A Round Trip To Malang with Surabaya Foodies!

Last weekend, my friends and I went on a trip to Malang. To be honest, I was quite surprised we pulled it off because most of the time we only talked about doing trips like this or planned them but never actually followed through. This time though, we made it happen! And so, I decided to write this blog post in hopes that at some point down the line it might help provide readers with an insight into the places we went.

Here are the people who came along for the ride: @laurangelia, @hendrikpyong, @pieter.frank ,@triplebelly ,@surabayaurbanfood and last but certainly not least @indonesiafoodtraveller. Thank you all for reading and enjoy!

FOODIES MALANG TRIP

So it was eight of us (triple belly are three-person),  and we were divided into two cars, the first one containing eatpointid and triplebelly, while me and the rest of the guys were in the second one. The plan was to get together in one place at 07.00 am and then go together, but the realization was quite different, each of us was picked up at our home, and I was also having trouble with waking up in the morning, so we met up at our first stop in a really off schedule, which was at 09.00 am, lol!

Starbucks at Rest Area (KM 26)

To tell you the truth, this is my favorite Starbucks Coffee Shop so far! (and literally so far from my house too) The place is wide and big, and the interior design and some of the chairs and tables are quite different from what I’ve been visiting in Surabaya. They got window glass for the perfect lighting for your coffee porn shot, a short table for your flat lay picture, not to mention the painting on their walls, and let’s not forget about the very clean and nice toilet! I wish they had one of these in Surabaya.

Because of the ‘slightly’ different realization from our first plan, we were two hours late, we also didn’t realize that it was a long holiday and apparently, everybody was going to the same destination like all of us, so without any doubt, we were facing the traffic. Not bad traffic actually, but all the way from Surabaya to Malang we were driving constantly in traffic. 🙁 If we hadn’t been stuck in the traffic, we would arrive in Malang in two hours drive, but that day, guess what? We drove for almost six hours! *cry*

TIPS IF YOU ARE GOING TO MALANG (ON THE WEEKEND)

• Make sure that it is not a long weekend, you better see no red mark on the calendar when you go!
• Woke up super early! If necessary, start driving when it’s still dawn (at five or six in the morning) the point is, the earlier, the better.
• Stuff your tummy! (cereal, bread, or anything that won’t make you starved on the road). Even better, stuff all of it inside your car as well, for prevention!
• Bring the biggest power bank for your gadget, because on your way there, there are plenty of areas that don’t provide a signal, and your provider is going to constantly look for the signal everywhere you go, and it cost you your battery supply. And if you got stuck in the traffic there, without even noticing it, you will most likely drain your phone battery. So, if you’re using your phone GPS all the time for the direction, bring your biggest power bank. Why biggest? Because your friends might need it as well.
• Be prepared with stuff that will keep you clean and hygienic. Because travelers will most likely take a leak, and you’ll never know what you might see on the public toilet, I personally always bring a dry tissue, wet tissue, and an anti-bacterial spray with them.
• Wear your most comfortable clothes, bring a jacket or sweater if you know you might need it, or a pillow to forget the traffic, an MP3 with hundreds of your favorite music from different types of genres, and an umbrella just in case 🙂

Our Hungry Faces (IN A different car)

At 2.30 pm, we finally set our butts free and it was never been that great to get our feet on the ground! lol. We picked this place as our first destination in Malang because this is the closest pit stop that we could ‘attack’. We were really starving, and we didn’t need any guessing about how good the taste of the food here was as some of us has already been there before. So without any further ado, this is :

Bakso Bakar Trowulan

This is actually a grilled meatball with a very tasty sauce, and obviously, it is a very popular culinary destination in Malang! Some people don’t like it, some like it, while the rest of them loved it! And I am one of the rest, haha.. Before this, I honestly stated that I hated the taste of the meatball and refused to eat it (2008) but earlier this year, I gave it another shot and turned out to love it!

If you are together with your friends, divide the tasks! One must look for a seat, and one must do the order. The place could accommodate around 50 people, but sometimes, it can be pretty packed. If both tasks are done, simply take a turn to grab your own bowl in the front, because they are not serving it for you. This is the second-best thing about this place after the meatball, you can have unlimited noodles and broth for free! Really! They are only charging you for how many meatballs you order, and the drinks. 🙂

• Overall Rating : 4/5
• Address : Jalan Candi Trowulan no.65, Malang 
• Opening Hour : 10.00 AM – 09.00 PM
• Phone : (0341) 492330
• Price : 2.500/meatball, 4.000/drink
• Google Map Link : https://goo.gl/maps/tiFwu

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Java Dancer Coffee

After eating savory food, we went to our second stop to find something sweet and also awakening! That’s why we picked Java Dancer Coffee. But all of us didn’t realize how small and how dark this place was (all of us didn’t do any research before we jumped into the trip, hahaha). They probably could only contain 50 people inside, and when we went there, the only girl we saw was only the waitress.

After looking around for a while, then I realized why I only see guys and not girls in here. Aside from the tiny and dark place, people also come here for their famous coffee! The place is free for smoking and the price is relatively cheap, so maybe that’s why. *am I making any sense?* They can go here for a meeting, work (they provide power outlets), or just hang out with the guys. But the phone signal is quite hard to catch, especially if you’re sitting in the corner inside.

I super love the chocolate and the marshmallow. The chocolate was actually not sweet, but the marshmallow is. So it was kind of a perfect combination. Plus it was raining outside, and that’s all I need at the moment. A hot chocolate, with marshmallows (and a sweet companion actually, lol). On the other side, I also got affirmation from my fellow foodies about their great coffee. So overall, we loved this place!

• Overall Rating : 4/5
• Address : Jl. Kahuripan No.12, Klojen, Malang 
• Opening Hour : 08.00 AM – 11.45 PM
• Phone : (0341) 351688
• Price : 10k-100k (average 20k-30k)
• Google Map Link : https://goo.gl/maps/LgQQx

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Blooms Bistro & Pastry

Ready for another food to munch, we are now looking for a cute cafe with a nice interior inside. Fortunately, this cafe has it. A big space with a cute and nice interior design. Too bad we couldn’t explore the outdoor area due to the very loyal rain that followed us the whole evening. Let’s see what it looks like inside!

I didn’t take all of the spots in here, due to their customer’s coziness, I didn’t want them to feel uncomfortable having me there taking pictures while they are eating. Besides, I’d rather have my interior pictures clean of faces as well. But overall, I like every corner of this place. Suitable for young people. Food pictures friendly and also OOTD friendly, haha..

In the middle of our photo session, we got a new company coming : @ang_sonny. He’s one of Malang Foodies and it was very nice of him to make time for us, on a Saturday night, to go to places he had already been to before. *much respect for you* Thank you! And here’s what we got :

Fried Poached Egg (45.7k)

Pizza Al Pronto (39,7k)

Green Tea Lava (27.7k) & Oreo Cheese (21.7k)

From all of the foods that we’ve tried, too bad not a single one of them met our delight. It was all edible, but nothing really stood up to make us say, “This is good!” or “I will definitely come back for this!”. Their cake prices were quite reasonable though, haha.. To sum it up, we were not disappointed, but also not very pleasant. So, you can conclude yourself right? 😉

• Overall Rating : 3/5
• Address : Jl. Raya Langsep No.60, Kota Malang
• Opening Hour : 11.00 AM – 11.00 PM
• Phone : (0341) 565489
• Price : average around 30k – 50k
• Google Map Link : https://goo.gl/maps/X76EL

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HOK LAY

The journey wouldn’t be completed if we didn’t visit one old and authentic place that is one of the signature places to go if you ever have a trip to Malang. So most of the guys said, “Hok Lay”. I have visited this restaurant before. I can’t really say if it’s a restaurant. The place is old and relatively small, and they don’t serve many foods for as long as I can remember.

People said that one you should try in here was their Fosco Drink (8k). It was chocolate milk with a slightly salty taste in an old coke bottle. I never actually order one, I usually only take a sip from my friend’s. It was good, but I’m not a fan of it.

Another one to try was their Lumpia Semarang. They said it is also a famous dish here, but not everyone loves it. Of eight of us, only four ate the Lumpia. Not because they hate Lumpia in general, but this one is stuffed with rebung or bamboo sprout inside, a lot of it. I personally also do not really prefer this kind of snack, but I tried my best to finish one.

• Overall Rating : 2.5/5
• Address : JL. KH Achmad Dahlan No. 10, Malang
• Opening Hour : 09.00 AM – 01.30 PM || 05.00 PM – 08.30 PM
• Phone : (0341) 364513
• Price : 8.000/Fosco, 
• Google Map Link : https://goo.gl/maps/qyM0A

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BUNGA BALI CAFE

For our dinner, we picked one of the best semi-fine dining restaurants in Malang (ps : they don’t have any fine dining restaurants). Looking at the place, it was big, but in terms of interior, it’s just like a very average restaurant. It was old-fashioned, with the orange dim light. They actually tried to differentiate some parts of the dining area, but to me, it’s not really working, lol.

We were sitting there, and most of us were not having the appetite to take a picture of the place, or the food, because of the low lighting, the tablecloth, the wall, and stuff. But I’m still trying to get a picture at least for the food. FOR YOU GUYS! Good reason, eh?

Baked Scallop (41k)

Escargot Burgundy (41k)

Tournedos Floren local meat (99k) | Rosti Vegetariana (74k) | Ragi Rosti (79k)

To be honest, despite all of the bad things I said above, they actually serve good foods, correction, great foods! Especially the Rosti! You all have to try it! <3 And I also love the Tournedos Floren, but because we asked for local meat, it become less pleasant. I’m pretty sure if they use premium beef, it would taste great! And here is our last selfie together in Malang :

• Bunga Bali Cafe
• Overall Rating : 3.5/5
• Address : Jl. Ungaran No. 22, Malang
• Opening Hour : 11.00 AM – 10.00 PM 
• Phone : (0341) 341788
• Price : around 40k – 100k+
• Google Map Link : https://goo.gl/maps/zaclT

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Our very last selfie in Malang

Thank you for reading! I hope this post helped and that you did enjoy what I wrote. And if you have another place to suggest to me, please do drop me a comment! I’ll see you in my next post, xoxo.