Jakarta Chinatown is a captivating little slice of China in Indonesia. Situated in the heart of the city, the Glodok neighbourhood is the pulse of Jakarta’s Chinese community. Stepping into this district offers a unique window into Chinese culture beyond its homeland, set against the vibrant backdrop of Indonesia’s cultural diversity.
Much like China, a stroll through Glodok Chinatown promises kickass food, encounters with intriguing personalities, colourful temples filled with incense, and enticing bargain hunts.
Join us on this journey through Jakarta Chinatown, where Chinese customs mingle with the rhythms of Indonesian urban life. We recently spent a delicious morning eating and walking our way through this unique enclave, so we’d like to share a few photos and tips on visiting Glodok with you.
Our blog is your guide to navigating Glodok Chinatown, offering insights on what to see, do, and eat in this vibrant neighbourhood. Chinatown is s definite must on any Jakarta itinerary.
You’ll find an interactive map of our walking tour at the bottom of the post.
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Quick Guide to Glodok Chinatown, Jakarta
Getting around: The only way to navigate the alleys is on foot, or you could get a cycle rickshaw to take you around.
Best time to visit: Go in the morning to have a dim sum breakfast or brunch before exploring the neighbourhood.
Where is Glodok: Glodok is located in west Jakarta, just to the south of Kota Tua (Old Town). Get a taxi/Grab/Gojeg to Pantjoran Teahouse, the starting point of our walking tour of Glodok.
How much time: Roughly three hours. This allows you time for lots of food stops and sightseeing.
Recommended hotel in Jakarta: We stayed at Loewys Home in western Jakarta (about 5 km away) for three nights. It’s a great place with a swimming pool.
Another time, we stayed at the Ibis Styles Tanah Abang in central Jakarta (also 5 km away), which we also liked a lot.
Want a guide? This private walking tour of Glodok covers the best of Jakarta Chinatown.
Dim Sum at Pantjoran Tea House
A good day in Chinatown starts with dim sum. And for dim sum in Glodok, go straight to Pantjoran Tea House at the gate of Chinatown. Remember, dim sum is strictly a morning affair, so swing by before noon.
Pantjoran Tea House is housed in a charming two-story heritage building that used to be Apotheek Chung Hwa, a pharmacy dating back to 1928. After a period of abandonment, it was brilliantly repurposed into a teahouse in 2015. Its wooden screens and vibrant red lanterns make it the perfect spot to fuel up and get into the Chinatown groove before exploring the rest of the neighbourhood.
Now, onto the important stuff – the menu. You’ll find an enticing selection of 11 premium teas, ranging from Chinese, Japanese, English and Indonesian varieties. For our dim sum adventure, we kicked things off with a classic Chinese oolong from Wuyishan.
Our friendly waitress treated us to a mini tea ceremony, first rinsing the cups and leaves before letting us in on the first brew’s aroma. Once the tea was steeped, she demonstrated how to hold the teacups – balancing them on our index, middle, and ring fingers with your thumb and pinky touching.
Now, the real challenge was deciding what to order from the dim sum menu. After some deliberation, we settled on seven dishes, ensuring a mix of savoury and sweet delights.
The crystal shrimp dumplings (hakao), lotus leaf-wrapped glutinous rice (lo mai gai), chicken feet and egg custard buns (liu sha bao) were standouts for sure.
Tip: Seven dishes between two people are overkill. Don’t overindulge, as there is still a lot more food to eat today.
Gang Gloria & Kopi Es Tak Kie
Just a few hundred meters down the street, you’ll get to Gang Gloria, an alleyway chockablock with Chinese food and colourful personas. These food stalls have achieved near-legendary status among Jakarta locals, having served up their signature dish for decades, often passed down from one generation to the next.
Kopi Es Tak Kie, one of the most iconic locales in Chinatown Jakarta, is tucked away within Gang Gloria. Since its establishment in 1927, this cherished spot has been a gathering place for Jakarta’s Chinese community.
You won’t find fancy smanchy concoctions like skinny lattes with extra foam and a pump of pumpkin spice here. Instead, Kopi Es Tak Kie offers two simple choices – black or milk coffee, using only Robusta coffee from Lampung in Sumatra.
The iced milk coffee, prepared in the Peranakan style with condensed milk, is the undisputed crowd-pleaser.
What we liked most about Kopi Es Tak Kie was its down-to-earth charm and convivial atmosphere. Upon our arrival, the place was buzzing with people sitting elbow to elbow, reminding us of the tiny cafes in Hong Kong.
It’s wise to arrive before 1 pm as they often run out of coffee and close up shop for the day. You wouldn’t want to miss out on this experience.
More Food at Petak Enam
Petak Enam is the new kid on the culinary block of Glodok. Originally a department store from the 60s, it has transformed into one of the hottest foodie spots in Chinatown Jakarta.
On the ground floor, you’ll find several restaurants serving halal and non-halal food, while some tempting food stands are on the second floor. The atmosphere is lively and youthful, and there’s no shortage of Insta-worthy spots to snap photos.
If you’re not in a food coma yet, grab a small snack from the vendors upstairs while strolling around. The Taiwanese Power Puffs filled with custard, matcha or durian cream are orgasmic!
Test Your Incense Tolerance at Vihara Toa Se Bio
Toa Se Bio, one of Jakarta’s oldest Chinese temples dating back to the 18th century, is a vibrant spectacle of colours and swirling incense. While it’s undeniably picturesque, be prepared for the thick clouds of incense that fill the air.
Photographers will love the vibrant colours, various details at the altars and the worshippers burning incense. Please be respectful, though, and remember it’s a place of worship.
Upon entering the temple, you’ll encounter 18 distinct altars dedicated to a specific deity with its unique purpose. For the convenience of worshippers, the altars are thoughtfully numbered.
Find Good Fortune at Fat Cu Kung Bio
Tucked away at the far end of an alley, you’ll discover the Fat Cu Kung Temple, a petite sanctuary devoted to the revered Taoist deity, Fat Cu Kung. It’s widely believed that Fat Cu Kung possesses extraordinary power, capable of resolving life’s most formidable challenges.
This temple serves as a place of worship for those seeking comfort during illness, assistance in times of need, or blessings of good fortune. Inside, you’ll encounter a plethora of altars dedicated to various deities, some of which we haven’t seen in other temples.
Pass by the Santa Maria de Fatima Church
The Santa Maria de Fatima church is a bit of an oddity amid the landscape of Glodok. Was it not for the white cross on top of the red tile roof, one might have mistaken the Catholic church for a Chinese temple.
This Catholic church held its inaugural service in 1954, and it remains active, hosting a daily mass.
We could only admire the church from the outside during our visit since the gate was closed.
Hunt Down a Kue Ape
One snack you absolutely must have in Jakarta is kue ape, and you’ll often spot food carts selling them along the streets.
Kue ape is a unique pancake made from rice flour, coconut milk, vanilla, and pandan leaf. Cooked slowly in a wok-shaped pan over charcoal, this special pan allows the edges of the pancake to crisp up beautifully while the centre stays delightfully spongy and chewy. It’s damn good, and one is never enough!
Locally, this snack sometimes goes by the playful nickname kue tetek, meaning breast cake because it resembles a nipple. However, don’t use this term, as it’s considered impolite. Instead, stick to kue ape, which translates to what cake.
Admire Jakarta’s Oldest Klenteng
Vihara Dharma Bhakti, Jakarta’s oldest klenteng (Chinese temple), dating back to 1650, mirrors the sensory overload of Glodok’s other temples with its billowing incense smoke and vibrant colours.
This temple complex comprises various smaller temples along with a central prayer hall. Upon stepping into the temple grounds, you’ll notice individuals burning joss paper in a furnace resembling a Studio Ghibli character.
Stroll Down Glodok Market
What’s a Chinatown without a bustling wet market, right? In Glodok, this lively marketplace is called Petak Sembilan Market and is located on Jalan Kemenangan, running between Vihara Dharma Bhakti and Jalan Pancoran.
This street offers everything you’d expect from a vibrant wet market – from sea cucumbers to crabs, juicy mangoes, exotic snakeskin fruit, crisp bok choi, and even buckets teeming with eels.
The sheer variety of goods, the diverse textures, the rich aroma, the lively sounds, and the friendly vendors combine to make this one of the most photogenic spots you’ll find in Jakarta.
Have a Kopi Pancoran at Djauw Coffee
Our final destination on this Chinatown walking tour is a relaxing conclusion for those heading back to their hotels or a perfect pit stop for those eager to explore more of Jakarta. And for us, that calls for a cup of coffee with a surprising twist on the traditional Indonesian kopi.
Much like a Singaporean kopitiam, Djauw Coffee offers excellent coffee and treats like kaya toast. However, what truly sets Djauw Coffee apart is that it’s strictly manual brew.
While drip coffee is available, sand coffee is the most popular. The coffee is prepared in hot sand, where the grounds and water are placed in a wide-bottomed pot and gently stirred while nestled in the hot sand. This brewing technique originates in Turkey, and Djauw’s robust coffee reminds a bit of Turkish coffee.
The star of the show here is the Kopi Pancoran, a fantastic coffee infused with cinnamon and palm sugar. Bold, dense, and sweet, a cup of Kopi Pancoran is an experience unique to Jakarta Chinatown.
Post-coffee, it’s just a short walk back to the Chinatown Gate, where you began. You’ll have no trouble hailing a Bluebird taxi or arranging a Grab/Gojek ride from there.
For those eager to continue their exploration, we recommend visiting the National Museum Indonesia or joining us for another self-guided walking tour of Kota Tua (Jakarta Old Town).
Chinatown Jakarta Walking Tour Map
Here is the easy-to-follow map of our Glodok walking tour. Click here or on the map for an interactive version on Google Maps.
One last tip for visiting Jakarta Chinatown: Come hungry and wear stretchy pants
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