sauce), boasts a loyal legion of customers, people who make it the first spot they take out-of-towners. Indeed, his restaurant in Bendungan Hilir is almost unmistakable. If it’s not the plumes of charcoal smoke or inviting aroma that give the location away, it’s the throng of customers waiting for a taste of that famous crab.

Your kepiting saus Padang is famous throughout Jakarta, what’s the secret recipe?

It’s nothing special. No secret recipe. If you want to learn how we do it, you can watch our cook as he prepares the crab right here. It’s the crab itself that makes it taste so good.

How so?

Every crab we put on the table must weigh at least 400-550 grams and we keep each one alive until you place your order.

What’s the biggest crab you’ve ever put on a plate?

It was a 700-gram crab. But we rarely serve that. We do it only when we are low on stock.

Where do you get all the crab from?

We have a supplier in Jakarta who gets them from Tarakan and Balikpapan in Kalimantan. They deliver our orders every day. I used to select the crab personally, but now we have a contract with our suppliers. If we’re not happy with the selection, we return it.

How much crab would you say you sell every day?

We cook up around 60 crabs. When we first started it was 10. Then we slowly increased it to 20, 30, then now.

That’s a lot of crab. After all these years have you tired of the taste?

I rarely eat it anymore [laughs]. I eat fish more, here at my own restaurant. I don’t go to Restoran Sederhana across the street.

Has anyone ever made a special request, something crazy like durian cooked in Padang sauce?

Yeah. Some customers have made special requests like that but we don’t accept them if we can’t cook them. Once a customer requested crab with salted egg. We said no.

How long have you been running this place?

Long ago in 1989, we started by selling nasi uduk [rice cooked in coconut milk] and ayam goreng [fried chicken] . Then we slowly introduced grilled fish and finally crab and prawns in ’96. That’s when a lot of people started coming every night.

Is your restaurant open 365 days a year?

Almost, but we take a break too. We’re open from 6 p.m. to midnight every day and we take one or two days off every month.

What’s the busiest day of the week for you?

Friday. Sometimes people line up for a table

This place is busy all night, how many cooks does it take to keep the customers happy?

I have six cooks and 17 waiters. Most of them have been working here for a long time. Some have worked for me for anywhere from seven to 10 years.

Are you from Jakarta?

Yeah, I consider myself a Jakartan. I was born in Bogor but I’ve been in Jakarta since I was 3 or 4 years old.

Is that your wife by the cash register?

[Laughs]. Yes, she’s the cashier.

Is Santiga a franchise, do you have other branches?

No, just this one.

Because the restaurant is outdoors do customers ever question you about hygiene?

You can see for yourself that we wash all the bowls and plates right here with soap.

The band that’s playing here is really good. What gave you the idea to have a band? Are they your friends?

Not really. They came here themselves and we let them stay because they’re good. You can request a song.

Maybe later. Has any of your staff ever lost a finger using that big knife to open the crab?

They’ve definitely been pinched by crabs many times, but no one has ever chopped off a finger.

What did you do before you came to your restaurant today?

I come here every night at around 8 p.m. and I’m here until we close. I went to Tangerang today to buy some fish. It’s been windy out at sea lately and the fisherman say it’s harder to catch fish so there’s less around.

Even after all these years you’re still pretty hands-on here.

Yeah. If the place gets really crowded I roll up my sleeves and help out in the kitchen. I don’t mind.

If I cook crab myself at home, would it taste as good as yours?

You can watch us cook here and try to do the same at home. But if you tried to make it for yourself at home, it’d be more expensive.

Do you have beer on the menu?

[Laughs] No, but if customers want beers and the place is not busy, our staff can go and get them from Circle K nearby.

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