Dutch Restaurant History: Keuken van Elsje
An old building on Jalan Buton No. 11, managed to get the Cultural Heritage Award from the Bandung City Government. Keuken van Elsje, is a Dutch restaurant with a warm and cozy atmosphere, so it feels like visiting Grandma's house.
The history of the construction of this house is still being sought for certainty. But last traced, this house was built in the 19th century.
While the restaurant was established on December 16, 2016, and the owner is Kevin, grandson of Oma Elsje, who is the fifth generation in the family.
Keuken means kitchen, and Elsje is Grandma's name. Combined, the meaning of the name of this restaurant is Oma Elsje's kitchen. The entire menu offered here is a recipe from Oma Elsje and a family recipe that has been passed down from generation to generation.
Before becoming a restaurant, this house had been unoccupied for several years. As a result, the house becomes neglected and many parts are damaged.
It's a shame if the family's house is damaged and neglected, so Kevin finally wants to renovate Grandma's house and turn it into a restaurant.
It took more than a year for the house to be fully repaired, as many were dilapidated and damaged. However, the family asked the architect to keep the entire building as much as possible and there would be no changes.
Because of the belief in maintaining and faithfully caring for Grandma's house, the government finally caught the eye of this building. The Department of Culture and Tourism of the City of Bandubg gave a letter to Keuken van Elsje stating that this building was selected as a cultural heritage nominee.
There are several conditions for the selection of a building as a cultural heritage. One of the conditions is that the front view and the inside must be really original from the old building. More than 1700 other buildings were nominated, until finally 7 buildings were selected. One of them is Keuken van Elsje.
In addition to being named a Cultural Conservation, the Government also helps maintain the building by providing maintenance fees, and deductions from PBB costs.
For those who are interested in visiting Keuken van Elsje Restaurant, you can visit on Tuesday-Sunday, at 10.00-20.00 WIB. (riyan/sinta)**
Head of the Bandung City Communication and Information Technology
Yayan A. Brilyana
