Gladag Langen Bogan or better known as GALABO was a culinary market complex which was held on Kapten Mulyadi Street in Kedung Lumbu area. This street market concept had attracted for the CEO of a company where I worked as a main candidate to be visited at Marketing Conference later.
Therefore, I needed to see GALABO real condition. I have to dissect culinary content in it, its activities concept and of course, its operational time. And to be able to do that, I have to survey it at night because this was a culinary night market.
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I drove with an online taxi which I ordered to southwest, leaving Pelangi Park in Jurug area. Great time to went to GALABO, because I would arrive there at around 7:00 pm and I thought with confidence that culinary tents have been set up along the street.
I moved from Pelangi Park through Ir. Juanda Street, then continued to Jenderal Urip Sumoharjo Street. It took 15 minutes and a distance of 5 km until I finally arrived at a large courtyard with a row of stalls on one side.
“Where is the GALABO, Sir?”.
“This is GALABO, Sir. We have arrived”.
“As I know that GALABO is rows of culinary tents along the street, Sir”.
“Oh that first, Sir. Now it was relocated and moved here. It’s just on south of Fort Vredeburg ”.
“When is relocated, Sir?”
“On mid-2018, Sir”.
I opened the online taxi door and trying to hide my disappointment. I still thought that GALABO was street culinary. Because street culinary would be more attractive to Marketing Conference participants later.
“It’s okay, Donny. Let’s just taste the food first! ”, I thought to myself.
The online taxi quickly left me in GALABO new area. I walked along row of stalls and looking for a suitable dinner. This time, my dinner was a little late so I decided to find a dish which was still hot. I didn’t hesitate to order Soto Kwali * 1 Mbok Yem. Then I combined it by ordering Wedang Ronde * 2 as a drink.
I took a seat on an umbrella shading-bench. Shortly after I sat down, a song sung by a singer with a single organ accompaniment began to play. I just enjoyed beautiful atmosphere of GALABO that evening. GALABO wasn’t crowded yet but visitors consistently started arriving. Slowly, rows of umbrella shading-bench started to fill up.
Ten minutes later, Dish which I ordered arrived and I started to eating a steaming Soto Kwali with gusto. Usually if I ate late, I would automatically lose my appetite. But this time, fragrant aroma of Soto Kwali made me forget my stomach condition which had started to catch a cold. Meanwhile, songs rhythhm which was delivered was faster and beater.
At the end of my dinner time, I started thinking, imagining in bringing 76 Marketing Conference participants to GALABO for dinner. On the other mind, I compared if dinner was being held at De ‘Tjolomadoe Sugar Factory Museum.
It seemed that I already had a tendency to choose which destination. GALABO or De ‘Tjolomadoe?
Now I have to hurry to visit other destination. Destination which would visit in afternoon during Marketing Conference, but I would survey it in the evening.
Let’s continued our journey to the biggest sports center in Bengawan City*3.
Notes:
Soto Kwali * 1 : a typical Solo dish cooked in kwali (clay pot). It’s a soup menu filled with pieces of beef, mostly from sengkel (top of beef leg).
Wedang Ronde * 2: is a hot drink which is made from ginger which can make our body warm after we drink it. It’s consisting of sticky rice balls, then poured with ginger sauce and sprinkled with fried peanuts with addition of plain bread and sugar palm fruit according to our taste.
Bengawan City*3: Another name for Solo city besides Batik City. Bengawan is a Javanese vocabulary which means a big river.