About Warung in Indonesia

Hello all food lovers!

Today I'm gonna write about warung. It is not food actually, it is a term we use for certain places.

Why do I write about warung? Because I still discover so many misconception about this 'warung' term.

I think, the misconception has relation with the translation of 'internet-cafe'. Let me explain.

In Indonesia, it is common to call a place where we can rent internet connection as 'warung internet' or warnet. In this warnet,  we can rent a computer with an internet connection for browsing, play games, etc.

When Indonesian people tried to translate warung internet to English, we usually use term of internet cafe or cyber cafe. I'm afraid this practice would cause misconception on the meaning of warung.

Warung is not a cafe.

Indonesian people use the term warung to refer to certain places that have some characteristics.

The characteristics are:

1. The place is usually informal. You don't have to behave or mind your manners too much in those kind of place.
2. The place usually small and decorated poorly.
3. The place usually sells stuffs at cheap price.

The term warung itself doesn't represent to ONLY ONE kind of place. Instead, it can be used to represent various place. For instance :

1. Warung Makan. It means a small eating house (makan = eating)
2. Warung Rokok. It means a small stall in size about 2m x 1m x 2m (length x width x height) where you can buy cigarettes and daily needs.
3. Warung Tegal. Tegal is a small city in Central Java Province. There are so many citizen of Tegal who go to other cities and open Warung Makan in those cities. Therefore, Warung Tegal is a nickname for Warung Makan which owned by Tegal citizens. But, since there are so many Warung Tegal in many cities in Indonesia, many Warung Tegal  that not owned by Tegal citizens. Warung Tegal is also commonly abbreviated as WarTeg.
4. Warung Padang. Padang is a capital city of West Sumatera Province. Like Warung Tegal, There are so many Padang citizen who go to other cities and open Warung Makan. They sell various kind of Padang food. I think Padang food is quite well known in several countries. It is well known for its delicacy and rich spices.

Here are some photo I take about 'warung' :

Pic 1 A common Warung Tegal. The food is ready to served and displayed in the show window.

Pic 2 This Warung Tegal has jumbo refrigerator. Somebody was eating peacefully when i took the photo.

Pic 3 A cat was begging for food from the man. Cat is very common in Indonesia, and mostly they beg for food in place like this

Let's Learn Bahasa Indonesia

How do you say Warung in Bahasa Indonesia?

wa as in wand

rung like saying roong

How do you say Makan (to eat) in Bahasa Indonesia?

ma as in mom

kan as in card

How do you say Rokok (cigarette) in Bahasa Indonesia?

ro as in bro

kok as in cock

How do you say Tegal (city of Tegal) in Bahasa Indonesia?

Te as in tequila

gal as in guy

How do you say Padang (city of Padang) in Bahasa Indonesia?

Pa as in papa

dang as in dunk with silent k

Visit Indonesia

There you go, I hope, this can clear the misconception of the term of warung. Because in my other post, I will mention 'warung' quite a lot.

Visit beautiful Indonesia!