Former Indonesian Badminton Player Owns a 'Warteg' in Berlin
Jakarta. Indonesians may claim that they have very wide variety of cuisines, yet it is still debatable when it comes to its presence abroad. Restaurants serving food from the archipelago are hard to find in other countries, unless you are in Berlin. On Turn Strasse in the German capital you will find Restaurant Nusantara Halal, which provides various Javanese foods.
The restaurant belongs to an Indonesian by the name of Bram Fernardin, who settled in Germany more than two decades ago.
"The menu is quite complete, it's more varied than a traditional Indonesian warteg," Bram told Beritasatu.com last week, referring to a warung tegal, an eatery that provides food and drinks at affordable prices.
Bram's story began in his early teenage years when he was approached by a coach to join the badminton club Djarum Kudus. He improved his performance and eventually won the national championship in a tight game in Lampung in 1988.
After that milestone, Bram joined the national training camp in 1989 and earned a third place in the Jakarta Open a year later. Bram said he nearly emerged as the winner of that international championship.
"I lost against Xiong Guobao," Bram said.
After losing his place in the national camp, Bram decided to move to the Netherlands, where he lived in his grandmother's house. He was still into badminton and represented the Dutch in a European championship in Hamburg, Germany, in 1992.
"I became a European champion at that time," he said.
Being a champion, he was approached by a local club coach, who persuaded him to join Eintracht Sudring Berlin. In 1993, Bram moved to the German capital to become a professional badminton coach.
Most Complete Menu
After marrying Diyah Nurhadiati, a girl from Brebes, Central Java, Bram began to pioneer with Indonesian cuisine. At first, the couple only had a catering service in Berlin before they eventually opened Restaurant Nusantara Halal.
Some popular Indonesian foods such as chicken and goat satay, tongseng (spicy chicken/meat with coconut milk soup), nasi rames (mixed rice) and gado-gado (mixed vegetables with peanut sauce) are provided as well as Indonesian ginger drinks known as bandrek.
Many German people and European tourists dine in Bram's restaurant, agreeing that the Indonesian seasoning is tasty.
"Foreigners love Indonesian food as well," Bram said.
Bram claims that his restaurants is the only one that serves complete Indonesian foods, just like a warteg back home.
At the moment, Bram has 10 employees, most of them students.
"I also had a Lebanese as waiter," he said.
Bram lives with his wife and two children, who regularly compete and practice badminton, following in their father's footsteps.
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