As Jalan Laksmana, Seminyak’s “Eat Street”, gets maxed out, with restaurants springing up like weeds and crowding each other out, a new culinary frontier is opening up just around the bend, on Jalan Petitenget, the road that winds lazily up from the luxury hotel strip on Seminyak Beach towards Kerobokan. One of the stars of this latest crop of eateries is Waroeng Bonita, which takes its name from its flamboyant proprietor, who previously maintained a lively presence on the Jakarta fashion scene as Rendy Krämer. I caught up with Bonita recently in the breezy garden of his romantic warung.
Where did you get the idea to open a restaurant in Bali?
Basically, I’ve always liked to be in close contact with people, and my educational background was in hotel and restaurant management. Last year, I saw the possibility of business in Bali developing very quickly. After several years of working in the fashion design business in Jakarta, I wanted to expand to new places, to try something new. Opening a warung seemed the logical thing to do for me.
How did you choose the location for Bonita?
I didn’t choose the location, it chose me! Last February, while I was staying with a friend on Jalan Petitenget, I was walking by and I saw the place. I saw that it had a beautiful garden, and the potential to expand if the business was successful. Mainly, I was attracted to it because it had a great location, near the beach.
How did you choose the dishes for the menu?
In the beginning I wanted to start small, like a traditional warung, with nasi bungkus. But my customers wanted me to expand the menu, so now we offer a full range of Indonesian and Western items. Our Indonesian chef is Sri, a friend for more than 10 years, who is a very talented cook from Java. She is a genius with sambal, always inventing new varieties. Our head chef is Ketut Astawa. He is amazingly consistent – no matter how busy we are, every dish that comes out of the kitchen is cooked to perfection.
What are your most popular dishes?
Everyone loves Sri’s beef rendang. Among the Western dishes, the crispy Calamari a la Bunaken is very popular. And for dessert, the favorite choice is Bonita Dream Tower, a sweet fantasy of pancake, banana, ice cream, jam and red-wine flavor, put together with great flair. It’s 100% my creation, and you won’t find anything like it anywhere else in Bali.
What is your background?
I grew up in the Bugis community in South Sulawesi, where my family has a long history in the clothing retail business. After I finished school in 1992, I came to Jakarta and studied hotel and restaurant management for three years. In 1996, I studied business and management in Germany. When I returned to Indonesia, I lived for one year in Bali, but soon I was back in Jakarta, to start up my fashion business. But by early 2004, I was ready to come back to Bali, and started Waroeng Bonita.
What do you like about Bali? How is it different from Jakarta?
Bali and Jakarta are totally different, darling. Here, you can do whatever you want and be accepted. In Jakarta, everyone is always worried what people will think, but in Bali, I feel the freedom to express myself as a big queen! I want to be myself, without worrying about what my family thinks. In Bali it’s so easy to make friends and meet interesting people, especially around Seminyak.
What difficulties have you found in starting up your restaurant?
Bonita is my first restaurant, so one of the main challenges has been finding the right combination of talented people who are willing to make a commitment to the business. Bali is a good place for a start-up, as the atmosphere isn’t so cut-throat. For example, from the very beginning, Norman Rowe, the general manager of Bali Mystique, the lovely resort just down Petitenget from us, has been a big booster of Bonita, organizing parties for his guests there.
What are the strengths of Balinese employees?
Balinese people are famous for the friendly welcome they give to foreign guests. I’ve also found that their English skills are very high, and that’s important in the restaurant business.
What makes Waroeng Bonita different from other restaurants in Bali?
Bonita has its own style and glamour, of course! Our motto is, “Home cooking from the islands,” and we mean it. We treat our guests like family. We want you to feel right at home – if you don’t see exactly what you want on the menu, just tell us what it is, and we will prepare it for you, if we have the ingredients in the kitchen. We cook and we serve with love, and that makes all the difference.
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Copyright@2004 Al Hickey
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