IO – Bintaro is now a new sports spot for Jabodetabek (an abbreviation encompassing our satellite cities around the capital: Jakarta, Bogor, Depok, Tangerang and Bekasi) areas. Cyclists and runners stream through these areas, getting down to their activities from early sunrise. Aside from being a new sporting sector, Bintaro also offers loads of street food vendors, open since daylight. Haka Dim sum is a favorite breakfast venue in Bintaro.
Having walked for 4 kilometers in Bintaro, my cousin and I decided to have dim sum for breakfast. It is a perfect light snack to end our exercise. Although it was still quite far from where we stood, catching our breath, we were determined to reach the dim sum spot. Originating in Guangzhou, China, dim sum, an extensive range of small Chinese dishes, is typically enjoyed at brunch or for a late morning snack.
Haka Dim Sum Restaurant is located in the shopping complex of Kebayoran Arcade 2, Bintaro, South Tangerang City. The dim sum restaurant’s retro design reminded me of the Singaporean Hawker Center. The natural concrete wall and floor look become an interesting part of the design. Mandarin tunes played as we enjoyed every bite of the dim sum.
Before entering the restaurant, we must always comply with the safety protocols: keep our masks on, wash our hands with soap, and check-in
through the PeduliLindungi application. Unfortunately, we could not connect to the application; it was still early morning, people had been rapidly using it to get on the bus and other means of transport.
To dine in, you can order and pay for food through a cashless application. We ordered Shumai and Hakau—two favorite traditional Chinese dumplings—fried shrimp dumplings, steam buns and Cheung fan or rice noodle rolls, and two glasses of hot tea, all of these costing only IDR 116,000. After a few minutes of waiting, all of our orders finally came. Each of the dishes is in three pieces. We regretted not ordering the Chrysanthemum tea; otherwise, it would feel more like Hong Kong or Singaporean dining.
As Indonesian, bottled chili sauce is a must dip for any snacks. The savory scent from warm steamed shumai, Hakau and fried shrimp dumplings aroused our appetite. Cheung fan, together with the sweet steam bun, reminded me of one of the school snacks I used to have while growing up, which still did not sate a teenager’s enormous appetite.
If Haka Dim Sum Bintaro is beyond your reach, other Haka Dim sum branches in Blok M and Kemang in South Jakarta might be closer for you to stop by and enjoy their juicy shumai.