Imah Baburan, Nostalgia for Eating at a School Friend's House

Located on Jalan Kebon Seed No. 3 Tamansari, Bandung City, Imah Baburan or which means Friends' House has the concept of "like eating at a friend's house". Muhammad Nurul Hudha, the owner of Imah Baburan tells a brief philosophy from the name of his warkop.

"If you think philosophically, Imah Baburan means a friend's house. If you remember when you were at school, you used to go to that friend's house, what your mother cooked, it tasted good. So we want to create a warm atmosphere here. People come to new places to eat, but the taste is not foreign, like going to a friend's house," said Hudha.

Even though it was still early, since 07.00 WIB, Imah Baburan was already packed with visitors. Some have finished exercising with friends and family, meeting, or even visiting alone.

When entering Imah Baburan, visitors order food in advance and pay immediately. After that, you can sit where you want.

One of the interesting things about Imah Baburan is also the furniture. Everything looks simple, cooking utensils, cutlery, and seating. Apparently, according to the story of the owner, the chairs and tables were obtained from a madrasah.

"There was a madrasa that wanted to sell its seats. Incidentally, because at that time our budget was still minimal, we couldn't buy furniture at IKEA. So we just bought it from the madrasa," said Anggia Bonyta, Hudha's wife who is also the owner of Imah Baburan.

There is no mainstay menu here because all menus are favorites from consumers. However, Hudha said, the most 'old' menu here is the lamb tongseng and the Reinforcement Lamb Curry.

After running, they also have many other menus that are no less favorites, such as green chili squid, free-range chicken fried rice, and goat fried rice.

"We don't have a lot of menus, so all customers have their own favorites. There's even a weekly menu here that changes every Friday. So the menu is available Friday-Thursday the following week," explained Hudha.

He admitted, if the weekly menu does not have a special replacement pattern. Everything is tailored to the wishes and abilities of the time.

"The menu is actually made at home. There is no pattern or formula for changing the menu. It depends on what you want to eat this week, so we can just make it and sell it," he said.

As a result, this weekly menu has become a special attraction for visitors to Imah Baburan. Many customers are waiting for their favorite weekly menu to be available. In fact, until someone came from Papua to deliberately sneak into Imah Baburan to eat his favorite menu.

"This is also to get around the regular menu which doesn't have much earlier because our kitchen is small. So that people can eat other menus when they come here besides the regular menu. So that they don't get bored and always have a reason to come to Imah Baburan," said Anggia.

For him, there is no specific time to routinely issue the latest menu. He only remembered what menu his mother had cooked before. All menus that are suddenly remembered will appear in the weekly menu.

Eight years since its establishment, Imah Baburan has employed 20 employees. This is also a unique thing from Imah Baburan. Unlike waiters at other eating places, the appearance of the employees here is quite eccentric.

Hudha said, if indeed he and his wife had never seen the background of their employees. Mainly only two, the important thing is honest and willing to work hard.

"These friends who helped us used to be quite naughty. Most were street kids, not going to school, bad band kids. When we accepted them here, there were only two conditions: willing to work and honest," he said.

"If it's deliberately conceptualized like this, it's not. Maybe there aren't many places that can accept children like this, so they find it difficult to work. We are one of those who can accept them as they are," he added.

However, there is one obstacle that until now has been experienced by visitors, namely parking. Especially for car drivers.

"Finally we thought, what is the solution to this problem. For friends who come to Imah Babaturan and park at Baltos, please show the parking ticket to the cashier. Later you will get free drinks from us," he said.

He hopes that this year culinary MSMEs can make it easier for licensing and other things, such as parking. Don't let the business they have built from the start be sacrificed just because they don't have parking space

"We have also tried to find a solution in this way. For other certification permits regarding food, please make it as easy as possible for MSMEs," he hoped.

Meanwhile, Misni, a visitor who came here for the first time, said that she immediately liked it after tasting the food here.

"Actually, I've known this for a long time, only just got here and really liked it! From the atmosphere to the food," said Misni.

His favorite menu is chicken fried rice and green chili squid.

"Especially the free-range chicken fried rice and the green chili squid, it's really good. come again to try another menu, "he admits.

Imah Baburan is open from 07.00-10.00 at night. If you want to taste Imah Baburan's menu, but the location is far from home, here they also provide a regular menu in frozen packaging.

Please play to Bandung. Don't forget to stop by Imah Baburan to treat your stomach with delicious home-made menus! (din)**

Head of the Bandung City Communication and Informatics Agency

Yayan A. Brilyana