From chill pine-laden coffee shops to hipster-ish urban bistros, Bandung offers a wide variety of restaurants and cafes for travelers to check out after shopping the many outlet stores scattered throughout city or even after a jaunt through its cultural tours. During our three-day stay in town, we were able to sample what Bandung has to offer in terms of hip food places.

 

ARMOR KOPI

ADDRESS: TAMAN HUTAN RAYA JUANDA, BANDUNG | HOURS: 9:00 AM TO 9:00 PM | CONTACT: +62 878-2414-0408 | GPS MAP: -6.857947, 107.630657

THE PERFECT SETTING FOR COFFEE AND TEA

Located on a grove of pine trees along the Djuanda Forest Park, Armor Kopi is one of the many cafes littering the base of these towering giants. We went there early one morning after a hearty buffet feast at the Sheraton Bandung, the air still nippy with a ghost of a mist just below the tree line. Since we just had our fill, we simply ordered coffee and tea, plus a few choice desserts on the sides.

Armor is short for Arabika Multi Origin Kopi. You won’t find any frappucinos here, instead you get legit brewed coffee using Indonesian coffee beans. And the unique thing about it is you get to choose how to process your coffee using either a Hario V60, French press or a moka pot.

The open-aired café is located near the slopes of the forest park. So, you order inside the wooden shack, wait for it to be served, and consume your drinks on the many tables set on the two-level porch outside with the pine trees as your backdrop.

COFFEE DRIPS

TAKE YOUR ORDERS HERE

AND WAIT FOR IT TO BE DELIVERED HERE

THEN A STROLL AROUND THE PINE FOREST AFTER

 

 

DUSUN BAMBU FAMILY LEISURE PARK

ADDRESS: KOLONEL MASTURI KM11, CISARUA, BANDUNG | HOURS: 8:00AM - 9:00PM | CONTACT: +62 22-827-82020 | GPS MAP: -6.789498, 107.578835

THE BIRD’S NEST AT DUSUN BAMBU PARK

Located on hilly sprawling park north of Bandung, Dusun Bambu Family Leisure Park offers foodies a unique dining experience. The nature park itself is charmingly picturesque; lush rice paddies, poetic tree tunnels, cute bamboo playgrounds for kids and a lake surrounded by trees and floating wooden huts.

Diners have a choice of having their meals at the Café Burangrang or Burangrang Kitchen Indonesia, both of which faces the lake and serves mostly International dishes. The Pasar Katulistiwa Food Court, on the other hand, has a more local flavor, serving traditional Indonesian cuisine.

But the best place to enjoy an intimate meal is at the popular and iconic Bird’s Nest section of the park. Elevated ten feet above ground and seemingly resting on tree trunks, diners can enjoy a their food while cocooned on larger than life spherical nests.

SUPERB INDONESIAN LUNCH AT CAFE BURANGRANG

FLOATING COTTAGES ALONG THE LAKE

BURANGRANG CAFE’S VERY BAMBOOISH INTERIORS

TERRACED RICE PADDIES ALONG THE PARK GROUNDS

THE BIRD’S NESTS ARE DEFINITELY POPULAR AMONG TOURISTS

 

 

ROEMAH NENEK RESTO CAFE

ADDRESS: JALAN TM. CIBEUNYING, SEL. NO.47, BANDUNG | HOURS: 11:00AM-11:00PM | CONTACT: +62 22-727-1745 | GPS MAP: -6.904422, 107.623523

VERY HOMEY FEEL AT ROEMAH NENEK

Set on a seemingly an old heritage house with its ground floor transformed into a restaurant, Roemah Nenek serves Indonesian and International comfort food for travelers looking for a more classic vibe to go with their meals.

Its name literally means Grandmother’s Home, and its interiors pretty much looks like your gramma’s house; heavy intricately carved wooden chairs and tables, old framed photographs and paintings, wooden windows, stately trims on the walls, and heck, even a mini grandfather clock!

POTATO BALLS FOR STARTERS

A FAVORITE FOR THE GROUP, BEEF SATAY

GRANDMA’S HOUSE IS FULL TONIGHT

 

 

VANILLA KITCHEN & WINE

ADDRESS: JALAN CIMANUK NO. 11, BANDUNG | HOURS: 10:00 AM TO 12:00 MN | CONTACT: +62 22-727-6652 | GPS MAP: -6.903447, 107.620876

THE HIPSTER-ISH VANILLA KITCHEN

Vanilla Kitchen and wine is situated on a quiet tree-lined sidestreet a few hundred meters away from Bandung’s iconic Gedung Sate Building. Its entrance, a swinging double-glass door filled with bundles of dollars, can be reached through a flight of bare concrete stairs.

Inside, everything is finished in a combination of unpainted wood, bare concrete, bricks and glazed train station tiles. With a high sloping ceiling and numerous light vents, the atmosphere is airy, natural and very organic.

Tables are almost haphazardly set about, with a few set up ala breakfast in bed on the balcony and the mezzanine above. Enter another door and an inner hall divided by a set of window frames opens more space for diners. The best location for me, however, is the concrete deck just outside the mezzanine space; perfect for bottles of cold Bintang on chilly Bandung nights.

A COMPLETE LUNCH

CHECK OUT THE MEZZANINE!

LOTS OF NATURAL LIGHTS

READY TO BE SERVED IN BED?

MY FAVORITE SPOT, THE ROOFDECK AL FRESCO AREA

 

THE INDONESIA MINISTRY OF TOURISM INVITED ME AS A PART OF THE TRIP OF WONDERS TOUR. VIEWS, OPINIONS & BIASES, ALL MINE.

 

► BOOK FOR DISCOUNTED HOTELS IN BANDUNG

Evening was fast descending as we went out of our room to check Sheraton Bandung’s premises. We arrived at the hotel an hour before, tired but in high spirits after exploring the NuArt Gallery and the Saung Angklung Udjo, the cultural heart of the city. But even with our feet protesting, we were more than excited to see what this luxury hotel has to offer.

INTERESTING CHANDELIER SPREAD AT THE LOBBY

THE ATRIUM POOL AREA

Sheraton Bandung Hotel & Towers, the only five-star resort in the area, is conveniently located across the Jalan Ir. H. Juanda highway on the northern side of the city. Its lodgings sprawl on three floors along a 2.3-hectare propery in Dago Valley, with two swimming pools on its atrium, its focal point.

A sperm whale graciously broke free from the concrete ground—cold, dark and metallic—reaching for the ocean of leaves above; its tail, a few meters away from its head, still above ground, frozen in time as it waited its turn to dive beneath the solid floor.

After a scenic four-hour train from Jakarta to Bandung, I was pleasantly surprised to find art and culture awaiting us at Bandung, our second destination in Indonesia.

Bridges on the right side, bridges on the right side, M almost silently whispered to us as our train rushed along a densely vegetated section of the railway—his eyes glued to his phone’s Google Maps, one hand gripping his camera as he watched the progress of our carriage along West Bandung’s countryside. The trees suddenly cleared and a panorama of freshly planted rice terraces framed by a massive concrete bridge on the background suddenly opened up on our windows; a revered silence, followed by a cacophony of camera clicks.

EARLY MORNING AT JAKARTA’S GAMBIR RAILWAY STATION

We were good at not having any hang-overs. Coming home late from the Trip Of Wonders opening night and the Bintang session at Jakarta’s backpacker district after, a quick breakfast at Mercure Sabang was the only thing that separated our sleep from our transfer to Jakarta’s Gambir Railway Station where a 166-kilometer ride to Bandung awaited us.

THE ISTIQLAL MOSQUE IN JAKARTA

Well, it wasn’t really waiting for us. We slacked off for a few minutes at the boarding platform, taking a few pictures of the local passengers waiting for the same train and trying very hard to frame the stately Istiqlal Mosque, the largest of its kind in South East Asia, across the Jakarta’s early morning haze.

HERE COMES OUR RIDE!

Everyone suddenly hustled into position as our train finally choo chooed its arrival; the Argo Parahyangan, chugging along in all its old-school glory.

 

Train to Bu.. Bandung! #WonderfulIndonesia #tripofwonders #LakadPilipinas

A photo posted by Christian L. Sangoyo (@lakadpilipinas) on Sep 8, 2016 at 7:42pm PDT

 

The Argo Parahyangan, known to locals as Gopar, travels to Bandung about eight times daily. While there are buses that ply the Jakarta-Bandung route—on a theoretically shorter time-frame sans traffic jams—traveling by train is not only more comfortable, but much more scenic and romantic, as well, especially for tourists like me who are obsessed by train rides.

THE EXECUTIVE CLASS COACH CAN SEAT 50 PEOPLE COMFORTABLY

HEY WHAT?! WAIT!

We boarded the Executive Class Coach, which was perfect since it can seat 50 passengers on its air-conditioned cabin. The reclinable seats are set by two on each side, and have very comfortable leg rooms. It has a flatscreen TV out front and I was surprised to find a working electrical outlet (yes, G even tried her hair iron on it) on each pair of seats; perfect for charging your phones or powerbanks during the almost four-hour ride. Just don’t forget to bring your international adapters as the sockets are the roundish type.

OFF TO BANDUNG!

I have endured, and immensely enjoyed, ten-hour train rides on dilapidated non-air conditioned trains with no doors and wood planks for seats on Myanmar and Sri Lanka (Ella to Colombo train) before, so this is supreme luxury for me. So more than the comforts of the cabin, I was more excited, really, by the passing scenery outside the window.

FROM BLURRED URBAN SCENES..

For an hour or so, the scene outside was typical of cities in Asia, heck, it even resembles those in our own country! It wasn’t until the midpart of the trip that the landscape slowly shifted into greens. Where once cluttered houses ruled the windows, there now was open fields filled with lush green rice paddies.

..TO PASTORAL COUNTRYSIDE PANORAMAS

TRAIN DEPOT AT PURWAKARTA STATION

A brief stop at Purwakarta Station sent my companions scrambling off the left side of the train. Our carriage is built well; else we would’ve sent it spilling to the left, haha. A depot, and on its yards, old train carriages stacked haphazardly like colorful gigantic Lego blocks. It’s a weird sight you don’t see everyday (re; Instragrammable, lol).

RICE PADDIES INVADING THE HILLS AND MOUNTAINS

THE VIEW OVER A VIADUCT CROSSING

And that’s really the cue to hold your camera. After that, the scenery got more interesting. From flatlands filled by ricefields, the mountains started to encroach on the landscape. The paddies, not to be overwhelmed by such terrains, blanketed its slopes as well.

RED CLAY ROOFS OVER VERDANT GREENS

VERY ITALIAN?

I LOVE WEST BANDUNG’S VERNACULAR ARCHITECTURE

Besides the Philippine’s own massive rice terraces in Ifugao, I knew that Bali has its own, but I never knew, nor even expected that West Java would have its own mini-rice terraces too! Even with its diminutive size (those we saw), what made it unique from the others I’ve seen are the terra cotta-roofed houses huddled in clusters; its rustic orange hues clashing loudly with the verdant greens of the field.

FLOATING CONCRETE HIGHWAYS ON INDONESIA’S MOUNTAINSIDES

CAN YOU REALLY SLEEP WITH THIS VIEW OUTSIDE YOUR WINDOW?

And then there are the bridges and viaducts. Like Roman aqueducts of ancient times, they soar high, crossing the vast natural landscapes and gorges below, poetic in their own starkly modern forms and ways.

ALMOST BANDUNG

AND BANDUNG ARRIVED TO SOON

It was these that kept our eyes glued to our windows; forgetting the long travel hours, fighting off sleep and ignoring the smudges and dirt that had since stuck to the glass outside. The pastorals scenes soon passed and the train slowed to a stop. Bandung has arrived too soon.
~ INDONESIA'S MINISTRY OF TOURISM INVITED ME AS A PART OF THE TRIP OF WONDERS TOUR. VIEWS, OPINIONS & BIASES, ALL MINE.


Argo Parahyangan Train
Route: Jakarta Gambir Station to Bandung
Fare: From IDR 75,000.00 (USD5.00)
Executive Class Fare: IDR 120,000.00 (USD9.00)
Travel Time: 3 hours 15 minutes

► BOOK FOR DISCOUNTED HOTELS IN BANDUNG