restaurant review – Wander and Explore

Cat Cafe Ubud – Ubud, Bali

Published on 14th Apr 202014th Apr 2020 by wanderandexplore882 Comments

HAPPY EASTER! It’s been awhile since we had posted anything. We wish everyone to always be happy and healthy. We also hope that everyone continues to do their best on this global pandemic and ask that we make sure to help people in need or at least stay away from everyone and maintain physical distance. It’s a hard situation for everyone, even for us who live separated from each other but we need to keep fighting. If you are able, please help others who are out of work with whatever way you can, even a small amount will help. Stay healthy and keep spreading the love 😊

We still haven’t shared about the Cat Cafe that Ayu had visited while she was in Ubud, so here it is. The Cat Cafe Ubud is located in Pengosekan, which isn’t too far from the ARMA Museum Ubud and only 700m from the Monkey Forest. This is the sanctuary for the cat lovers. We saw about 12 cats there if not mistaken (didn’t really count them all, sorry hehe). And if you are in need of some loves, we suggest this place to visit. Although, we can’t say this is the best cat cafe that we’ve ever visited. Compared to other cat cafes in Bangkok and Singapore, this one was okay if you only want to interact with the furry colonies.

When you are about to enter the Cafe, you have to go to sterilisation area (or whatever it’s called) you have to clean your hands and then change into slippers or go bare foot. We do wonder if they put a bit more effort into cleanliness, this place would be much more wonderful. The cost to play with the kitties is about 30k before tax and services. You can order the light meal if you want to with the price range from 25k – 50k per meal. While the kitties are very cuddly and some of them are very friendly, the orange cat below is naughty. He is curious of just about everything and becomes a bit aggressive if you have a treat in your hand :D, so watch out.

We hope the situation will become normal very soon. One wish for all of us, don’t stop dreaming of our next vacation 😊

Love you all, xoxo

Jake and Ayu

Seafood in the US

Published on 4th Mar 20204th Mar 2020 by wanderandexplore88Leave a comment

If you live in America and you love crab and seafood, I’m sure you already know about Joe’s Crab Shack. To all of you who do not live in the US or have not heard of Joe’s Crab Shack, they’re located all over the US and are pretty well known to the common fish-eater. This was the second time I’d been there. The first time was in Vancouver WA, while this time was in New Jersey. If you’re taking a trip to the US and are in the mood for seafood, I would definitely recommend looking to see if there is a Joe’s Crab Shack in your location. Or, if you live in the US and haven’t tried it yet, you definitely should!

Joe’s Crab Shack has a nice beachy feel to it’s vibes. I mean, it should, right? It’s sea food. But they decorate the place so nice and the bucket they give you for your shells just kinda make it more fun! They also have a bar you can hangout at and try some of their fancy ocean-styled cocktails. Like most seafood restaurants, you can also order land meats like chicken, steak, burgers, etc. The price isn’t too bad for seafood. If you’re planning on getting a bunch of crab, it’s a bit expensive but they have some really good deals for certain items. My favorite type of seafood is fried oysters. I know, I know, I’m weird, right? It’s okay, you can make fun of me.

Now, I know I speak highly of this place but if you want my opinion on the best seafood restaurant I’ve ever been to, try Hook and Reel in Greenville North Carolina. I plan on making a new post about this place soon so stay tuned! 😁

Seniman Coffee Studio – Ubud

Published on 1st Mar 20204th Mar 2020 by wanderandexplore88Leave a comment

Seniman Coffee is the hangout place that you have to visit when you go to Ubud. It’s not only because it’s located in the central Ubud and is easy to access, it’s also because it’s coffee and chocolate are definitely worth a try. People like me who don’t like sweets, will love it too. I don’t particularly like chocolate drinks in general, I am more of a coffee person but in Seniman Coffee their chocolate isn’t too sweet for me. My friend ordered it so I tried it and I fell in love at the first sip. They served coffee and chocolate from all over Indonesia. If you are a vegetarian/vegan, they have choices of cashew and soy milk. Pretty interesting, right? 😊

Seniman Coffee Studio started in 2010 by Rodney Glick and David Sullivan. In Bahasa Indonesia, seniman means “artist”. It’s located in the centre of Ubud Jl. Sriwedari, about a 10 minute walk from the Ubud Art Market. If you love their coffee and wanna bring it home, they have a shop across the street where you can buy their product and bring them home. The additional service that they give is valet parking, if you can’t find the parking area, they would love to help you with free valet service.

There are some food and beverages that you can order such as Soto Ayam, Gado-gado, Nasi Bakar, Porridge, Burger, Quesadilla and of course the yummy pastry with range price from 40k – 80k, My friend and I spent about IDR 200,000 for 1 chocolate drink, 1 cappucino and 1 nasi bakar.

If you wanna visit, Seniman Coffee is open everyday from 7.30 am to 10.00 pm so you can come here for breakfast, lunch or even dinner.

Hang Out in the Beach Side – Kayumanis Restaurant, Sanur

Published on 12th Feb 202021st Feb 2020 by wanderandexplore88

I visited this restaurant a while ago when my colleague asked to hangout near our office. It’s very easy for us to come after office hours. My office, located not far from the beach, is still in Sanur so we have many options to choose to hangout at. Our choice was Kayumanis Seaside Restaurant, located in Jl. Pantai Shindu. It’s only a 5 minute walk north of the parking area of Shindu Beach, so if you drive a car you don’t need to be worried about having to park too far away. If you walk north along the sidewalk of Shindu, there are a few other options of restaurants that you could try as well.

Kayumanis Seaside Restaurant is an open air bistro with a very stylish and modern design. It is open from breakfast time (6am) to dinner time. Kayumanis is separated into two sections, outdoor and indoor. I prefer the outdoor area due to it being in front of the beach with the sea breeze, which makes you sleepy. That’s typical for the Sanur area, authentic and calm.

The specialities are Indonesian mixed with Asian cuisine. From the menu you will see that they want to introduce their guise, the diversity of Indonesian food. You will also see some options of seafood if you want to match what you eat with the Sanur vibes, that famous fishing village :). You are vegan? no worries, they also have vegan options available. Kid friendly? Of course, you will see some choices of dishes for kids but don’t expect there to be a playground area. (I hope playing in the sands on the beach with your kiddos is enough). I love their excellent service. The fact that they are always willing to help and their taste of food is amazing, even though, to be honest, price wise it’s a bit more pricey compared to other restaurants in Sanur. The cost for 2 people will be around IDR 350,000. No worries, it’s worth the money and time. As a local, I may prefer the typical bistro food like steaks or burgers but for a foreigner, usually they love the Indonesian choices like beef rendang or Nasi campur bali. Let’s see which one you prefer. If I’m not mistaken, they also have afternoon tea from 2pm to 4pm (I didn’t get a chance to try it yet) and if you’re in the mood to unwind and have a me-time, I suggest trying the tapas and cocktail from 5pm to 7pm.

It might be a good idea to try it by yourself on a weekend. You will get the chance to see the performance on a Friday night.

Happy Monday, xoxo

Cafe for Matcha Lover in Bali – Cafe LateO

Published on 29th Jan 202016th Feb 2020 by wanderandexplore88Leave a comment

Green tea is one of my favourite drinks and I love to try any forms of it. As an ice cream, cake, cookies, beverages, etc. When I found this place I was quite happy because I am able to choose from a large variety of green tea in one place, no need to go to multiple places to try green tea latte, green tea ice cream, green tea cake. You also have the option to choose the level of the matcha, with level 1 being the softest and level 7 being the strongest one. 😊

If one day you have a chance to visit the capital city of the Bali Province, Denpasar, I would like to suggest that you visit Cafe LateO. This small and cozy cafe is located in Jl. Gunung Semeru No. 3. Right after the Denpasar Cineplex turn left onto a smaller road and after about 200 meters you will find it on the left side of the road. It’s better to ride a motorbike if you want to visit it because it’s not really easy to find a spot to park with a car.

You might be familiar with some of their beverages and will usually be available in other places. But other beverages are also worth a try, such as Matcha Float, Irish Matcha, Rose e Matcha and many more. They are surprisingly good! ☺️ And make my heart and belly happy too! Oh, they also have Hojicha, it’s not really common anywhere outside of Japan. Unlike the normal green tea, Hojicha’s colour is more brown and not green. The cause of it being brown is from the roasting process and the arome is more soft compared to the normal green tea. Unfortunately when I visit Cafe LateO, Hojicha is not ever in stock. 😪 Subjectively, I don’t particularly like the beverages that combine jam like Very Berry Latte or Very Berry Matcha, which is too sweet for me. I’m just not a fan of any drink combined with jam in general.

Wanna try their foods? You sure could! They even have a chili snack. Chili? Yes, real chili. Not a small chili pepper but a bigger one. The big red chili. I’m not sure if it’s only chili or if they’re filled with meat inside. But I’m sorry I do not dare to try it 😂. Other selections on the menu are quite normal in fact. Spaghetti that has variations of spicy levels, crispy calamary, bolognaise toast, chicken cordon blue and some variants of pizza.

Price wise, you only need to pay around IDR 100,000 for 2. Not so expensive right? That’s why this place is quite popular for teenagers and college students. It’s a bit overwhelming on the weekend because of the youngsters so I suggest you avoid those days if you want a more peaceful matcha time. 😆

Happy matcha day

Xoxo

Price wise?

Sala Bistro – Sanur, Bali

Published on 15th Jan 202014th Jan 2020 by wanderandexplore88Leave a comment

If you are currently in Sanur area and wondering where you can eat fancy food without make your wallet empty, (unless it’s already empty 😂), I have one recommendation for you. When I was at work on a hot sunny day, I decided to go to Jake’s favourite place for lunch. We found this place accidentally because our usual place to eat for lunch was closed.

Sala Bistro located in Jl. Danau Tamblingan, right in front of Werdhapura Hotel Sanur, if you are coming from McDonalds Sanur, keep going south until you see the sign on the right side of the road. A combination of greenery from hanging plants and wooden canopy will also catch your eyes.

Can’t take too much heat in Bali and need air condition for the win? It has an indoor area aswell. Once you enter the indoor area, you will find some spots to sit with a minimalist design and the touch of tropical vibe from the wooden and rattan. It’s my personal opinion, it’s a quite cozy place to hangout.

When I visited 2 months ago, there wasn’t a variant menu to choose from, but nowadays they have enough choices for breakfast until your dinner time. But please take a note, some options are only available during a certain time. I tried to get chicken popcorn for lunch but it was only available for dinner time unfortunately. But other than that, the combination of choice is okay. If you are in the mood for Italian food, you could choose pizza or spaghetti. In the mood of some buns? they also have burger that’s worth a try. Or just want to have Nasi Goreng? they have it too! Their coffees are from Seniman Coffee in Ubud. They’re famous with their variety of coffee and the good smell of their coffee. Don’t ask me about the taste ‘coz it’s really nice! (I will make a review of Seniman Coffee Ubud soon 😊). How much does it cost? For 2 pax normally you need to pay around IDR 150,000 ++ (exclude 15% tax and service). So, why not give it a shot!

The minority that you need to know here is that they don’t have space to park. Especially if you are a car user, you need to find an empty space somewhere else on the side of the road (it’s rare to find a spot though so you’ll need to walk a ways). Just like any other places in Sanur area, it’s a bit hard to find a park, except if you ride a motorbike you can easily park in the front of the cafe.

So, try it and let me know your opinion 😊

xoxo