Category Archives: Ubud

Jakarta, Kuta, Ubud

Anomali Coffee: Bringing Up Local Flavours (mise en place, Vol 13 – 2015)

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The first decade of the 21st century saw Jakarta heading its way to become one of the coffee culture capitals of the world. This period saw a major expansion of Starbucks as the proponent of second wave coffee movement in Indonesia, as followed also by The Coffee Bean and Gloria Jean’s Coffees.

However, it was also the time when Indonesians realize that coffee is more than Starbucks. The decade showed us the emergence of local coffee shops with one noble aim, and that is to promote the rich variety of Indonesian coffee beans.

Anomali 2

In 2007, Anomali Coffee was born from the hands of the two co-owners, Mr Irvan Helmi and Mr Muhammad Abgari (Agam). Their first shop back then at Jalan Senopati operated as both a roaster as well as brew bar. Since the beginning, it has received a warm welcome from the crowd but from what we see today, it was clear that Anomali never settles in with only selling beverages. It took more than just that to run an enduring, successful business.

As Irvan tells us, they started everything from a scratch for Anomali and he remembers the time when he utilized whatever opportunity he got out of his unrelated full time occupation for the business. He admits that he was purely only bringing his curiosity, as based on the memories of his grandmother’s habit of brewing coffee for the family from ground beans bought from oldest known stores in Jakarta.

Anomali 5

However over the years, the two owners have made a monumental groundwork by working with the farmers directly to share them what the future market needs. What they have done regularly aside from that is also buying the beans in coffee auctions and promoting fair trade.

Realizing it or not, the result of their hard work is what we actually see today in Indonesia’s coffee scene. “Back then our best seller was blended iced drinks, but now people are crazy over the classic choices. Indonesia now have better quality beans”, says Irvan. This trend is also promoted by the rising of gourmet coffee shops around the globe, or what people would call as ‘third wave coffee movement’.

Anomali 4

In addition to that, people are now becoming discerned over specifics and this is something that Anomali has prepared all this time. “To actually say that we were able to predict this would be an exaggeration. We are simply evolving to become better every time”, explains Irvan modestly.

“To ensure the quality, we have established a professional barista school for our staffs and public. We have regular examinations for our baristas and our company has also established a grading system so that everyone can have a career here”, Irvan further adds.

Anomali 3

Today, the coffee shop competition became fiercer than ever. The appearance of the slick and stylish third wave coffee bars all over Jakarta does not worry Anomali Coffee at all. Whatever the hipster market dictates now, Anomali Coffee is ready. Its Indonesian coffee beans quality is at its peak, the baristas well-trained, and they are also up with the popular use of manual brewing techniques.

Lastly, more than that, the wholesale division of Anomali Coffee is now serving the needs of hundreds of companies around Indonesia and abroad. Anomali Coffee has also become the sole distributor of the famous Synesso espresso machines and Hario manual brewing gadgets.

Anomali 1

Being thankful at what Anomali Coffee has achieved so far, Irvan in modesty says, “This is all part of our learning process. We are simply evolving to become better and better.”

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ANOMALI COFFEE

Addresses:
Jalan Senopati no. 9, Jakarta
Jalan Teuku Cik Ditiro no. 52, Jakarta
Setiabudi One, Jakarta
Jalan Kemang Raya no. 72G, Jakarta
Bali White House, Jalan Dewi Sri no. 23, Kuta – Bali
Jalan Raya Ubud no. 88, Ubud – Bali

Opening hours: Daily, 8am – 12am

Link: http://miseenplaceasia.com/anomali-coffee-bringing-up-local-flavours/

Bali, Ubud

Staycation: SenS Hotel & Spa + Conference, Ubud Town Centre (SenS Hotels & Resorts)

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Ubud yang dikenal sebagai kota kecil kelas atas dengan segala warisan budaya, meditasi, serta kulinernya yang seru. Kini Ubud semakin mudah dikunjungi karena keberadaan SenS Hotel & Spa + Conference tepat di jantung kotanya. 

Perjalanan sejak pagi buta bersama para blogger kekinian asal ibukota disambut dengan hangat ketika kami mendarat di Bandara I Gusti Ngurah Rai. Langsung saja kami melesat menuju pegunungan dan satu kota yang selalu saja kami merindu padanya.

Tiba di sana, santap siang diadakan di restoran kenamaan Nasi Ayam Kedewatan Ibu Mangku. Sepiring nasi ayam lengkap dan segelas es jeruk cukup untuk memulihkan semangat kami kembali untuk menangkis udara panas Bali dan memompa antusiasme kami untuk bertemu dengan hotel tempat kami menginap.

Cukup hanya perjalanan kurang dari 15 menit, terkhusus ketika Jalan Raya Ubud tidak terlalu padat; maka tibalah kami di SenS Hotel & Spa + Conference, Ubud Town Centre!

SenS tampil menarik dengan konsepnya yang eco, nyaman, sekaligus terjangkau. Terbukti dengan highlight terbaik dari kunjungan saya yang lalu adalah suasana kamar tidurnya yang super cozy, terlihat lux, sekaligus tenang meskipun saya berada di lantai dasar yang dekat dengan kolam renang. Catatan khusus yang penting di sini bagi warga Indonesia yang terhormat – SenS menyediakan juga guling sebagai teman dari bantal. Sungguh nilai plus untuk kenyamanan tidur kami sebagai orang Indonesia!

Kenyamanan ini menjiwai kota Ubud yang sejatinya dianggap lebih sejuk suasananya daripada kota-kota wisata lainnya di Bali; meskipun kondisi sehari-harinya kini sudah semakin ramai dipenuhi turis, penulis, fotografer, culture hunter, para pemuja matahari, serta penikmat kuliner kelas atas.

Bicara soal ramainya Ubud masa kini, uniknya Jalan Sukma Kesuma dimana hotel ini berada terasa lebih tenang dibandingkan jalanan sibuk lainnya di kota ini seperti segitiga emas Jalan Raya Ubud, Jalan Hanoman, dan Monkey Forest. Hebatnya, ketiga jalanan yang memiliki banyak restoran serta tempat hangout seru ini dapat dengan mudah diakses arah SenS Hotel & Spa.

Highlight berikutnya adalah makanan tentunya! Yonne Cafe & Bar sebagai all-day dining restaurant milik SenS tidak hanya tampil apik dan memiliki banyak opsi menarik untuk sarapan. Untuk menu ala carte, SenS juga memiliki segudang opsi menarik. Rupa-rupanya seorang Matthew Wood tampil sebagai sang executive chef dan kolaborasinya dengan para talenta lokal berhasil mempresentasikan masakan tradisional serta modern yang lezat sekaligus lengkap.

Mengingat Ubud tidak hanya menjadi tujuan wisata saja, SenS dengan cerdik juga mencoba menggapai pasar MICE dengan menyediakan ruang-ruang conference bagi perusahaan maupun perorangan yang hendak mengadakan perjalanan bisnis.

Meskipun dari luar terlihat tidak terlalu besar, SenS ternyata mampu menyediakan banyak fasilitas bagi pengunjungnya dan tidak mengurangi kenyamanan yang didapat baik dari kamar, kolam renang, fitness center, serta restorannya.

Beberapa kegiatan seru kami selama berada di sini juga mencakup sepeda santai bersama Toekad Rafting serta menuju sanggar pahatan milik I Made Ada dan kelas memasak bersama blogger. Namun kembali highlight berikutnya adalah kunjungan menuju museum topeng Setia Dharma, ngopi di Seniman Coffee Studio, serta menikmati pagelaran sendratari di Sanggar Tirtasari. Terkhusus bagi sendratari ini, baru kali ini sepertinya saya bisa mengapresiasi secara mendalam kultur Bali yang satu ini dan terima kasih harus saya ucapkan untuk SenS yang telah mengajak kami ke sini.

Tentunya masih banyak memori lainnya selama kami di sini, termasuk jalan-jalan kecil kami menyusuri Ubud dengan pasarnya, kudapan sate lilit serta bakso ikannya, dan satu atau dua kafe lainnya yang kami sambangi. Namun secara keseluruhan, SenS dengan lokasi strategis serta kenyamanannya memberikan nilai tambah dari keseruan kami selama di sana.

Dua malam kami lalui dengan sangat cepat dan tibalah waktunya untuk berpisah. Tentunya ini bukanlah yang terakhir, karena dengar-dengar sih ada resort bintang lima yang akan dibuka oleh grup SenS Hotels & Resorts di kota ini juga. Inilah kunjungan berikutnya yang kami nantikan dan semoga akan bertepatan dengan event-event asyik di Ubud seperti UFF maupun UWRF contohnya.

Sampai berjumpa kembali SenS!

SENS HOTEL & SPA + CONFERENCE, UBUD TOWN CENTRE

Address:
Jalan Sukma Kesuma, Banjar Tebesaya, Desa Peliatan, Ubud – Bali

T: +62 361 849 3328

Website

Several images are courtesy of SenS Hotels & Resorts

Ubud

EAT / Kahvehane: Seniman Coffee Studio (JAX, Oct 2015)

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A creative coffee establishment in the art city of Ubud on the Island of Gods is scaling the new height of what caffeine treat has to offer.

Seniman Coffee 1

The third wave coffee movement gives away a lot of room for exploration both from the business perspective and from our side, as the people who are enchanted by the charms of the magic beads.

With this movement, there’s an emphasized appreciations started from as far as the farmers, the roasters, and how the brew bars concoct all the ingredients optimally for a maximum pleasure.

The proponents of this ideal are now spreading on big cities like Jakarta, Bandung, Yogyakarta and Surabaya; and the island of Bali for some time now has become the bulwark against this particular culture that can be found trending worldwide.

Located in the heart of Ubud, Seniman Coffee Studio has played an important role as a café that promotes this new height of coffee appreciation since 2010. Putting it mildly, it is a must-visit experience for those who came here for excellent caffeine treat or even visitors who wanted to experience the welcoming atmosphere of this Balinese cultural capital.

Seniman Coffee is treading the business comprehensively beyond the brew bar. From offering the chance to differentiate the adventure between lightly roasted beans or the medium, Seniman explores not just the possibility of flavor coming out of an espresso machine but also by using the manual brewing gadgets and the cold brew technique. These came from just the brew bar only.

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This coffee is available on senimancoffee.com, ready to be conveniently delivered to your door.
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Broader coffee exploration with manual brew techniques.

Seniman further takes another step in roasting the beans independently and enters the wholesale business as well as organizing their own workshops about coffee.

The workshop is indeed interesting, as they share various coffee related subjects worth the learning. It’s an added value when visiting the Island of Gods, indeed.

It’s quite nice that they also have new online shop feature, which enables the coffee lovers to order the beans for delivery. It’s a smart way of capitalizing on the world of digital.

For us, the ordinary folks, or especially those coffee aficionados; it’s always great to have those freshly roasted beans, ready grind for your daily brew at home. The necessary equipment to make this experience perfected is also available for delivery.

More interestingly, the Late @ Seniman Coffee was just recently introduced for the crowd who want to not just appreciate the coffee and the design flair presented on every corner of this café, but also for the good food experience.

The carefully crafted evening menu was designed to compete with the hype of Ubud dining scene and presented in an inventive manner. For example, the humorously called McSeniman or King-Hong-Kong which both of them represent the different elements found in Seniman’s Beef Burger Sliders.

If not the sliders, then perhaps the triple-cooked Posh House Chips with parmesan and truffle oil would be a delectable, indulging, yet classy snacking time while also ordering Tuna Tartare or any of Seniman’s imaginative interpretations found in Espresso Granita or Death by Espresso.

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Seniman coffee studio is also another next big thing in design.
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Rodney Glick leads a coffee workshop.

What excites me personally is how Seniman will also develop this from time to time. Therefore, we can expect to see more of their unconventional, gourmet ‘brassiere’ kind of treats in the future.

But now, it’s time for coffee again. Care to join?

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SENIMAN COFFEE STUDIO
Not halal-certified
Some of the menu are suitable for vegetarians

Address:
Jalan Sriwedari no. 5, Ubud – Bali, Indonesia
T: +62.812.3607.6640

Website

Opening hours: Daily, 8am – 10pm (Late @ Seniman Coffee is only available from 6pm – 10pm

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Original link: http://jax.co.id/seniman-coffee-studio/

Ubud

Foodies Lists: The Opening of Hujan Locale, Ubud – Bali (The Foodie Magazine, Jan 2015)

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The celebrity Street Food Chef Will Meyrick embarks on a new journey to please the locavores with his latest venture, Hujan Locale.

Known with his fast pace, urban restaurants – Mama San and Sarong at Seminyak, Will Meyrick, alongside his partners-in-crime Chefs Palm Amatawet, Tim Bartholomew, and Stuart Marsden, decided to utilize the best from local ingredients, sourced from local farmers, and to foster stronger relationship with their surrounding community with the unveiling of Hujan Locale.

After several years of developing great teamwork with local farmers by making the most of their produce in his restaurants, Will Meyrick wanted also to honor the amicable relationship by devising something in contrast with both his previous renowned restaurants.

With Hujan Locale, Will Meyrick returns to his roots again by creating something smaller in scale and opted the slow cook food as the main theme. By that, Hujan will also focus the essentials in its cuisine with the “found and foraged” philosophy. The name itself, Hujan (or “rain” in Bahasa), was chosen to represent the belief that rain brings good fortune, harvest, and prosperity.

With a twist on traditional Indonesian food, Hujan serves a combination of style found in the backstreet kitchens of Southeast Asia focusing on slow grassroots cooking. By incorporating Will’s Scottish background and his love for Asian cuisine, expect a creative rendezvous between East and West. Additionally, everything will focus on seasonality and provenance with the ingredients.

The Hujan Locale concept is to keep dishes simple, fresh and consistently created with anything found in the house. The kitchen garden and farm will provide the vast majority of Hujan’s pantry and inspirations that will assemble the plate.

The space will casually reflect a cool tropical and rural setting and an old Asian charm with tropical freshness thrown in. Provincial but slightly urbanized, Hujan’s façade has been stripped back to reveal a softened concrete color with the beautiful wooden shutters as the reminiscent of colonial mansion during the old French Indochina times.

Upstairs, dining room is beautifully lit by milky glass vintage lighting and becomes an ideal setting to watch the passing monsoon. The bar filled with amber glasses and made from reclaimed teak is tucked also upstairs and equipped with leather bar stools to add the warmth alongside the herbs and citrus in glass jars that adorn the bar.

With all of these, pretty much soon the Hujan Locale will be the next big thing for you to try in Ubud, Bali.

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Featured in THE FOODIE MAGAZINE Jan 2015 edition

Download it for free here via SCOOP!

Denpasar, Kuta, Seminyak, Ubud

Halal Facts: The Jakarta Post Travel’s pick of halal food in Bali

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Searching for a halal restaurant in Bali can be a tricky situation. Pork is common in Balinese cuisine — be it grilled or roasted meat, lard used for frying, or additions to salads.

However, halal food is not a rare commodity in Bali, as the island also welcomes a steady stream of Muslim tourists from neighboring cities, other Southeast Asian countries, and even the Middle East.

There are plenty of choices if you want to try something outside the halal-guaranteed popular fast food chains.

Here is a general overview of the halal culinary scene in southern Bali.

KUTA and SEMINYAK

The busiest tourist scene in Bali includes halal food establishments in its range of available restaurants. The food courts in shopping complexes like Beachwalk and Discovery Mall consist of mostly halal-certified food outlets.

The available Balinese warung (food stalls), on the other hand, can be rather tricky.

Notable halal restaurants in the area include:
Queen’s of India on Jl. Kartika Plaza for Indian cuisine;
Bho Bho Thai on Jl. Dewi Sri for Thai food;
Madania Restaurant on Jl. By Pass Ngurah Rai for Indonesian meals; Warung Bunana on Jl. Kerobokan for Malaysian and Indian food; Nasi Pedas Ibu Andika on Jl. Raya Kuta for spicy Indonesian food;
RM Taliwang Bersaudara on Jl. Raya Kuta for spicy Lombok chicken.

DENPASAR

The provincial capital is one of the easiest areas to find halal food due to the abundance of local food chains and Javanese warung in the area. Most of the Indonesian franchised restaurants apply halal certificates as standard.

The halal culinary scene has grown steadily as Denpasar is home to around 40 percent of the total number of Muslims staying in Bali, according to the 2010 national census.

You can find halal restaurants lining the streets in the Renon area. During the fasting month of Ramadhan, these already-crowded streets are even more packed at sundown by Muslims who are looking to break the fast.

Notable halal restaurants in the area are:
Restoran Renon on Jl. Cok Agung Tresna;
Warung Bendega on Jl. Cok Agung Tresna;
Warung Be Pasih on Jl. Bedahulu;
Tan’s Kitchen on Jl. Teuku Umar;
Warung Mak Beng on Jl. Segara Ayu.

JIMBARAN

The area is famous for its seafood scene, with a long line of restaurants along the beach that open up right before sunset. We recommend these seafood restaurants for your fix of halal food.

The restaurants rarely claim to be halal, but their menus are strictly seafood-based, with vegetables as side dishes. Locals and Malaysian tourists can often be found eating here, so hopefully that can put your mind at ease on the halal issue.

You can choose any of the restaurants on the beach; there is no significant difference in terms of quality between one establishment and another. The area is divided into three sections: Muaya beach, which borders the Four Seasons resort; the Kedonganan area, which is also crowded at night; and Kelan, which is separated from the other two by a fish market.

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“Most of the other restaurants that do not label themselves as organic or vegetarian are likely to serve pork — even Ubud’s famous duck restaurant.”

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UBUD

The culinary scene in Ubud is an interesting one when it comes to the halal issue. With healthy lifestyles becoming a trend in the area, plenty of organic and vegetarian restaurants have sprung up.

Theoretically, vegetarian menus have more chance of being halal, but it would still be better if you inquire about whether they used any pork-based products.

Most of the other restaurants that do not label themselves as organic or vegetarian are likely to serve pork — even Ubud’s famous duck restaurant.

One notable restaurant that has the halal label is Indian Delites on Jl. Campuhan. Other than that, your safest bet is the Padang food (Padang being a city in West Sumatra with a strong Muslim culture) that is available at several spots across Ubud, such as Warung Padang Putri Minang on Jl. Raya Ubud.

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Written by: Raditya Margi

Source: http://www.jakpost.travel/news/the-jakarta-post-travels-pick-of-halal-food-in-bali-WZND2yxRipg3nLVC.html