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Food

Yumaju 2.0 Jalan Menado, Bandung: One of the Very Best Coffee Shops in Bandung

This is the second outlet of the extremely popular Yumaju coffee shop which opened a couple of years back and it keeps the slick operating principles of the original shop going strong.

I was never a great fan of the original Yumaju primarily because it was always so busy when I went there. Yet, they do have fantastic coffee and some yummy pastries. And so it is with this new location. Great coffee, tasty pastries but a much better location in my view.

The shop itself is quite small, but they have only put 3 tables in there which means there is a limit to the number of people who will cram in at one time. This is a good thing.Yumaju Coffee 2 BandungWhat most people love is the outdoor area which is large and shaded by some massive trees. It’s such a fantastic space to just hang out with a coffee.Coffee At Yumaju 2.0 BandungAnd that’s what makes the new Yumaju such a winner. Great coffee with a space that is big enough to not feel jammed in. It’s actually one of the best coffee shops in Bandung.Area Outdoor Yumaju 2.0 Jalan Manado Bandung Yumaju 2.0 Coffee Shop BandungWiFi is a reasonable 22mbps down and 8mbps up and there are a lot of electricity sockets, even outside. It’s a top spot to work, top spot for coffee and a top spot to nongkrong. Come here.

Yumaju Jalan Menado
Jalan Menado, Bandung
Instagram: @yumajucoffee
Opening Hours: 07:00 – 22:00; Sat & Sun until midnight
WiFi: 22down/8up
White Magic: Rp30.000
Chocolate Danish (yum!): Rp24.500
* No Tax

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Food

Serantau Coffee, Bandung: Manual Coffee with Full Flavour!

We came here after a rather pleasant experience at the Immigration office. What better way to celebrate efficient bureaucracy than by visiting a new coffee shop.

Serantau is a large open-sided building, neatly decorated which is ideal for hanging out with friends. It’s one of those places that absolutely thrives when groups of people get together to nongkrong. Smoking is allowed.Serantau Coffee BandungThe coffee here is manual and their espresso is made without a machine. For a cappuccino made without an espresso machine, I have to say that my coffee was pretty good and better than some others in Bandung which are made with an expensive machine.Coffee At Serantau CoffeeSusan had iced coffee Serantau and she enjoyed it. The best part was that the coffee flavour wasn’t too overpowering — perfect for those who like coffee, but not that really strong flavour you sometimes get.

There are plenty of spaces here for opening a laptop, plenty of electricity sockets and the wifi is fast at 47mbps down and 10mbps up. Definitely a place you can come and work at, but there is no air conditioning.Bandung Coffee Shop Serantau CoffeeA decent new coffee shop on the Bandung scene for people more interested in nongkrong and low prices.

Serantau Coffee
Jalan Lombok 19, Bandung
Instagram: @serantaucoffee.bandung
Opening Hours: 10:00 – 23:00; Fri Sat & Sun 11:00 – 24:00
WiFi: 47down/10up
Cappuccino: Rp20.000
Es Kopi Serantau: Rp22.000
* No tax!

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Food

Work Coffee, Bandung: Excellent Coffee Inside an Old Colonial Building

I absolutely love old colonial buildings. Big, cool, fantastic design, built to last and just a joy to be in. It’s the same all around the world with those old buildings which have been preserved. And such is the case at Work Coffee where it’s located in an enormous old Dutch house which doesn’t need air-conditioning because of the way it’s designed.

The building retains all the original windows, floor tiles, roof tiles and ornate high ceilings. It’s these ceilings and big windows that keep the building wonderously cool even though it’s as hot as hades outside. It’s a stunning building which has been modernised by the cafe owners.Work Coffee BandungThere are plenty of places to work at Work Coffee — electricity sockets everywhere, great places to sit with a laptop including standard tables and a high bench with stools.

Of course the internet here is fast enough for most needs at 22mbps down and 7mbps.Coffeeshop Bandung Work CoffeeThe coffee here is excellent and the cups they serve the coffee in are excellent. I had a magic which was strong, punchy with silky smooth milk. Susan had an iced coffee which came in a glass without a straw. They are vehemently opposed to single use plastic here and we love that. There is nothing worse than being served a drink in a disposable plastic cup, especially when you’re having your coffee at the shop itself.Coffee At Work Coffee BandungFor those taking away here, they provide recyclable paper cups, but staff said they recommend against it because the quality drops when you take it away. Makes sense.

I also had a chocolate croissant which was OK. The croissant itself was good, but I think it was overheated to the point that it became dry and flaky — not so good. I’d recommend just eating it cold if you’re coming here for a croissant.Colonial Building Work Coffee BandungOther items on the menu include full meals such as nasi goreng, crispy chicken and pasta. It looks good, but I haven’t tried it yet.

I love this cafe. I really do. Top coffee, a great place to work and really cool without the need for air-conditioning. Fantastic.

Work Coffee
Jalan Sumbawa 28, Bandung
workcoffee.id
Instagram: @workcoffeeindonesia
Opening Hours: 08:00 – 22:00
WiFi: 22down/7up
Magic: Rp25.000
Iced Coffee: Rp20.000
Chocolate Croissant: Rp16.000
* Add 10% tax to all prices

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Food

Coffeelense Coffee Brewery, Bandung

Located in small colonial house in a quiet back street, Coffeelense Coffee Brewery is relaxing place to come and sip on a coffee.

Out the front there is a cafe serving all sorts of dishes included fried chicken and nasi goreng, so you can have a coffee and grab a meal at the same time.Coffeelense Coffeeshop BandungThere are plenty of work spaces here and lots of electricity sockets. The internet is a speedy 20mbps down and 30mbps up which makes it a pretty good place to work.Coffee At Coffeelense BandungThe cappuccino I had here wasn’t really what you’d call specialty coffee, but it was enjoyable all the same. At only Rp20.000, it was a bit of a bargain.Coffeelense Coffee BandungThe main reason to come here is to relax, get a bit of work done and generally just hang out. It’s not the best coffee in Bandung by miles, but the coffee shop is enjoyable. Worth a visit with friends.

Coffeelense Coffee Brewery
Jalan Panaitan 22, Bandung
Instagram: @coffeelensebrew
Opening Hours: 10:00 – 22:00, weekends until 23:00, Friday & Sunday from 2PM.
WiFi: 20down/30up
Cappuccino: Rp20.000
Iced Lemon Tea: Rp15.000

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Food

Righthands Coffee, Bandung: Decent Hangout Spot

“Right coffee is truth serum and you can tell people everything”. Whaaaaaa??? So goes the saying on the front of Righthands Coffee… I have no idea what it means, but, I’m sure it’s something meaningful.

Righthands is a good nongkrong and working spot in Bandung primarily due to the good tables and chairs, abundance of electricty sockets and a lovely outdoor area where you can smoke to your heart’s content. It’s just a pity about the wifi speed which clocks in at 4mbps down and 1mbps up. But unless you need to do some data intensive work such as youtube or downloading the latest TV episodes, the speed here is good enough.Righthands Coffee Bandung CounterThe flavour of the cappuccino I had was really good, but I was a bit disappointed with the milk. Rather than a thick, luscious, silky smooth texture, I got something quite flat, watery and lacking texture. It really was disappointing! Maybe I was just unlucky especially because I expect more for a Rp28.000 coffee.Righthands Coffee Bandung DrinksAnyway, they also serve a range of food here including snacks and large meals such as nasi goreng. I didn’t try that, but it looked pretty good as it was being delivered to the table next to mine.Righthands Coffee BandungThe air-conditioned area is a great place to set up a laptop, but on sunny days it tends to get quite hot when sitting next to the window because sun shines straight in. It’s not unbearable, but definitely something I would fix if I owned this place.Righthands Coffee Bandung OutsideRighthands is not a bad place for hanging out with friends or getting work done, but there are a few shortcomings that could be improved relatively easily such as better wifi and a larger awning on the windows. Worth a look.

Righthands Coffee
Jalan Cisokan 8C, Bandung
(0852) 8041 4985
Instagram: @righthandscoffee
Opening Hours: 10:00 – 23:00; Fri & Sat until midnight
WiFi: 4down/1up
Cappuccino: Rp28.000
Iced Caramel Latte: Rp35.000
* No Tax!

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Food

Terminal Coffee, Bandung: Cheap, But a Few Flaws

Terminal Coffee has two outlets in Bandung and I visited the one near Boromeus Hospital in Dago during their trial opening. While it’s not my favourite Bandung coffee shop, it certainly fills a segment of the market that doesn’t have too many competitors.

Coffee at Terminal Coffee is cheap. And i mean really cheap. They’re making their coffee on a large, expensive espresso machine yet charging only Rp10.000 for a cappuccino. It’s by far the cheapest cappuccino I’ve ever had from a proper coffee machine.Terminal Coffee BandungWhile the current price is “trial opening” price, the normal price will still be a very cheap Rp15.000. At these prices I assume they’ll be able to attract a different segment of the Bandung market than what currently is the case elsewhere.Coffee At Terminal Coffee BandungThe coffee I had was below the Bandung average and a little disappointing. The foam was thick and bubbly and the coffee itself wasn’t very smooth. Still, it’s not a bad coffee and I’d drink it again if I was invited here by friends.

Susan’s iced latte was pretty standard and she enjoyed it. I can see this being a popular option here.Interior Terminal CoffeeThere are a few tables to work at here, but the wifi wasn’t working when I was there. Also, for the first 20 minutes of my visit there was no music — just the dull hum of the refrigerator in the corner and my own grumblings. It wasn’t very nice.Front Terminal Coffee BandungSo while Terminal Coffee are doing dirt cheap coffee, they really fall short in a lot of areas to point where for me, it isn’t worth saving money. Maybe they’re not ready to be open yet. Who knows?

Having said that, many people in Bandung are super price sensitive and are willing to compromise on quality and atmosphere in order to get a cheap coffee. And for those purposes, Terminal coffee is perfect. It’s just not for me. 

Terminal Coffee
Jalan Hasanudin 3, Bandung
Instagram: @terminal.coffee
Jam buka: open 24 hours
WiFi: not working
Cappuccino: Rp15.000
* No tax

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Food

Musat, Bandung: A Few Rough Edges, But Lots of Potential

Opening cafes has become one of the toughest businesses in Bandung over the past few years, but it doesn’t stop prospective owners giving it a crack. The problem is that if you aren’t perfect, customers are going to go elsewhere.

And Musat isn’t perfect despite having quite good coffee.Musat Bandung CounterThe cappuccino I had tasted good, was quite hot (but not too hot), had good milk texture. But drinks here are served in metal camping cups. And for me, that brings down the image of the coffee as well not being enjoyable to drink from.

I understand that serving coffee in a different cup from everyone else makes you stand out from the crowd. And I absolutely love the cups at places like Kinokimi, but they tend to lift the coffee rather than bring it down. I hope they change the cups at this coffee shop as they aren’t enjoyable to drink from.Musat Bandung DrinksSusan really enjoyed her non-coffee option which was some sort of lychee / yakult concoction which was unique.

There is a food place attached to coffee shop if you need something to eat, but I haven’t tried it yet.Musat Bandung OutsideThat aside, the fitout here is quite nice with a tastefully decorated colonial building, a few outdoor spaces and it seems an upstairs area that wasn’t yet open when we were there. It’s probably because they’re using solartuf on their canopy which is the same material as we use at our house and it seems to magnify the heat! Ain’t nobody gonna want sit under that!

It proves that someone is thinking about how to make this place the best it can be and I can see Musat becoming better and better as the months go by. If you’re reading this after about May 2019, it’s probably even better than what I experienced.Musat Bandung InsideWorking here is easy with a long bench (no stools yet, so standing only), a few tables and lots of electricity outlets. WiFi was medium speed when I was there at 20mbps down and 10mbps up.

Musat is an up and coming coffee shop which I can only imagine will get better once they’ve had a chance to smooth a few of the rough edges which currently exist. (And get rid of those cups).

Musat
Jalan Cilaki 45, Bandung
(0896) 9753 1802
Instagram: @memusat
Opening Hours: 10:00 – midnight
WiFi: 20down/10up
Cappuccino: Rp25.000
Lychee Yakult: Rp32.000
* No tax!

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Food

Kopi Sajati, Bandung: Good Coffee Across from Immanuel Hospital

To be honest, I had pretty low expectations of Kopi Sajati before I arrived because it’s located on a busy road in an uninteresting part of town and I just couldn’t imagine what sort of clientele they might have. So I was pleasantly surprised when I entered the coffee shop and realised that many of the customers were doctors and students from Immanuel Hospital across the road.

The coffee shop is clearly targetting a certain type of customer by serving amazing specialty coffee in a tastefully decorated old school building. I had a cappuccino which was quite strong and gave me an immediate caffeine hit which lasted a few hours. Susan had a green tea macchiato which looked nothing like what you’d expect. A big Ikea-style glass filled with a matcha substance and topped with sweet foam. It was pretty good!Kopi Sajati Bandung DrinksThe fitout here is old school, but tasteful with a bunch of old furniture, plain white walls and a few more modern fittings like the lights. It works well and I’m a fan.

The working situation here isn’t the best, but it’s certainly doable if you need to open a laptop. We sat on the lounge and alternated between resting our laptops on our laps and on the coffee table. Electricity sockets are plentiful here, but the WiFi is a bit slow. Definitely fast enough for web browsing, but probably too slow to upload your latest YouTube video.Kopi Sajati Bandung InsidePrices here are fantastic and we’re surprised they can produce such a good cup of coffee at this price. But they do.Kopi Sajati Bandung CounterAnd because of all these reasons, we can safely say this is a really good coffee shop on the Bandung scene. Let’s hope the doctors keep popping in for their coffees in order to keep this place ticking over.

Kopi Sajati
Jalan Raya Kopo 200, Bandung
(0878) 1489 3322
Instagram: @kopisajati
Opening Hours: 09:00 – 21:00; closed Sundays
WiFi: 6down/1up
Cappuccino: Rp20.000
Green Tea Macchiato: Rp18.000
* No tax!

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Food

Gajua Kopi, Bandung: Poor Coffee, Slow Wifi, But Surprisingly Popular

When I review coffee shops, I primarily care about the taste of the coffee. Secondary issues are speed of the wifi, how good the seating arrangements are, ambience and price. So when I come to a coffee shop which is really bustling, I expect a lot from each of these categories.

At Gajua Kopi I was met with a crowd of about 50 people so I expected something awesome. But sadly, what I experienced was far from that.Inside Gajua Kopi BandungThe cappuccino I ordered had a very odd flavour to it. I’ve never tasted anything like it and in the end I didn’t finish it. It was as if something was mixed with the shot of coffee and it didn’t taste nice.

Most of the customers (95%) were drinking es kopi susu when I was there and were under the age of 20. I’m guessing they were here not for the quality of the coffee, but because they have a massive area to nongkrong, be noisy and smoke. And for those purposes, this place really is excellent.Coffee At Gajua KopiBut if you’re a coffee lover, you’re probably not going to be happy here because the product is below Bandung standards. As well as poor coffee, the wifi here was really slow clocking in at 2.8mbps down and 1mbps. This is probably in part due to the young crowd all being connected at the same time. So I wouldn’t come here to open my laptop.Gajua Kopi Coffee Shop BandungNow, right about now I sound like a grumpy old man telling the kids to “get of my lawn”. But unless you’re of a certain age, you really aren’t going to enjoy this place.

One last point. The sticker on my coffee cup was dirty. And it’s exactly where I wanted to drink from. It was really off putting.Front of Gajua Kopi Bandung with wooden tablesA decent place to nongkrong if you’re of a certain age, especially if you have a big group. But if you’re searching for Bandung’s best coffee, this is not the place for you.

Gajua Kopi
Jalan Saunggaling 7, Bandung
(0811) 200 1372
Instagram: @gajuakopi
Opening Hours: 09:00 – 00:30; Fri & Sat until 02:00
Cappuccino: Rp27.000
Iced Cascara Lemon: Rp23.000
* No tax!

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Food

Noima Coffee, Bandung: Fantastic Coffee Shop That Doesn’t Stand Out From The Crowd

Coffee shops in Bandung are a dime a dozen. They are absolutely everywhere and it is so difficult for any coffee shop to stand out from the crowd.

The cappuccino I had was excellent and definitely above average for Bandung. But I’m left wondering if that is enough. So let’s list all the good things about this cafe.Noima Coffee Bandung BarAlmost every table in this cafe has its own electricity socket, there’s an outdoor area where you can smoke and hang out, the Internet is a bit slow at 7mbps down and 1mbps up, the coffee is great, the fitout is quite good.Noima Coffee Bandung CoffeeSo what’s not to like about this place. Not a lot actually. I think it’s a neat little cafe in relaxing and quiet residential area.Noima Coffee Bandung InsideI just hope they’re able to stand out enough from the crowd and draw enough customers from local neighbours that they survive.

Noima Coffee
Jalan Mahmoud 20, Bandung
Instagram: @noimacoffee
Opening Hours: 08:00 – 21:00
WiFi: 7down/1up
Cappuccino: Rp25.000
Es Kopi Susu: Rp25.000
* No tax!