We rarely eat good pastries in Bandung. And god knows we try. We try so many croissants, pain au chocolates and almond croissants and we can’t even remember the last time we had one. They’re so rare.
So when we decided to head out to Batununggal to try out the new pastry shop, Harliman Boulangerie, we had very low expectations. Even from the photos of instagrammers, we felt sure the pastries were going to be dry and flakey as is almost always the case in Bandung.
But when we got there and tried their pastries, we were shocked. The pastries weren’t dry and flakey. They weren’t dense and bready. They were spot on and probably not far off what we’ve experienced in Paris! They were that good.
The pain au chocolate was a winner. The outside was only slightly stiff, but gave way as soon as our teeth sunk into it. The inside was fluffy and better still, slightly chewy.
The almond croissant was predictably dense, but surprisingly had a slight crispiness to it that we really loved.
And that’s the point here. Getting the fine balance between too crispy and too much like bread is extremely difficult. And at Harliman they’ve found that balance and as a result serve what we consider to be the best pastries in Bandung. It’s a big call, we know.
One piece of advice we’d like to give. DO NOT HAVE YOUR CROISSANT HEATED. They offer this at Harliman, but we suspect it will dry the pastry right out and make it flakey beyond belief.
Lastly, a small comment on the coffee. We didn’t really enjoy the coffee here. So if you need coffee, only order one if you’re desperate. Otherwise wait until you’re able to visit somewhere else for your coffee fix.
Harliman is definitely worth a visit if you love pastries and is our pick for them in Bandung.
Harliman Boulangerie
Jalan Batununggal Indah Raya 164, Bandung
Opening hours: daily 09:00 – 21:00
There’s a constant stream of the latest music playing, fast free wifi and a few books to make the place great for hanging out in.
We’ve tried a range of things here and the coffee is top notch. Yes, it does compare with the best in Bandung. Susan likes green tea lattes and the iced one here is pretty much like it is everywhere.
We find it interesting that the coffee shop isn’t that busy. Where is everyone? This is one of the better coffee shops in Bandung and it’s virtually empty!
The great coffee, relaxing ambience and decent food selection make this one of our favourite nongkrong spots in Bandung. Let’s hope they get enough customers to make keeping the business going worthwhile.
Prices here are spot on, we think. They’re at the lower end of specialty coffee prices in Bandung and that should encourage more people to visit.
This place doesn’t feel like a ruko and that is a major positive. The inside is decorated with wood and metal furniture, large white tiles and a polished concrete floor. The coffee machine is a thing of beauty.
For smokers or those who simply prefer the steamy outdoor temperatures, there are a few outdoor seats which are pretty good. We’re not sure how the air-conditioning compressor units on the wall outside will impact on guest comfort, but we suspect they will make it even hotter on at least a couple of the tables as they pump hot air into covered area.
We really like the murals on the wall, the wifi is fast (20mb/5mb) and the staff pleasant. A worthy new addition to the Bandung coffee and nongkrong scene.
Design-wise, the interior is modern and fresh, but not wildly different to the style of most modern cafes in Bandung. In other words, it’s nice, but it won’t win any design awards.
The baked eggs were a little insubstantial for our tastes and needed something a little more bitey inside like chunks of chorizo or even potato. This is the problem with baked eggs. They can often leave you feeling hungry if they aren’t filled with chunky bits inside. The flavour was nice though.
The cappuccino was super strong which to be honest was a little unexpected. We often find it difficult to know how strong a coffee is going to be in Bandung, so we generally like to order a double shot. The coffee in Old Ben’s is strong and we are OK with that!
The orange juice wasn’t very good to be honest. We actually haven’t had a good orange juice in Bandung, so we have to rate this orange juice as standard only. The only way to make it better is to import better oranges and that is obviously too expensive for Bandung cafes.
So all in all we do like Old Ben’s. It’s certainly a place we’ll be coming back to again when we’re in the Setra Sari area.
The murals are actually one of the favourite spots in the whole place and we saw quite a lot people with their tongsis grabbing that perfect shot.
This is a manual brew coffee shop, so don’t expect to get a proper cappuccino or other Espresso based drink. But do expect to get Turkish coffee, Vietnam drip, V60 and all the other manual brewing methods.
We tried a few drinks here and were quite happy with the quality. But this place is not just about the drinks.
It’s about nongkrong. And Kopi Kodok is a perfect place for nongkrong with its pleasant garden area, rural setting and natural wooden furniture. And because of the altitude of this place, it’s certainly a few degrees cooler than the central parts of Bandung.
You can smoke anywhere here basically because there is fresh air everywhere. Even inside it’s fine because there is always a cross breeze.
Kopi Kodok is the new hip place in Bandung. Come here before it’s overrun by the masses!
Armor Kopi Garden has a massive car parking space out the front which leads up to a familiar wooden building. The building looks similar to the one at TAHURA, but it’s actually a different building. The original TAHURA building has been disassembled and moved to a location nearby.
The drinks and snacks at Armor Kopi Garden are just as you remember them at Kopi Armor. Lots of manual brew coffee in both arabica and robusta, lots of snacks such as pisang goreng and roasted beans packed for you to take home.
We really like the layout of Armor Kopi Garden as it really lends itself to endless nongkrong. A cool open air veranda and a cozy indoor area: it just is perfect for nongkrong.
Prices here aren’t as cheap as somewhere like Warkop Modjok, but they’re not as expensive as modern coffee shops like Noah’s Barn. The cheapest coffee is still Rp10.000, but when you add fresh milk, prices do go up steeply. And that’s normal.
Armor Kopi Garden is in our opinion every bit as good as the previous Armor Kopi in TAHURA. Sure, there are no pine trees here, but you do get the cool breeze, lots of plants and lots of wooden furniture in a wooden building. And great coffee.
A top spot to nongkrong in Bandung.
Kozi Lab is tucked deep inside a series of old military warehouses next to a bunch of other art focused shops such as design studios and fashion designers. It’s so deep inside these warehouses that it’s actually quite difficult to find.
Our best advice is to drive through a small gate and head towards the back of the property. There you will find a warehouse with a bunch of cars and motorbikes parked out the front. Enter this warehouse and have a walk around. You will stumble upon the coffee shop! There is no other way to describe where it is!
The coffee we had was good as is usually the case now in Bandung. To compare it in quality to other places in Bandung is difficult because the standard now is so high.
At Old Bike, they’ve chosen to price their coffees at the lower end of the range with a magic (double shot ristretto with milk) only costing Rp20.000. That’s an absolute bargain.
But of course it’s not all just about price. Quality is important too and we were very happy with our coffees at Old Bike. The magic was strong and punchy and the flat white slightly more milky, but still quite strong.
The fitout here is interesting. They have a really large ruko to play with and they’ve done a good job.
Free wifi is also provided and you will always find a seat because it is so big. A good new coffee shop in Bandung.
What we really love about the shop itself is that it’s not in a ruko. I hate rukos because the shape is always the same. Boring! The no-ruko aspect means that the cafe has an interesting shape to it. It’s a small space with only a few tables, a dedicated smoking area and the tiniest of kitchens.
The menu is simple. Lots of toast, nasi goreng and other cemilan. The coffee range is large because they brew in lots of different ways. The magic we tried was spot on. Strong flavour, well-textured milk and looked good.
The teh tarik was similar to what we know and expect in Malaysia although we’d be happy to see a bit more froth.
So what don’t we like about Kopi Kelenteng? Not a lot! We would like to see a few extra dishes served such as lontong kare or other simple dishes you might see in a kopitiam. But other than that, Kopi Kelenteng is a damn fine example of what a simple coffee shop should be.
Top marks. Check it out if you can.
