“Some of us were already friends, but now we are closer than ever and we go on noodle hunting travels all over the world together,” says Eric Wirjanata, the club’s founder.

Members accompanied Wirjanata to Hong Kong for three days in 2018, sampling dishes prepared by six noodle vendors.

Marketing professional Wirjanata launched Bakmi Club in early 2015 after realising how many noodle stalls were located near his home in eastern Jakarta. Having just pulled out of a business partnership, he saw his freedom as an opportunity to start something new – a blog that would focus on his epicurean escapades.

“I loved noodles anyway, so if it didn’t pan out, I would at least have made a few new eating buddies as well as having culinary experiences along the way,” the 38-year-old says. “I had some money saved up and I thought I could make something out of it before I began working with my next client.”

Wirjanata is still fully on board with the Bakmi Club. A number of members have opened their own noodle shops and some existing restaurants have seen a surge in business as a result of the club’s endorsements.

Yet it wasn’t an immediate success. Wirjanata posted the usual mix of short reviews and photos on his original club blog, but it didn’t take off. A music fan, he took cues from his old days fostering successful fan communities on Yahoo Groups and mIRC in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The way to make a subject popular, he recalled, was to get people with the same passion together and talk about it.

A collective passion for noodles, coupled with an easy way to learn about member recommendations, boosted Bakmi Club’s popularity.

Soon there was a sense of community, with members getting to know one another, and trading stories and jokes as well as tips. The most passionate members did a lot of noodle tasting together, taking photographs and posting them on the group’s page.

“People were not stingy in telling each other about the places that had the most delicious noodles all over the world,” says Wirjanata. “That was what made it come together so quickly – this feeling of, ‘we’re all in this big noodle adventure together’.”

Tjhin Allfreed, one of the Facebook group’s moderators, learned about Bakmi Club when a friend who owned a noodle business told him about a good review of his shop on the page. Tjhin found the detailed and passionate reviews compelling so he joined the club.

“There are other similar groups, but a lot of them are about showing off what the poster was eating,” he says, referring to Instagram-style boast posts to the world, rather than a friendly note to fellow club members.

Wirjanata thinks the Bakmi Club reviews shine with personality, humour and hyperbolic delight, and they have encouraged Indonesian noodle businesses to step up their efforts to make the best fare they can.

“There are tons of shops that three years ago were worried about the lack of customers, but now, because of good reviews on the group page and members talking about them, they are getting good business,” he says.

One recent review is typical: “Before coming here, I looked for tips from the group. It turns out that many of you have tried and recommended the pork ribs … So I followed your directions. I got two large pieces of rib, filled with meat and fat. Awesome.”

If self-promotion threatens to elbow out critical reviews – a number of members are noodle vendors themselves – Wirjanata reminds everyone why the Bakmi Club page has built such a strong following: honest and objective opinions.

“A lot of reviews lacking in information and details do not get approved,” he says, which means moderators spend a lot of time dealing with complaints from members whose write-ups are rejected. Wirjanata accepts fees for some promotions, but says the club could do much more to develop business opportunities.

“I am not making a living off Bakmi Club,” he says. “The business side of things just has not been managed well enough, though there were many opportunities I could have taken. But I have had some ideas, such as merchandise like T-shirts and videos on YouTube, which I have done a bit,” he says.

Last year, Bakmi Club collaborated with Dicky Pangestu from Jakarta’s Umaramu Indonesian Noodle restaurant to create a chilli sauce called Sambal Brutal, which the club distributes online and through noodle shops.

Club moderator Henry “Pao Pao” Yonathan Setiawan says Wirjanata has many loyal followers who are glad he does not charge them for being promoted even though the club has clearly helped grow their businesses. He believes the club has been a source of joy for everyone involved.

Six Bakmi Club recommendations

Tiong Sim

Jl. Selat Panjang No. 7, Ps. Baru, Medan, North Sumatra 20212, tel: (061) 4157517

“This Siantar noodle has spices and concoctions preserved for decades and I would say that almost everyone in Medan would agree that this is their ultimate noodle.”

Ho Liaw

Blok Q1, Jl. Raya Klp. Kopyor Kelapa Gading, Jakarta

“What is special for me here is the siobak [barbecued pork belly], which is mixed with a special spice, and the crispiness is just right. One of the best Siobak I’ve ever had.”

Mie Cinco

Jalan A. Yani, Gg Kebon Kelapa, No. 8, Cikole, Kebonjati, Kec. Cikole, Sukabumi, West Java.

“This has a really special taste because of how smoky the roasted pork is. I have not experienced meat this good in noodles anywhere else.”

Bakmi 168

Jalan Gading Elok Raya Utara Blok FA2 No. 7, Kelapa Gading

“Halal noodles are often underestimated, but these 168 noodles bust the myth that halal noodles are inferior to those covered in pork oil. A must try.”

Bakmi Balige Jaya and Bakmi Siantar Jaya

Jl. Bangunan Barat, No. 36A, and Jl. Bangunan Barat, No. 17, in Kampung Ambon, Jakarta

“The Kampung Ambon area has rows of Siantar noodle houses lined up. They have relatively the same taste and balanced quality. These noodles are not so good if they are wrapped up to eat at home. They should be enjoyed on the spot while listening to buskers singing Batak [a North Sumatra ethnic group] songs accompanied by a gentle breeze. The best experience.”