Kota Batik di Pekalongan
Bukan Solo Bukan Jogja
(Batik City is in Pekalongan
Not in Solo, not in Jogja)
Famous by Slank
If Paris is called The City of Light then Pekalongan gets its name for The City of Batik. Yes, a city which is called the City of Batik is Pekalongan, not in Solo nor in Yogyakarta. It is, though those cities are also famous for batik but they are not called the city of Batik. Do you know where it is? Friends of mine usually ask me about its location. Many don’t know how beautiful it is or they don’t ever notice Indonesian’s map. They were joking, “Is Pekalongan listed on the map?”. Hell, no there isn’t. Of course it exists! It’s one of the Indonesian cities that keeps developing from time to time and it’s all because of Batik industry. As a girl who was grown up here I know it well.
Do you ever wonder why it is called Batik city? Batik is actually an abbreviation for Bersih, Aman, Tertib, Indah, Komunikatif (Clean, Secure, Good Order, Beautiful, Communicative). And batik has been a blood for its people so it fits each other to name after Pekalongan as Batik City. Pekalongan is close to Tegal which is famous for its stall and just 3 hours from Semarang, the capital of Central Java. When everybody goes to hometown (mudik) for Lebaran, they must pass it through because it is in north-shore (Pantura) track. It is also close to Pemalang. While you are tired, just take a rest here because you can find anything delicious and unique.
The heart of Pekalongan is Batik. Everyday Batik is everywhere. The Batik Industry makes more than 1.000 families survive to live. The industry is so much heredity. If a family runs it then all of the descendant will run it too but that is not always like that. Other people can earn money from another field of job. People here are usually entrepreneurs.
As a vibrant Batik industry, there are many Batik galleries here that run by individuals or families. There is also a complete big market called Setono Gross Market (Pasar Grosir Setono) where you can find any kind of Batik. It provides you pajamas, silk clothes, bags, sandals, shirts, bed sheets, blouses, twilled clothes, etc. The price is reasonable whether it is for men and women or young and old.
If you want to know about Batik’s history or its details, then your place is Museum of Batik. It was built in 1990 then it was renovated in 1998 and now you can visit it. I hope this museum will become as famous as Musee du Louvre in Paris but it turns out it cannot be.
The government, along with the association of batik’s entrepreneurs, holds Batik Festival every year. At the festival, batik’s craftsmen show their creations to the public. This event also holds Food Festival. Any kinds of food will make it more crowded. Last year, it was held internationally with neighborhood countries joint this event. The vice-president, Moh. Jusuf Kalla, also came to announce officially Kampoeng Batik (Batik Alley). That alley was named after because many batik craftsmen live and make Batik there. So when you visit Pekalongan, you can also visit this famous alley and buy Batik there.
The diversity of ethnically distinct groups also can be found here. It is not only Javanese people who live here but also ethnic descendant such as Chinese and Arabian. There is Chinatown-alike here and it’s near with Arabian district which is usually called Kampoeng Arab. They live together peacefully even though they are different. Chinese descendants usually sell electronics or small markets and Arabians sell food, snacks and Batik.
Is it all about Batik? Is there anything else here? There is absolutely anything else. You can do culinary tourism here. There are so many delicious foods. Pekalongan people do love eating. As Javanese people, they like to gather for eating or do something else. “To eat or not to eat, we should gather”, that is the famous philosophy of Javanese people. Even if they do not eat, they gather for just talking about life. They speak Javanese but with different accent from other Javanese-speaking cities in Java Island.
The most particular food here is Nasi Megono (Megono Rice). It is one and only in Pekalongan and definitely you cannot find it anywhere else. So while you are here, just look for it. You can find it everywhere around here. It is so traditional food, wrapped by leaf that makes it more tasteful. For the information, it is made by young jackfruit with many traditional ingredients. People eat this with fried food like tempe or tahu, chicken, fish and sauce if you want to make it more spicy. This food is very flexible, you can add anything as the complement while enjoying this food. You can eat it anytime because it is sold from morning until night. But I suggest you enjoy it at night, plus you can easily find it at night.
Another unique foods are Soto Pekalongan or Tauto (Pekalongan’s Curry), Pindang Tetel and Garang Asem. Pekalongan people seem really like meat, both of them are made by meat which are mixed with other delicious ingredients. Each city in Indonesia has its own curry (soto) and Soto Pekalongan is one of a kind. It is made by special ingredients, tauco which makes the colour of red or black. And Garang Asem is also made in a unique way. The color of gravy is black because there is kluwak in the ingredients. Garang Asem is like Semarang’s Rawon but absolutely with different taste. Its content can be either meat or egg. And last is Pindang Tetel, which is like Garang Asem but it is only with cutting (tetelan) meat and we enjoy eating this food with colorful crackers, which is usually red, white and yellow, called usek.
