Oh gosh, can you believe it’s June already? How quickly does the time fly, indeed. Towards the end of May, I have been on an exploring drive—going to places all over Jakarta where I’d never been to before. You might remember from my last post where I said it was only the beginning. Well, I was right—mostly because by the time I wrote that post, I had gone on the trip that I’ll be going over on this post (lol). But it was also a wish that I won’t stop to venture into new destinations again—let’s bring back the adventurous and ever-curious Bivi from pre-2019!
Not unlike last week, this week I, too, will visit a historical landmark. However, in contrast, it is actually bustling with people this time—as the place is still actively used. It’s a marketplace located smack dab in the middle of Jakarta—central Jakarta, in fact. Again, it is not an area I normally visit—in fact, I’d never been here prior to this day. Despite its name, the place is actually very old—welcome to Pasar Baru!
The Oldest New Market
Oh gosh, can you believe it’s June already? How quickly does the time fly, indeed. Towards the end of May, I have been on an exploring drive—going to places all over Jakarta where I’d never been to before. You might remember from my last post where I said it was only the beginning. Well, I was right—mostly because by the time I wrote that post, I had gone on the trip that I’ll be going over on this post (lol). But it was also a wish that I won’t stop to venture into new destinations again—let’s bring back the adventurous and ever-curious Bivi from pre-2019!
Not unlike last week, this week I, too, will visit a historical landmark. However, in contrast, it is actually bustling with people this time—as the place is still actively used. It’s a marketplace located smack dab in the middle of Jakarta—central Jakarta, in fact. Again, it is not an area I normally visit—in fact, I’d never been here prior to this day. Despite its name, the place is actually very old—welcome to Pasar Baru!
The Oldest New Market
From the gate alone, you can already tell that this marketplace is nothing like its name. Just in case you didn’t know, “Pasar Baru” in Indonesian means “New Market.” Ironically, built in 1820, Pasar Baru is actually the oldest marketplace in Jakarta. The place used to be the trading hub for Dutch colonisers and Chinese people for any kinds of goods.
It seems, even back then, a lot of the businesses here are Chinese-owned, as you can see from the wide array of oriental buildings inside—even the gates have some Chinese influence. Some of these businesses still thrive to this day, including the all-in-one store Lee Ie Seng that you can see below.
While I had never been here before, I have heard great things about Pasar Baru and, having passed by the gates once before, I was curious of the reason for its greatness. It was only when I came here did I realise why: a lot of well-known, nation-wide businesses started out in this place.
Matahari Department Store started out here as a small clothing store in 1958—now it’s a beloved department store known by everyone. Bakmi Gang Kelinci—a restaurant I would frequently visit as a child—started out at Gang Kelinci (trans. “Rabbit Alley”) here in 1957. Now they have branches spread out all over the city, if not the country.
From the gate alone, you can already tell that this marketplace is nothing like its name. Just in case you didn’t know, “Pasar Baru” in Indonesian means “New Market.” Ironically, built in 1820, Pasar Baru is actually the oldest marketplace in Jakarta. The place used to be the trading hub for Dutch colonisers and Chinese people for any kinds of goods.
It seems, even back then, a lot of the businesses here are Chinese-owned, as you can see from the wide array of oriental buildings inside—even the gates have some Chinese influence. Some of these businesses still thrive to this day, including the all-in-one store Lee Ie Seng that you can see below.
While I had never been here before, I have heard great things about Pasar Baru and, having passed by the gates once before, I was curious of the reason for its greatness. It was only when I came here did I realise why: a lot of well-known, nation-wide businesses started out in this place.
Matahari Department Store started out here as a small clothing store in 1958—now it’s a beloved department store known by everyone. Bakmi Gang Kelinci—a restaurant I would frequently visit as a child—started out at Gang Kelinci (trans. “Rabbit Alley”) here in 1957. Now they have branches spread out all over the city, if not the country.
Not only that, this marketplace has so many specialties as well. The place is laden with so many textile, jewellery and eyewear stores. The latter is probably because one of the oldest eyewear chain stores in the country, Optik Seis, was first founded here in 1927. Now there is even a whole street packed with eyewear stores of all kinds—both old and new, competing to grab your attention and business.
When you walk into Metro Atom Pasar Baru building at the other end of the street—facing Jalan Samanhudi—you will find that each store contains its owns specialty as well. There is a whole floor for camera stores—including analog specialists. A lot of people come here to get their films developed, grab an old school camera or have their own analog ones fixed. On top of that, there are two whole floors for secondhand and rejected clothing pieces. It’s pretty packed and complete—including diverse pieces, such as t-shirts, button-ups, hoodies, pants, dresses, hats, bags and even underwear.
Nothing but the Vibe
Not only that, this marketplace has so many specialties as well. The place is laden with so many textile, jewellery and eyewear stores. The latter is probably because one of the oldest eyewear chain stores in the country, Optik Seis, was first founded here in 1927. Now there is even a whole street packed with eyewear stores of all kinds—both old and new, competing to grab your attention and business.
When you walk into Metro Atom Pasar Baru building at the other end of the street—facing Jalan Samanhudi—you will find that each store contains its owns specialty as well. There is a whole floor for camera stores—including analog specialists. A lot of people come here to get their films developed, grab an old school camera or have their own analog ones fixed. On top of that, there are two whole floors for secondhand and rejected clothing pieces. It’s pretty packed and complete—including diverse pieces, such as t-shirts, button-ups, hoodies, pants, dresses, hats, bags and even underwear.
Nothing but the Vibe
Honestly, though, what I love most about going to Pasar Baru isn’t so much what I could potentially buy from there, but more the vibe I got to experience. The architecture, the people, the history—it feels so good to soak it all in. I just have a really soft spot for old, practically run-down structures and they happen to have a lot of those in this area. In fact, we missed out on capturing most of them through the lens while the sun was still up. I’m determined to come back some other time to take some good photos of them.
Hand-me-down t-shirt + jacket // thrifted skirt // old socks + boots // photos by Agung
Honestly, though, what I love most about going to Pasar Baru isn’t so much what I could potentially buy from there, but more the vibe I got to experience. The architecture, the people, the history—it feels so good to soak it all in. I just have a really soft spot for old, practically run-down structures and they happen to have a lot of those in this area. In fact, we missed out on capturing most of them through the lens while the sun was still up. I’m determined to come back some other time to take some good photos of them.
Hand-me-down t-shirt + jacket // thrifted skirt // old socks + boots // photos by Agung
Agung and I didn’t really come here with a plan—that’s how we spend most of our time together, to be honest. We talked about getting my analog camera fixed—the flash is broken, as you know—but I forgot to bring it on this trip.
Other than that, Agung has heard that Pasar Baru is a great place for thrifting—as I’ve mentioned above. So we headed for the secondhand clothes floors and just went from one end to another, let our eyes guide us to the next item. There are some really unique pieces here—including a striped, prawn-patterned button-up shirt we found. I went home with a cute pinafore dress, which I will show you in later posts.
Afterwards, we just roamed about, taking in our surroundings. We checked out Gang Kelinci and found this tiny alley leading up to the legendary Bakmi A Boen—we didn’t eat there, though, as we already had our lunch by then. Agung has heard great things about this place so we got intrigued to try it some other time.
Agung and I didn’t really come here with a plan—that’s how we spend most of our time together, to be honest. We talked about getting my analog camera fixed—the flash is broken, as you know—but I forgot to bring it on this trip.
Other than that, Agung has heard that Pasar Baru is a great place for thrifting—as I’ve mentioned above. So we headed for the secondhand clothes floors and just went from one end to another, let our eyes guide us to the next item. There are some really unique pieces here—including a striped, prawn-patterned button-up shirt we found. I went home with a cute pinafore dress, which I will show you in later posts.
Afterwards, we just roamed about, taking in our surroundings. We checked out Gang Kelinci and found this tiny alley leading up to the legendary Bakmi A Boen—we didn’t eat there, though, as we already had our lunch by then. Agung has heard great things about this place so we got intrigued to try it some other time.
You know, I used to roam marketplaces all the time. When I was in middle school, our school was located near a marketplace and we would go there to buy supplies all the time. Pasar Baru reminds me of that place a lot, although a lot smaller and also less crowded. Marketplaces in the city—or at least the ones I used to frequent—have all been remodeled into building complexes. Most of them no longer look like this one anymore—it may not look the most traditional, but it still feels pretty old-fashioned in comparison—so there’s a sense of nostalgia that hit me when I entered this place. There’s the sense of being lost in a crowd. The numerous food carts lining the streets, selling snacks we’ve grown up loving. Maybe next time I’ll get to taste them all.
Do you have a favourite marketplace where you live?
You know, I used to roam marketplaces all the time. When I was in middle school, our school was located near a marketplace and we would go there to buy supplies all the time. Pasar Baru reminds me of that place a lot, although a lot smaller and also less crowded. Marketplaces in the city—or at least the ones I used to frequent—have all been remodeled into building complexes. Most of them no longer look like this one anymore—it may not look the most traditional, but it still feels pretty old-fashioned in comparison—so there’s a sense of nostalgia that hit me when I entered this place. There’s the sense of being lost in a crowd. The numerous food carts lining the streets, selling snacks we’ve grown up loving. Maybe next time I’ll get to taste them all.
Do you have a favourite marketplace where you live?