Coronavirus: Indonesia restaurant offers ‘high-class’ dining as country loosens pandemic curbs during Ramadan
- Restaurant in Jakarta straps in its customers to serve them meals 50 metres above the ground of Indonesia’s capital
- The Lounge in the Sky is fully booked in the evenings for the month of Ramadan, when Muslims gather at the end of the day to break their fast
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Indonesians are heading out to eat again as the Covid-19 pandemic’s grip on the country loosens, and some thrill-seekers in Jakarta are celebrating by having dinner while dangling 50 metres in the air.
The Lounge in the Sky opened to the public this week in the capital of Muslim-majority Indonesia.
Spots were snapped up months in advance: it is fully booked in the evenings for the month of Ramadan, when Muslims gather at the end of the day to break their fast.
The restaurant serves meals – priced between 1.6 and 3.7 million rupiah (US$110-260) – to as many as 32 customers at a time on a platform that is lifted as high as 50 meters by a crane.
Diners are strapped into their seats, while the chefs and servers wear security harnesses.
Some customers were seen cheering as the platform rose during a visit by Agence France-Presse.
“At first, it was not easy. I was nervous that I wouldn’t be able to swallow the food,” said Yuni, a 29-year-old doctor.
“But after some time I could … eat. It was thrilling.”
The restaurant said it follows strict safety standards, but the experience does not come without precautions: its website recommends customers go to the bathroom before taking their seats to avoid the need to lower the platform during the meal.
Two Belgian entrepreneurs developed the “Dinner in the Sky” concept. Since 2006 it has expanded to dozens of countries.
Foreign travellers will also be able to enjoy ‘high-class’ meals as the Indonesian government reinstituted its visa-free visit policy for citizens of fellow Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) member countries.
Citizens from the nine other Southeast Asian countries only need to show proof of a Covid-19 vaccination and a negative polymerase chain reaction test (PCR) taken 48 hours before arrival. They must also use the PeduliLindungi test and track app.
A PCR test upon arrival is no longer needed if travellers pass a temperature check.
