This restaurant concept is a variant on the ubiquitous street food found in Jakarta, Bali, and other Indonesian cities, as well as most urban areas worldwide. Instead of individual vendors setting up shop on a sidewalk or corner, a troop of carts descends on a square somewhere in New York City. Seating is deployed and service begins. Diners choose from different dishes offered at each cart and can either stay and eat or take their food to go. The name Kaki Lima is taken from their Indonesian counterparts. It translates to mean 'five feet' and refers to the three wheels of the cart and two feet of the vendor.
Tableware for this roving band of Indonesian-style street carts is comprised of paper, wood and biodegradable plastics. The intended use setting is a street corner or outdoor square, making economic and ecological disposability a critical constraint. Also, as each dish may consumed while standing or seated, each piece of 'tableware' must be functional when held or when set on a surface.As the final design would be produced in paper, it was an obvious choice for sketching and development. The satay dish was an exercise in paper engineering. The sheet is cut, creased, and gathered to create a unique and sturdy form that holds a skewer of grilled meat or vegetables and a dipping sauce.The traditional utensils used in Indonesia are a fork and spoon. This take on a spork can be used one-handed or, by snapping the halves apart, in a more civilized fashion.A literal, albeit playful, translation of the name seemed right for the logo.Here the logo is shown on the die-cut patterns......and on the assembled bowl.Five roving carts assemble themselves into an impromptu restaurant, complete with seating. Diners can choose between salad, soup, fried rice, and satay, then sit and eat. The four main carts are pushed on foot, but ice cream is served via pedal power.
