Pasar Mayestik (Mayestik Market)

The entrance

I will try to use English for this post because I hope that there might be seen by the foreigner or tourist who wants to visit Traditional Market Place in Jakarta. Although there are many places that you can visit but i recommend this one. Why? First, because its already renovated coupled years ago. The renovated changed the design and mapping of the building, Therefore the safety issue for cross contamination between the raw food and its waste, also the perishable food is clearly was divided into different zone and separate area. Second, the location is probably really strategic rather than you must visit the modern market which located in Bumi

Serpong Damai outside Jakarta.

In Mayestik, you could see many stall selling tropical food, herbal tea, and hawkers in the outside. Mayestik is also famous for the fabric. There is some shops which sell fabric or sewing your own clothes. For the fruit stalls and some fabric there is a chance for you to bargain the price.as long its rational. Indonesian people is seldom to increase the price double or triple.

If you would like to buy fragrance or cloth, you can enter the shopping area in the new building. And then you can find the bakers, cookery ingredients, tools, packaging plastic/paper, and the raw food in the bottom level of the building. You can also bargain if you think the price is not reasonable. Several thing, I like to buy vegetables in here, they are still fresh and well arranged. Second, the vegetables which are rarely sold in modern market like Honje, Curry leaf, Jantung Pisang, are easily found in this market. But do not expect they sell the continental herbs such as oregano, rosemary, basil, etc. They think demand for this group are low. 

 

Last but not least, I like to tell you that in the afternoon, after 15.00 there is a seller near Bata Shop who sell traditional cakes for only 500 rupiah each. And its really yummy and tasty. The cakes were freshly made in the midnight, so there are selling with high price in the morning and decrease in the afternoon. The seller not keep the cakes in the fridge so he can sell again tomorrow. For him, its easier to finish the burden in a day.

the 500 rupiah cake seller

How to get there? The market is closed from Blok M Bus Station (Blok M terminal). If you want to take a walk its ok, but im not recommend it. If you want to take public bus, go with 72 metro mini (destination Lebak Bulus and have orange colored) and pay 2.000 for each person. Or the last choice pick a taxi cab and direct the driver to go here, it will cost from 10.000-15.000.