Fuku Ramen

It's not a fancy ramen shop, just a small local shop specializing in ramen, located next to Maccas in Setiabudi, Bandung. There are only five ramen on the list, all comes in the same soup, you only can choose the meat either beef, chicken or spicy one and plus some side dishes like chicken karage. All prices are affordable as you can see from the menu picture

Visited this Fuku ramen with a friend, we ordered ramen with beef and special ramen wich comprises, both chicken and beef chashu, spicy ground chicken, half boiled egg topped with spring onion, mushroom and nori.

The soup is mild and quite tasty even you can't compare this to a tonkotsu broth, sorry for always comparing any ramen with a tonkotsu base since it's my favourite broth. The meat is just okay but the boiled egg taste a bit different with a hint of mirin (I assume) which I like. The overall taste is worth a shot for ramen lover looking for a local ramen in Bandung. 

On another note, there are some franchise ramen shops in Bandung but none of them worth coming back.. at least that's just my opinion. 

(Fuku Beef chashu ramen)

(Fuku special ramen with separate spicy ground chicken)

(Chicken karaage with mayo)

(All pictures taken using iPhone)

Apuo Udon

It's the second Japanese restaurant in Bandung I tried since I came back to this city a few months back then. This restaurant is located in Lengkong Besar 16 Bandung, no homepage found but they have a facebook page, just search Apuo Udon.

I am not a fan of udon to be honest, so what makes me want to try this restaurant? There are only a few authentic Japanese restaurants in this city and Apuo Udon is one of them, it's run by a Japanese owner chef. They serve not only Udon, you can try their yummy chicken kaarage, sushi, some mushroom dishes, and if you want  a small bites they have onigiri as well. Since they specialize in udon, we tried their udon with beef and the 'spicy udon level 5' (there are level 1-5 of  spiciness) and it's definitely not for me as I can't eat spicy food. I forgot the name of the mushroom dish but it quite unique.

Their menu is value for money and the service is very friendly, would love to go back and try their sushi!

(udon with beef)

(spicy udon)

(mix mushroom)

(chicken kaarage)

(Chicken kaarage don)

Mikawa

I have been staying in Bandung, a city I call home, for a while and I really missed my favourite Japanese eateries in Sydney. There are plenty of Japanese fusion restaurants sprouting in  the city but it’s really hard to find the authentic ones since there are not many Japanese communities  like in Sydney, but finally I found one!

Mikawa, an authentic Japanese restaurant tucked away in a corner of Jl Sukaraja 2, a few minutes away from Pasteur Toll-gate towards Gunung Batu area, but don’t expect an easy route as you will struggle with the traffic especially in the afternoon when people going off  work.

This restaurant is managed by a Japanese owner chef, and as I walked in through the noren I saw  one middle-aged man behind the counter, I assumed he is the one. The clientele is mostly Japanese people, they are murmuring softly in Japanese, so you can tell.

(Edamame)

We started with edamame and horenshouhitashi or spinach with soy sauce and katsuoboshi.

(Hourenshohitashi)

We ordered some ‘healthy choices’ like Kantekiyaki, Sake shioyaki (grilled salmon) and Saba shioyaki (lightly salted mackerel), yasai itame or stir fried mixed vegetables and agedashi tofu.

(Kanteki-yaki)

(kanteki)

The beef and the kanteki served separately, it’s a do-it-yourself kinda thing, thin strips of raw beef (tenderloin I guess?) on a big plate and then we cooked on the charcoal grill, we barely need to chew the meat. A little story about Kanteki, in Kansai region, kanteki means a ceramic cooking stove using charcoal, a kind of compact stove you would find in old houses.

(Yasai itame)

(Saba shioyaki)

(Sake shioyaki)

(Tori karaage)

Our main dishes received thumbs up from all of us especially the tori karaage, the crisp shell of batter and luscious juicy chicken within. Also ordered a Seiro meishi, steamed rice garnished with shredded salmon and served in a small wooden box

(Seiro meshi)

(Agedashi tofu)

(Cold ocha)

The price is above average but it's worth a shot for a Japanese food lover like myself...

Black Rice

Indonesian black rice (not glutinous rice), is one of the several varieties of black rice.It is a deep black color and turns deep purple when cooked. It has a relatively high mineral content (including iron), the grain has a similar amount of fiber to brown rice, and like brown rice, it has a mild, nutty taste.

(Black rice served with deep fried chicken and tofu)

During my holiday in Bandung, my second hometown, I happened to enjoy some of the local favorite dishes of Sundanese cuisine (West Javan): black rice, brown rice, and rice mixed with oncom. Oncom is a secondary product from the production of other foods. It's made from fermented groundnut and soybean, fermented using molds.

(Brown rice served with deep fried chicken)

The below 'Nasi tutug oncom' or rice mixed with oncom, served with gepuk (sweet smashed fried beef), crispy fried tofu and sambal (special chili sauce)

(Nasi tutug oncom or rice mixed with oncom)

Breakfast at Waroeng Ethnic

Having breakfast in a cafe? sounds a bit strange for me since most of the cafe in town serve lunch and dinner only, that was my first response when a friend asking me to have breakfast at Waroeng Ethnic, a small cafe at Jl. Rancabentang, Ciumbuleuit Bandung.
Yes, my friend proved me wrong! This cafe is open from 7 o'clock in the morning and serves some light western and Indonesian food for breakfast. The cafe looks so 'green' and homy, nestled in a hill area and far away from the busy and crowded city area.


A couple couch-set inside the main room, a small swimming pool with some teak-wood furnitures and patios in the backyard deliver a relaxing and homy atmosphere.

We had some cheese sandwich with omelette and mie tek-tek (Indonesian style noodle) and I also tried their freshly brewed 'Kopi tubruk', a traditional Indonesian black coffee.

Mie tek-tek (Indonesian style noodle)

Cheese sandwich with omelette

If a cozy looking place and a relaxing ambience are what you seek, this cool cafe offers a quiet environment and good food at an affordable price.

Sierra Cafe and Lounge

A best friend drove all the way from Jakarta just to pay me a visit after about 4 years we hadn't got a chance to catch-up! After having a bowl of 'yamien' (noodle) we came up with an idea to have a drink at Sierra Cafe & Lounge.

City's view from the cafe

This cafe located at Jl. Bukit Pakar no 33, Dago Pakar, a hill area of Bandung. The cafe has a cozy lounge, indulging ambience and a stunning view of Bandung's city light at night.
The western and Japanese food served at this cafe are ok even not my favorite though, so we just had some milk shake and a soup, gossiping about our old friends and times when we were colleagues, just for the old times' sake!