It is a challenge to travel and explore new places. Yet even tourist tend to discover new things, knowing a meeting point for fellow foreigners will be very interesting and beneficial. Established by Belgian tourism agency, “Via-Via Café and Resto” provide a space within the tagline “meeting places for world travellers, crossroads between east and west, north and south.” Your entire needs and starter pack for the best travel experience can be obtained here. Starting the business back then in 1995, via-via has been one of the most sought places for foreign tourist ever since. A place for foreign tourism to gather in the middle of their travel journey.

Location and How It Start

Via via established by a group of Belgian travellers met to share experiences from the road. They worried about the negative impact of mass tourism on the environment and local people and shared ideas of sustainable tourism respectful of nature and culture. The dream to set up cafes around the world to implement their ideas developed. The first ViaVia opened in 1995.

In Indonesia, via via solely located in Yogyakarta. To be exact is at Prawirotaman street number 30. Proximately 16 minutes from the heart of Yogyakarta. Don’t be too surprised, it is located in the central tourism point so all the transportations are very accessible. Not only very accessible Prawirotaman is also well-known as the central foreign tourism, so it is the place for you to seek other foreigners in the city.

The ornaments and decorations of the resto are very artistic with semi modern nuance. The vibes were even more fascinating with the help of local product displayed, all are on sale. ViaVia in Jogja offers trips to a Javanese village, city walks or a taste of traditional medicine, Jamu. ViaVia in Jogja offers art space to young local artists. ViaVia is also often the venue of concerts, Friday night Jazz, performance art, film festivals and debates. Parts of the ViaVia profits go to support educational, social and cultural projects in and around Jogjakarta.

Food, Bakery, and Surprise

Within the concept to synchronize with local unique, Via-via offers world kitchen and local delicacies. It giving chances and options for tourist whether they miss the taste of their hometown food or they want to taste the authentic Yogyakarta sensation.

It is not enough just to provide resto and café, you can meet the Via-Via Bakery. A stop to buy delicious tasty pastry and bread. The Bakery’s location is several meters away from the resto. It is on a different building yet very near so you could take the bread or pasties and eat it at the resto. It offers white bread, pita, brown bread, focaccia, and baguette for daily production. Yet it also produces pastries and cookies according to the predetermined baking schedule.

We had the chance to taste the ‘Grote Chocolate Koeken’. The dough itself is not too sweet. You will eventually realize it is the Choco chips that surprisingly dominating all the sweetness came to your sense. The texture of the dough is easily bitten, shed into your mouth. So it left only the happiness and fun to eat the cookies. We are really addicted to the cookies on our first bite and plan to come days after to get another one. We are really excited!

We also visit the resto. It was a shame we do not get the chance to taste the breakfast menu because it is 12 PM already. The breakfast stops being served at 11 AM. It was a quite hot day in Yogyakarta so we taste the Fruit Bowl and Mashed Potato. The fruits are fresh from the refrigerator so it is very delicious and helping us chilling in the middle of a hot day. Aside from all of it, the fruits were very much in a good condition. The mashed potato was very smooth and sleek. The potato was finely grounded. It didn’t leave grainy sensation in the mouth. Also, it does not taste too savoury. Personal comment, the mashed potato serve as its origin. We assume if it is adapted in Indonesian way, the taste of the spices will be more dominant.

Aside from selling the tasty food and local uniqueness, they also try to serve the best dish from the best ingredients. They organic rice and vegetables didn’t use Mono Sodium Glutamate, washed the fruits with boiled water and even made the ice cubes from boiled water. Via-via trying to bring a healthy and tasty food on the table.

They also give surprise to the customers by providing “Daily Specials menu” and “ Dessert of The day”. So they will not serve everything that written on the menu yet they will plan it and give customers different suggestion for each day. It happens for the main courses and dessert. For the dessert, if want to get more options, you can go to the bakery. Pick your dessert and take back to your seat.

“Tips and Services"

There are not many tips we could give since it will be very easy to tourist to do everything here. Since all the workers, the menu, and local people around can speak English. They could understand and speak basic sentences. So it won’t be many difficulties. The taste of the food itself was pretty much adjusting to the foreign taste and tongue. So all the food will be acceptable to eat.

We suggest to come at evening or night, avoid daylight. It is quite hot in the daylight because there is no Air Conditioner (AC) in the resto, yet you will find it very fun to chill in the evening. The view of Yogyakarta was very much attached on the street as far as your eyes can see.