South Tangerang

A weekend between Pasar Modern BSD, The Breeze and Bintaro Xchange

Spend a South Tangerang weekend the way residents do. Start Saturday at the bakmi stalls of Pasar Modern BSD, walk under the trees of Taman Kota 1, and spend the evening at The Breeze, an open-air mall by a lake; on Sunday head to Bintaro Xchange in Bintaro Jaya for shopping and food halls.

Saturday morning. Start where the locals do, at Pasar Modern BSD, a tidy covered market near the BSD office district. Find a seat at one of the bakmi stalls, order noodles with char siu or chicken and a glass of iced coffee, then walk the fruit and spice aisles while the market is at its busiest.

Late morning. Head to Taman Kota 1 for a walk under the trees, or, if you have children, spend the rest of the morning at Ocean Park BSD, a water park with slides and a wave pool. Check what is on at ICE BSD, the huge exhibition centre, which hosts trade fairs, concerts and the yearly GIIAS motor show.

Afternoon. Escape the heat inside AEON Mall BSD, whose Japanese supermarket and food hall draw shoppers from all over Jakarta, then move on to The Breeze, where shops and cafes line a lake.

Sunday. Cross to Alam Sutera for IKEA or the Mall @ Alam Sutera, or go east to Bintaro Jaya. Bintaro Xchange is a large mall with a park attached, and the streets around Sektor 9 have plenty of small cafes and restaurants for a late lunch.

Evening. If you are flying out, leave at least two hours for the airport ride on a Sunday night.

Bakmi stalls, Sundanese rice houses and the food halls of Serpong

South Tangerang's food reflects its middle-class, Chinese-Indonesian and student population, with the country's favourites more than a local cuisine. Order bakmi, egg noodles with minced meat and fried wontons, at Pasar Modern BSD, eat Sundanese rice-house spreads, and graze in the food halls of Serpong's malls.

South Tangerang's food tells you who lives here: middle-class families from all over Indonesia, a large Chinese-Indonesian community and plenty of students. The result is less a local cuisine than a very good spread of the country's favourites.

Noodles come first. Bakmi, the Chinese-Indonesian egg noodle, is served dry with minced meat, fried wontons and a bowl of broth on the side, often with pork and sometimes with chicken instead. The stalls in and around Pasar Modern BSD are the classic place to try it, and the best ones sell out before lunchtime.

For something Javanese or Sundanese, look for rice houses serving nasi timbel, rice wrapped in banana leaf with fried chicken, tofu, tempeh, raw vegetables and sambal. Ayam bakar, sweet grilled chicken, and soto of every regional style turn up in the food courts.

The malls are where many families actually eat. AEON Mall BSD has a busy Japanese-style food hall, and The Breeze and Bintaro Xchange have rows of mid-range restaurants with outdoor seating. In the evenings, street carts appear outside residential clusters selling martabak, both the savoury egg-and-meat version and the thick, sweet pancake.

Around the universities in Ciputat, cheap warung serve students all day. Prices are low, portions are big, and opening hours stretch late.

Into Jakarta by KRL and MRT, and out to Bogor's botanic gardens

South Tangerang lets you sleep somewhere calmer and reach Jakarta by rail. From Rawa Buntu or Jurangmangu the KRL reaches Tanah Abang in 35 to 45 minutes for connections into central Jakarta, the MRT starts at Lebak Bulus nearby, and Bogor's botanic gardens make an easy day by commuter train.

The great advantage of staying in South Tangerang is that you can sleep somewhere calmer and still reach the capital on rails, avoiding the toll-road traffic.

Central Jakarta. From Rawa Buntu or Jurangmangu, ride the KRL to Tanah Abang, around 35 to 45 minutes, and change for a Cikarang line train to Manggarai, then for a train toward Jakarta Kota. Get off at Juanda or Gondangdia for Monas and the National Museum, or continue to Jakarta Kota for Kota Tua, the old Dutch town around Taman Fatahillah. Coming back, avoid the evening rush between about 17:00 and 19:00.

South Jakarta. From Ciputat or Pamulang, take a ride to Lebak Bulus and the MRT north. Blok M, with its markets and food lanes, is about 15 minutes; Bundaran HI, at the end of the line, is about 30.

Bogor. The Kebun Raya Bogor botanic gardens, founded in 1817, make a good full-day trip. By rail you change lines in Jakarta, so the trip can take two hours each way; a car via the JORR toll road is usually quicker on weekdays.

Timing is everything. In the wet months from December to March, afternoon storms can flood underpasses and slow everything, so set off in the morning and plan to be back before late afternoon.