Opening a restaurant business is a good choice for doing business. This is based on daily human needs, namely food as an energy source for the body.

The food business is not only synonymous with luxury restaurants; rows of food stalls on the side of the road often have tastes that are no less delicious.

One of them is Soto Betawi H. Ma'ruf, which has become a legendary culinary specialty of the city of Jakarta since 1940.

Initially, Soto Betawi H. Ma'ruf was founded around 1940 and sold by being carried around. This was stated directly by the Owner of the Third Generation of Soto Betawi H. Ma'ruf, Mufti Maulana when we met Thursday (25/5/2023) in Jakarta.

After selling on his shoulders, Mufti's grandfather, the first owner of the Soto Betawi H. Ma'ruf business, sold tents by the side of the road like street vendors until the 1970s.

Later, Mufti's grandfather received an offer to sell at Taman Ismail Marzuki. Although initially quiet, the restaurant began to be known by many people over time and became crowded with visitors.

Until now, Soto Betawi H. Ma'ruf is a typical Soto Betawi culinary delight because it has been selling since 1940 and has never changed the original recipe.

"What distinguishes it from other soto, you could say that Soto Ma'ruf is the most authentic, because since the beginning of the late grandfather selling it in 1940 and our recipe has never changed," said Mufti.

The sauce used in this soto Betawi is a mixture of coconut and milk, which started accidentally.

"In the beginning in 1940, soto betawi was only coconut milk, but then around the 60s, it used to be carried around, after that maybe it got tired, so it was located in Cikini Market, Menteng area," he explained.

"So there wasn't any food there at all, so it was busy and quickly ran out. Now, when it's busy, because everything used to be manual, it turns out that the broth is running out," he continued.

Because the process of making coconut milk is done manually, it is felt that it will take a long time to make additional coconut milk. Finally, the grandfather took the initiative to tell his son to buy milk and mix it into coconut milk.

Unexpectedly from this accident, consumers liked it and felt that the soup became more savory and delicious.

“You could say coconut milk is not a recipe that was created on purpose. Precisely because it was crowded, there was no rush to make the coconut milk broth again, in the end it was mixed with the milk earlier, that's how it is sis," said the Mufti.

Meanwhile, the filling for the soup, which consists of meat and offal, is not only boiled but also re-fried. This is so that when the stuffing is put into the sauce, it will still feel crunchy.

Running for decades, H. Ma'ruf's Soto Betawi business already has four restaurants spread across Jakarta, namely in Central Jakarta, East Jakarta, and South Jakarta.

Using coconut milk broth, its characteristic, Mufti revealed that he could sell 200 portions at each branch daily.

Source: kompas.com