After a few days in Jakarta I was looking forward to returning to the serenity of Bandung. There’s something about Bandung that just feels right. It’s still busy but has a suburban town feel. It’s less than an hour Whoosh fast train ride away, making it a popular getaway from the intensity of the city. The train can go up to around 350km an hour and you can barely feel it moving – it’s a super smooth trip.

Accomodation

We stayed in a Bobocabin in the area Cikole which is in the mountainous area and about an hour car ride away from the city centre. Staying in a high tech cabin in the woods was a novel experience and I really enjoyed playing with the settings where you can adjust the mood lighting, blur and un-blur the window and set ambient background sounds. The best thing was that it was cool outside, nothing like the humidity and relentless heat of Jakarta. It was just nice and a bit breezy too in the mountains. Our cabin included a hot tub outside but we didn’t end up using it.

They do provide room food delivery via their Bobodeli service but it was predominantly meat based, which was a bummer, so we often just got food delivery via Grab or Gojek and just went out to wait for the food near reception.

The next day we went for a morning walk to the nearest Indomaret because Yayan wanted to get some snacks and instant coffee. Outside the Indomaret, there was a kaki lima style stall, which was run by a kind woman who also gave us tips about transportation costs. We got nasi kuning (yellow rice) and had it with some noodles, tempeh and bakwan (vegetable fritters).

Off to pick strawberries

Then we took a van, also known as an angkot, which are coloured vans that pick you up along the street with several other passengers and you just ask them if they can take you to your destination for 5k Rp per person. We made the mistake of asking how much it was as we were getting off, as it gave the impression that we were clueless tourists so the driver increased the normal price. We went to go strawberry picking at a place called Bukit Stroberi Lembang and we arrived just as they opened at 8:30. We were the only ones there picking strawberries so it felt a bit special, especially when Indonesia is usually packed with people. I feel like I was made to pick berries – I got so excited finding the juicy red strawberries to fill up my basket. At the top of the hill, they gave us some strawberry juice which was super refreshing! We filled up 2 baskets of strawberries which ended up being around 340k Rp.

Then on the way back, we took another angkot and didn’t ask the price this time. Instead we just informed the driver when we wanted to get off and gave him the 5k Rp each and left.

We didn’t end up finishing the strawberries and actually gave some away to the staff at the Bobocabin reception. Another thing I didn’t realise was how quickly the strawberries got mouldy! It was only the next day and I realised an opened punnet from the night before had already started getting mouldy.

Where to Eat

The following places are all vegan, and provide a really great variety of Bandung specific cuisine as well as general Indonesian food. The great thing about Bandung is that the area is not nearly as vast as Jakarta so the travel time is not too bad to get to these places if you’re around the city centre.

Kehidupan Tidak Pernah Berakhir

Visit here if you want to try authentic Indonesian cuisine and tasting lots of variety on one plate. The translation of this cafeteria style restaurant is ‘Life Never Ends’. This place at first, looks like an electronic store with the bold lights, TVs glaring with informative videos and boxes upon boxes stacked at the front of the store. However, when you walk in, it is an Indonesian vegan food oasis with a plethora of flavours and ingredients such as tofu, tempeh, jackfruit and mock meats. I am obsessed with the sate that taste so charred and delicious. Firstly, you pick the combo (or packet, as Indonesians call it), such as rice and 3 vegetables (nasi and 3 sayuran) or just pile on what you want as each additional selection has its own price labelled. Then you can get a drink such as iced tea or freshly made soy milk and also some ice cream too.

Fortunate Coffee

Visit here if you want to try vegan friendly authentic Indonesian cuisine as well as interesting western fusions. The first time I went to a Fortunate Coffee was when I visited Yogjakarta, so there’s a few around. We walked here after shopping for modest clothing at Pasar Baru, for a bite to eat. It was here when I decided that having dessert before lunch is ideal, as you’re not too full from lunch. We went here in the afternoon and many of the items weren’t available. We got a soy based chocolate icecream that they made themselves, as well as a Bandung Soto which had a curry powder/turmeric flavour and it was truly so tasty and cosy.

Hejo Eatery Eyckman

Visit here if you want to try some Bandung specialties, veganised! This was the first time I tried Batagor and Pempek. Batagor has deep fried wonton skin on the outside and traditionally has a fish filling. I was also super impressed with the vegan sate and ayam bakar (grilled chicken) as there was such a tasty charred flavour and a realistic, fibrous texture inside. I feel like I’m constantly learning about new food in Indonesia and it truly is exciting to know how diverse the country really is.

Find their full menu here.

Follow my food journey at @cookwithpez on Instagram for more vegan food inspiration and travel tips around Indonesia! Check out the amazing food I tried in Labuan Bajo: