BATU TRIP: where to eat and enjoy the nature

Hello!

As I promised I am gonna share my Malang and Batu trip with you because somehow the trip was humble yet memorable. I hope this post can give you inspiration to travel and explore more about the beauty in Indonesia. I have to say my Malang-Batu trip was quite affordable and I got to see almost everything here in 4 days. Let's dig in the post: where to eat and looking around in Batu. (click here to read about where to go in Malang)

WARUNG BETHANIA
Jalan Diponegoro No. 103, Kota Batu
(0341) 591158
11AM–9PM

This restaurant really deserved the top your must eat food in Batu. They have this gurame fish with special sauce which was really flavorful with lotsa Indonesian spices, but my favorites really went to their grilled gurame fish and the fried one. The flavor was really, really, on point. Thumbs up!

PS: Make sure to order their fried and grilled one, won't regret it for sure!

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POS KETAN LEGENDA

Jl. Kartini No.6, Kec. Batu

081334313353

5pm–11pm

Located in the town square of Batu, this Pos Ketan Legenda really was tourist and locals destination at night. They sold ketan, which was actually sticky rice topped with chocolate, cheese, durian, etc. My favorite was surely the cheese one, accompanied with condensed milk that made it sweeter (and better!). They also had this milk stall (Depot susu Ganesha) just across this sticky rice stall, it was quite crowded at night and sold fresh milk in vanilla, chocolate, melon and strawberry.

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ROTI BAKAR YOENOES

Jalan Panglima Sudirman no 6, Batu

5pm

There was many recommendation about this place while I was in Batu and decided to give it a try. It was not bad, but to be honest I did not find anything special here. Grilled bread had wide selection of topping and they're using this thin toast instead of the thick one like the one I usually found in Jakarta. They sold indomie, too. A savior for your midnight hunger.

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WAROENG BAMBOE

Jalan Raya Selecta, Kota Batu

(0341) 590754

9am-8pm

This restaurant could give you an experience like eating on the side of fish pond, but honestly the taste was kinda bland. Everything that I ordered need an improvement here and there but somehow it was still edible.

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Besides the culinary experience, I also gave my trip a touch a green. Yes I was exploring nature in Batu and found it really pretty!

COBAN RONDO WATERFALL AND LABYRINTH

Jl. Coban Rondo, Desa Pandesari, Malang

(0341) 5025147

The labyrinth itself actually did not that big but I found it was quite hard to get out from it. It was quite fun and surely a good spot to take pictures. The waterfall was pretty, too! It was so close with the car parking lot and I was happy to find that the waterfall was just around the corner (around 200m from the parking lot)

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CHASING SUNRISE AT WADUK SELOREJO
Selorejo, Ngantang

Favorite spot at Selorejo: the bridge with sunrise, it was just so pretty.

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PARALAYANG AT GUNUNG BANYAK AND OMAH KAYU

Jl. Gunung Banyak, Pujon,Batu

0812-1737-0035

7am-5pm

This place was my favorite. Omah kayu and Paralayang located in one place and it was pretty. Batu's blue sky really enhanced the beauty of this mountain and the greens at Omah kayu were just amazing. Those tree house at Omah Kayu were designed of 6 people and timed for 5 minutes each session so that you could queue to take pretty pictures here.

So here is the post about my trip in Batu. You can check my previous post where to go in Malang here. Drop some comment to tell me what you think about it!

MALANG: where to eat, chill, and enjoy the view

Exploring Indonesia is one thing that I've been doing recently. Instead of going to the same place all over again, I prefer to try something new. This time I choose Malang and Batu, cities in East Java which is well known for its beautiful nature, culture, and food. I have such a good companion during the trip and so excited to share my story with you guys. So here it is: Where to Eat, Chill, and Enjoy the view in Malang. (click here to see my next post about my trip in Batu)

BASO BAKAR TROWULAN

Jl.Candi Trowulan no 65, Malang

(0341) 492330

10am-7.30 pm

One of the top recommendation during my Malang trip was this grilled meatballs Trowulan. The meatballs were served with 2 choices of sauce, original and spicy. It was good, chewy, and the sauce was well seasoned kinda sweet peanut sauce. They served it with self service soup and rice vermicelli. The soup was kinda bland, tho.

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CUI MI/MI PANGSIT GLORIA

Jl. Agus Salim no 23, Malang

(0341) 324893

9am-2pm and 5pm-10pm

Cuimi/22k

Cuimi bakso/27k

Cuimi special(with organs)/25k

This one reminded me of my childhood kind of noodle, which was good. The noodle was thin, savory, and accompanied with tasty dumplings. It was not thick and hard like most noodle that I found in Jakarta. Gloria also served chinese food and all of them really made me drool! They also sold its raw noodle so that we can enjoy this goodness at home!

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BAKWAN BABI MULIA

Jl. Borobudur no 9, Mojolangu, Malang

(0341) 7321850

9am-9pm

The title might be appetizing, but I found that the soup was lack of seasoning. Salt and pepper here and there surely gonna made it better. You could have a portion of mix meatballs to try it all. Their fried meatballs was also crunchy and sinfully good. I prefer the fried one this time!

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RAWON NGULING

Jl. Zainul Arifin No.62, Sukoharjo, Klojen, Kota Malang

(0341) 324684

7am-3.30pm

Looks like people in Malang take breakfast seriously. This rawon spot was opened at 8 am and the store was kinda full that early. I did not really into rawon, but theirs surely was pleasing. The broth was well seasoned with tender chunks of beef. You could ask for salted egg to enhance the taste of your meal!

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HokLay

Jl. KH Achmad Dahlan No. 10, Jawa Timur 65118

(0341) 364513

9am-1.30pm and 5pm-8.30pm

An oldies shop that sell Semarang lumpia. The taste and fragrant was kinda strong for me, but for some people it was bearable tho. They have this famous Fosco here, which was basically chocolate milk with a touch of salty aftertaste, felt like having sea salt on it. Fosco was tasty!

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8OZ COFFEE

Jl. Citandui 74, Purwantoro, Blimbing, Malang

0812-5236-0367

8am-10pm, closed on Monday

One proper coffee shop in Malang, I should say. Place was wide, bright, and clean. Natural sunlight did really work here. Latte and cappuccino was nice, suitable with my taste. They also had some wide selections of food menu and I decided to have this smoothie bowl for around 35k. It wasn't actually a smoothie bowl, because they were using yoghurt with fresh fruit on top.

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VOSCO COFFEE

Jalan Borobudur 27A, Malang

08563136778

8am-11pm

Vosco delivered dark ambiance with its dim light. The natural light only covered the outdoor area and I was lucky the weather was quite nice that day. Coffee was not bad, not the best one but I had nothing to complain about. I found that coffeeshops in Malang have wide selections of food. I tried their waffles and it was tasty with maple syrup. 

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DJATI LOUNGE.

Jl. Greenwood Utara Mansion, Cluster Greenwood, Araya, Malang
8am-12am

Djati Lounge was like a hidden gem, located deep inside an exclusive Araya residence. It was beyond my expectation, to be honest. Djati had its luxurious feeling without leaving its ethnicity. They have swimming pool and golf field, too! Everything here was pretty with nice open air. I really thanked those people who push me to make an effort here!

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JODIPAN VILLAGE
Near train station, tugu, and sungai Brantas

Well it was actually a village which received a sponsorship so they are painting all the building in multi color. The result was true: tourist and photo hunter was flowing non stop to get this pretty corner in pink and blue. They have many interesting murals too! The good thing was, people in Jodipan was friendly and really such a helpful one to help us finding secret spots for some shoots!

Well, those are my hunting results during my trip in Malang. Overall Malang is really nice and somehow I miss it right now. People are nice, food is good and affordable. I hope my sharing can give you a help during your visit in Malang! 
Anyway, you can click here to see my next post about my trip in Batu!

ASIATALE RESTO AND BAR

Modern Chinese food is one kind of new comer in Jakarta lately. Chinese food is one thing that related with something authentic and oldies, but Chinese food in Jakarta has been progressing to something fancy, fun, and modern. I have to say that Asiatale is not the first one to apperear as a modern chinese food restaurant, but let's see if Asiatale is a newcomer that need to be reckoned.

Location-wise, it was strategic and easy to be found, reside in Suryo street aligned with many well-known restaurants in that area. Place was looking good with a touch of sophisticated ambiance. I could imagine having a private dinner party with Chinese theme here with cheongsam that match the atmosphere of its dim light.

I love the pretty design. It reminded me of old luxurious Chinese restaurant somehow.

ICE TEA-20k

At first I thought that their menu was quite affordable, range between 20k-150k. Turned out the serving size was small, and honestly I was not a fond of food with tiny serving size. I mean I don't mind paying more to get its original size like the way it should be. Personal opinion, tho.

UNCLE TIONG'S SEAFOOD CAKWE-42k

Despite its tiny serving size, actually it was tasty. Seasoned well, it was kinda sticky, was not too oily as well.

SZECHUAN STYLE WONTON - 26k

One of the best seller, they said. Steamed wonton with chicken, shrimp, mushroom with hot and chilly sauce. Small portion, actually the filling was quite nice but I'd prefer to have it saltier. The skin was kinda bland but the sauce was helping to give it a kick.

HOCHIAK FRIED KWETIAU with duck egg- 35k

It was quite a simple dish but turned out became one of my favorite. Chewy kwetiau was well seasoned enhanced by salted egg. Well, it might be a humble bowl, but this one was the one which filled my tummy well!

SALTED EGG YOLK SESAME BALL - 26k

This one, was the winner of my lunch! Tasty crunchy sesame ball filled with melted egg yolk custard. Recommended to end your palate with something sweet like this. I liked it, enough said.

Overall I was enjoying it but honestly it was just ordinary. The dimsum was good but it was not that special to make me come all along the way. Taste was quite nice but the serving size was too small even for me. Anyway they are having dimsum promotion for 18k only and the waiter did not give it as a suggestion for me so I did not know about it until I paid it in the end.

ASIATALE RESTO AND BAR

Jl. Suryo no 15, Senopati

Jakarta Pusat

(021) 29704981

MAPLE AND OAK

As you guys know I am a big, big, big fan of Australian brunch. I did remember the first time I had my first brunch in Syndey back then in 2011, way back when brunch was not a hype here. I remembered having Bills in Sydney, it was so memorable and hoping that I could get easy access to that kind of food in Jakarta, and voila: many brunch spot was popping up here, but little that won my heart. So when I heard that Maple and Oak by chef Odie Djamil opened its door for public, I was really excited to give it a visit. Moreover I heard some good reviews from my fellow blogger.

Maple and Oak reminded me much of homey brunch spot in Australia: tiny but comfy. It resides on the same building with Por Que No, Menteng area. Place is not spacious, but it somehow welcomes you heartwarming-ly. Staff is friendly and very knowledgeable, an overplus for Maple and Oak. It may get pack at brunch hour at weekend and they do not take any reservation in those days.

HOT LATTE-35k

Coffee was not bad, quite a kick to start my Sunday. Something I would not complain since it's not a specialty coffee shop.

CROQUE MONSIEUR-83k

My favorite so far! I did order this because I am such a sucker for croque monsieur whenever I see it on the menu. Unfortunately is not their suggestion on the first place. I do suggest to you Maple and Oak (of course if you don't mind) to put this to your favorite suggestion because it was SUPER YUMMY! Bread was in perfect thickness, which was using sourdough anyway. Mornay sauce fitted perfectly with beef pastrami, and the mozzarella and red cheddar made it even better! It was like a feast in my mouth and I kept digging it to the last piece!

Ps: Their croque monsieur did bolt to my top rank in Jakarta!

EGG BENEDICT

WITH SALMON-83k

WITH BEEF PASTRAMI-73k

Egg benedict is one dish that can truly give a first impression of one brunch spot. Maple and Oak, however, did a good job on it. Presentation was pretty. I really loved all the plates they were using, anyway. Egg was good and cooked perfectly, Hollandaise sauce was well seasoned. It was something you could not say no to!

MAPLE BUTTER BRIOCHE-78k

Their signature maple truffle butter, served with toasted brioche, combined with maple syrup was something humble yet satisfying. The scrambled egg was creamy and scrumptious, beef bacon was okay. I could not decide which one was my favorite on the plate because everything just enhanced each other well.

Overall it was a satisfying and pleasing brunch. It did cure my longing for Australian brunch a little bit, but Maple and Oak surely gonna be my top list whenever I'm craving for a good brunch spot in Jakarta. Best of luck, Maple and Oak!

Maple and Oak

De Ritz Building, Ground floor

Jl. Hos Cokroaminoto no 91, Menteng

Jakarta Pusat

(021) 3906757