Crispy Detours: Jamur Goreng and a Shoe Hunt at Tangerang Station
by William Siddhi K. on November 30, 2025. 📌Tangerang Station, Jakarta, Indonesia I’ve always had one major problem when it comes to buying shoes in Indonesia: my size simply doesn’t exist. Or at least, it feels like it doesn’t. Size 45 isn’t impossible to find, but it might as well be an urban legend in most department stores near my house. Every time I walk into a shop, the conversation goes the same way—optimistic opening, slow realization, then polite disappointment. “Mas ukuran 45 ada?” “Ehm… mungkin habis, Mas.” “Mungkin atau memang tidak ada?” “Hmmm… tidak ada.” I’m used to it by now. Indonesian feet tend to run smaller, so stores rarely stock the larger sizes. But last week, my mom mentioned that she knew someone—an old acquaintance of hers—who sells size 45 shoes around Tangerang Station. She said he runs a tiny shoe shop near the station entrance. No fancy shelves, no organized rows, just stacks of boxes and a guy who knows exactly which pile contains which size. It so...
