Kampung Daun - Dining In Traditional Bamboo Huts, Surrounded with Greenery and Serenaded by the Sounds of Waterfall and Birds @ Bandung [Indonesia]

Themed restaurants are often featured in travelogues to Bandung but for a person who gives much higher priority to taste of food rather than the ambience of the place that serves the food, i am usually skeptical to go out of the way just to indulge in the experience of supposedly something unique.

That's my personal view although in most cases, i would follow with the flow of my fellow travel mates and in the day trip we made to the outskirts of Bandung, Kampung Daun was chosen and i gamely agreed; there's always the element of surprise anyway and in this case, we are sharing the cost of the meal.

Arrival at the carpark with a horse grazing by the side; as explained earlier in this post, horses are commonly seen outside the city and often as a mode of transport.

Grand entrance of Kampung Daun; for those unfamiliar with the Bahasa Indonesian language, Kampung means village and Daun, according to Google Translate, is leaf. Hence, Kampung Daun is literally the Leaf Village!

Cockatoos in a big, bamboo cage - expected more fauna? Nope, i think that's about the only living and moving thing i see, aside from humans, and cats!

Customers apparently waiting for their tables even though it was already past 2 pm! Our group was late because we spent too much time enjoying ourselves in the hot spring park earlier.

What shall i do when i have too much free time despite a hungry tummy? Explore the village of course and yes, there was a stage, a square and a retail outlet selling snacks, some local handicraft etc. As the village is operational till night, i am guessing the stage would only be "alive" when the sun sets.

The official entrance to the restaurant - it's exciting as we didn't know what to expect and the insides were pretty much hidden; offering no preview to what's really inside. Thankfully, i already had a slight inkling given the research i did prior to the trip.

First impression - i thought i was entering a cultural village; similar to the feeling i had when i visited Mari Mari Cultural Village at Kota Kinabalu.

Mobile street hawkers by the side of the main street of the village; selling quail eggs and malt candy lookalike, i was in no mood for a snack when all i needed then was a hearty, filling lunch!

A mini cooking station, i guess. Whatever the case, i wasn't paying attention as we couldn't find the hut assigned to our group! With at least 39 individual huts spread out in the sprawling village, you can imagine the frustration on the faces of the ladies in my group.

Gotten the advice that the hut was up the staircase - i can sense the irritation from my elder sister as stairs are her greatest enemy and a hungry gal is an angry gal.

Luckily, the "hike" wasn't far and the moment, the ladies got into the bamboo hut; it's all smiles! Time to smile at the camera and then order the food.

Oops, we had yet to be given the menu; another photograph then. To be honest, i don't enjoy sitting cross legged to have my meals as it always translates into leg cramps and pins and needles.

Leaving the ordering to the ladies; as you can see, the environment was rustic and relaxing with the natural music coming from a nearby waterfall.

Too many items on the menu and they had a hard time deciding! By the way, there was a musky odour emitting from the menu; like a wet book that wasn't dried properly.

For me, it's exploring time! The number S13 refers to the hut we were and you see this that bamboo container with a stick by the side? It's a device for you to call for service! Want to order? Use the stick to hit the bamboo. Want the bill? Do the same thing!

Our next door neighbour!

A sheltered sink with running water and soap dispenser was conveniently placed in between both huts. At least we didn't have to walk all the way down to the main entrance just to wash our hands before / during / after our meal.

On the ground level - there were ample space in between huts and privacy was somewhat maintained unless you have someone with a loud voice (like mine).

The hut with the best view overlooking the mini waterfall.

Interior of the hut - if i am not wrong, this should be one of the biggest private huts for bigger groups (24 persons). Sadly, our group comprised of only four persons

Campfire? Likely to be lit up only at night! Frankly, the best time to visit should be at night although i am usually less keen as my photography skill at night is horrendous!

The huts seemed to be built to accommodate the natural terrain; somewhat like in the past when technology wasn't as advanced and villages sprouted to complement nature rather than destroying it for human's selfish convenience.

Directional signboards at a crossroad!

A narrow running stream by the side of the huts. How come we were not given a hut next to the stream instead?! Inline with the natural surroundings, please beware of the occasional bugs.

Blooming flowers on the huts!

Walking back as i figured the food would be there waiting for me on the table! I did inform my family that they could always holler for me as the area was relatively quiet with just a few occupied huts. Furthermore, i did inherit my loud voice from my mom.

They were all smiley here as i didn't share the other unglam photographs of them expressing their exaggerated hungry faces as 30 minutes had passed and no food had arrived yet!

My mom's ginger tea and Louise's green tea latte was the first two to be placed on our table. I didn't take a sip of the ginger tea although i recollected that the latte was rather good; strange to have it in a place famed for their Sundanese cuisine though.

Ice Kalapa Orange - my drink which was simply, orange mixed with coconut juice housed in a coconut husk filled with tenderly soft coconut meat. Surprisingly quite good.

Food was finally served ten minutes later!

Instead of having dishes coming one at a time, it's less taxing for the server to consolidate all the dishes and delivering them to us at one go! Good for me as you can see what dishes we had ordered at one glance!

Singkong Goreng Bambu - fried yam that i didn't like; it was bitter with a siap aftertaste.

Tahu Goreng - if you ask me to identify one dish that i really like in Bandung; it's their deep fried beancurd. Something so normal and so commonly found even in Singapore, the taste of the beancurd in Bandung was just too addictive with a subtle sweetness-saltiness that stands out from the common ones.

Kangkung Balacan - normal.

Sate Ayam - satays in Indonesia are always served with plain white rice; a style not seen in Singapore as we are likely to go with ketupats (plain rice dumpling). Texture wise; meat was tough and sauce wasn't impressionable.

Sate Kambing - mutton satay; again, not amazing. Both types of satay were disappointing as we had heard that satay is famous in Bandung and we expected to have them for at least one meal a day!

Ayam Panggang Madu - honey roast chicken; i mentioned a different fried beancurd in Bandung and another dish that wasn't the usual in the Indonesian city is their chicken!

Almost all the chickens i had were healthily reared with a paper thin skin and hardly any fat and meat. This was okay tasting; i prefer the grilled chicken from the Indonesian panggang stalls in Singapore's food courts / kopitiams though.

Ikan Nila Bakar Keropok - fried tilapia with fresh meat, crunchy skin that wasn't overly oily and tasted marvellous with the sweet sauce!

Even with hits and misses, the hunger in us couldn't stop us from devouring everything! It's also rare to find the table exceptionally quiet as everyone was busied stuffing themselves.

Note: the cats would know when you are about to finish and crowd around your hut! This particular feline had eyes with different colours!

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Location

Villa Triniti, Jalan Sersan Bajuri KM. 4,7,

Cihideung, Cigugur Girang, Parongpong,

Kabupaten Bandung Barat,

Jawa Barat 40154, Indonesia

Map

As above.

Contacts

Phone: 022-2787915 / 2784573

Email: kdaun@kampungdaun.co.id

Floor Plan for Kampung Daun

As above.

Pricing

Ginger Tea - 25,000 Rupiah

Green Tea Latte - 22,500 Rupiah

Ice Kapala Orange - 30,000 Rupiah

Singkong Goreng Bambu - 12,500 Rupiah

Tahu Goreng - 6,500 Rupiah

Kangkung Balacan - 27,500 Rupiah

Sate Ayam - 45,000 Rupiah

Sate Kambing - 72,500 Rupiah

Ayam Panggang Madu - 62,500 Rupiah

Ikan Nila Bakar Keropok - 50,000 Rupiah

(Subject to 10% Tax)

Additional Information

Parking fees apply for your vehicle; 2,000 Rupiah.  

For the itinerary of my five days, four nights trip to Bandung, please click here. 

Maxwell Fuzhou Oyster Cake (洪家福州蚝饼) @ Maxwell Hawker Centre [Singapore] #MaxwellFuzhouOysterCake

Whether a food is authentic or not doesn't have much bearing on my taste buds as i only believe what goes into my mouth and what my brain is thinking of as i chew through.

For the longest time ever, i am aware of the existence of this oyster cake stall at maxwell food centre but i was never tempted to try it for one simple reason; i never quite understand the deep affection some people have towards oysters. In actual fact, i find the taste of this aphrodisiac seafood rather horrid.

However, it did have fantastic reviews and given that i really couldn't endure standing in line for more than half an hour to get my hands on the related teochew meat puffs from a particular stall at random pasar malams, the maxwell fuzhou oyster cake stall should be a more convenient alternative.

Nicely cut into three smaller pieces for ease of eating, the stall doesn't sell any other varieties except for oyster. And for the entire stall, there's nothing else except for oyster cake; impressive if you ask me since it has been operational for more than 40 years! 

Even though this was priced at a lower S$2 (compared to the pasar malam stall), it's not hard to notice that it was also smaller in size and the meat buried within wasn't as generous. Plus point is a thinner crust (skin) with a light crisp that wasn't as oily. 

Taste wise, i would term it as healthier than the pasar malam competitor as the minced meat wasn't as fattening although if you give me a choice, i would definitely opt for the more sinful one; there's nothing more delicious than digging into an oily, fat-laden meat puff.

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Location

1 Kadayanallur Street, #01-05, 

Maxwell Food Centre, Singapore 069184

[Near Tanjong Pagar MRT Station]

Map

As above

Price

Oyster Cake - S$2 apiece

Other Food Within the Food Centre

(click the name to read more)

Tapioca Cake & Kueh Kosui

Lim Kee Banana Fritters

Weng (翁) Pancake

Hup Kee Wu Xiang Guan Chang (合记五香贯肠)

Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice (天天海南鸡饭)

Zhen Zhen Chicken Porridge (中国街真真粥品)

Ah-Tai Hainanese Chicken Rice [阿仔海南鸡饭]

Delhi Chilli Mast Tadka - Taste Indian Flavour Right Here in Yishun @ Junction Nine [Singapore]

One of Alex's table tennis kakis messaged us the above picture and said we should check out the north Indian food at this new restaurant in Yishun's latest suburban mall as it exceeded the expectations of those who went with him. 

He is fully aware that Alex is less keen with Indian food given their usual spiciness but if you look closely at the pull-up banner, it was boldly indicated that the spiciness is based on customers' choice! Hence, i decided to pop by the small outfit with Alex yesterday since mall is just a short bus ride away.

Open-concept kitchen where you can be assured of the hygiene standard and also be aware of what went into your food! Need to add extra chilli to your meal, just holler and i bet everyone in the kitchen can hear you loud and clear! 

Now, i can never decide what to have when given an extensive menu and it's nice that the eatery has rice set meals; vegetarian is obviously not for me and i went with the most expensive S$8 premium rice set.  

As part of the set, you can also top up S$1 for a glass of either lime or orange. I didn't know about Alex's lime; my orange tasted sourish and not because it was natural orange juice. 

Premium Set C - with chicken curry, white premium rice, chilli fish, salad and two minuscule pieces of papadum; the overall unappetizing outlook discounted the expectation and that's when you would be surprised when you take a bite.

Featuring the long grain rice that's light on your stomach and fluffy on the bite, it was a lot of rice that i couldn't resist scooping again and again into my mouth; so much so that i stole a bit from Alex who unfortunately still couldn't stand the spices. 

Of course i ate the rice together with the meat even though the grains were good even on their own! Chicken curry was so tender with a robust spiciness and the best thing; boneless! Damn, i suck in describing Indian food as so many spices and ingredients (up to an eye-popping 56 kinds according to Delhi Chilli website) can go into preparing just one dish! 

Chilli fish was actually not as spicy as i was warned it would be; my personal take was that it's deep fried fish stir-fried in sweet-spicy soya sauce. Nevertheless, i like the external crunchiness and the soft yet solid fish meat buried within. 

Even though i enjoyed the pickled cucumbers, the addition of two slices of carrots hardly made it a salad and i would definitely appreciate a bigger papadum; hopefully one that can cover my face! 

Would i be back?! Definitely! And i would bring more people so that i can order ala-carte dishes. Another item that caught my attention; the mutton dum briyani! 

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Location

18, Yishun Avenue 9, 

#01-13, Junction Nine,

Singapore 768879

Website

http://delhichilli.com.sg

Menu

As above. Right click the picture and save it as a file since i have uploaded the original that's of a higher resolution. 

Pricing

Set C - S$8.00

Add Drink - S$1.00

(Subject to GST)

Additional Information

Couldn't decide what to order yet you want a variety? Go for the lunch / dinner buffet! One family seemed to be having that when we were there and the items served to their table looked and smelled so delicious!