Jakarta, early August 2005

A legend of such charisma, that reproduces itself in dreams of the owner and creator of Tugu Hotels & Exotic Spas. Following his earlier inspirations that have resulted in the indigenuously exquisite Hotel Tugu Bali, Hotel Tugu Malang (East Java), Hotel Tugu Blitar (East Java), and Dapur Babah the Babah Kitchen (Jakarta), the creator dreams of living in the ninth century-Java, surrounded by the magical beauty of the Candi Prambanan (the Prambanan Temple). A surrounding where the legend Lara Djonggrang was born...

Once upon a time during the times of the Hinduism in Java, there lived Lara Djonggrang, a princess renowned for her stunning beauty. In during kingdom of Prambanan , Lara Djonggrang's father was killed by a powerful man Bandung Bondowoso, the son of king Prabu Baka. Blinded by her beauty, Bandung Bondowoso madly fell in love with the princess and was determined to marry Lara Djonggrang, whatever it required to do.

Lara Djonggrang vowed not to ever marry the man who had murdered her own father therefore she demanded Bandung Bondowoso to construct a thousand temples for her overnight. Unable to complete this task all by himself, Bandung Bondowoso seeked for the help of hundreds of demons to help him. So when dusk came, they set up to work.

As dawn approached, the demons had completed a large number of the temples at a startling speed. Worried that one thousand temples would be finished by sunrise, Lara Djonggrang aroused her palace maids to begin pounding rice in the barns and to scatter fragrant flowers all over the kingdom. The sound of the pounding woke the rooster who then beganto crow. When the demons heard the noises and smelled the flowers, they mistakenly understood that day time had come and flew away for their lives. At last, they only constructed 999 temples one short of the requirement.

Enraged beyond imaginations, Bandung Bondowoso turned Lara Djonggrang into a stone statue so that she would never be able to love others forever. The story of Lara Djonggrang lives through time, symbolizing a daughter's undying love for her father, finally sacrificing her life for him. The Gods heard the prayers sent by the maidens of the kingdom. Touched by the story, they sent for Lara Djonggrang to be taken to the heavens, riding on a Javanese mythological lion, where she finally found eternal peace.

The stone visualization of Lara Djonggrang on her way to heavens is one of the masterpieces in this beautiful restaurant, as well as a statue portraying her refusal to Bandung Bondowoso's plea to marry him. The artworks presented in this restaurant bring back to life the luxurious romance and ancient atmosphere of Prambanan.

The legend of LARA DJONGGRANG, although still could be heard deep in the lands of Java, remains only as one of the most enchanting, well-kept secrets that has been told only from parents to children through more than a thousand of years, it show each younger generation of the unconditional love and respect a child is to give to his or her parents. In line with its mission to keep alive the forgotten, romantic history of Indonesia , Tugu Hotels & Exotic Spas dedicate the Lara Djonggrang restaurant to become, in itself, a part of Indonesia's beautiful history.