Cafe Kupu-Kupu at Cimahi

Here is the front facade of Cafe Kupu-Kupu I was talking about in yesterday's post. The building is relatively small, but it has nice gardens in the front and backyard.

Tampak depan dari Kafe Kupu-Kupu di Jalan Kolonel Masturi, Cimahi. Kafe ini tidak terlalu besar, tapi tamannya cukup tertata apik dan asri.

And as I said, it is a reading cafe with plenty of books and magazines that you can borrow and read while enjoying your foods and drinks. The collections seem to be rotated and updated regularly. I can always find new tittles whenever I go there.

By the way, kupu-kupu is the Indonesian word for butterfly. That's why you see butterfly ornament on the column.

Sebagian dari koleksi buku Kafe Kupu-Kupu yang bisa dipinjam dan dibaca oleh pengunjung. Buku-buku ini tampaknya diputar (diganti dan ditambah) secara teratur. Selalu ada judul-judul baru setiap kali saya berkunjung ke sana.

Pancake at Cafe Kupu-Kupu

The pancake, served with a scoop of ice cream and slices of banana, I had sometime ago at Cafe Kupu-Kupu. Cafe Kupu-Kupu is located on Kolonel Masturi street, in the scenic northern hills of Cimahi. I like this cafe because it's a reading cafe with plenty of books and magazines that we can borrow and read while we're enjoying the beverages and foods. It's pretty close to where I live too.

Kue panekuk disajikan dengan es krim dan potongan pisang yang saya pesan di Kafe Kupu-Kupu di Jalan Kolonel Masturi, Cimahi utara, beberapa waktu yang lalu. Saya suka ke kafe ini karena di kafe ini menyediakan banyak buku dan majalah yang bisa dipinjam dan dibaca sambil kita menikmati makanan dan minuman.

S-28 Cafe

I like coffee and going to cafes to enjoy it.

Like many urbanites anywhere, I go to cafes not only to have - drink and enjoy - coffees, but also to socialize or, quite the opposite of it, have some quiet time on my own. Sometimes I also do my blogging from one of these places.



Of all the cafes that I have frequented, I can probably say that S-28 on Jalan Sulanjana 28 is one of my favorites.

Unlike some other cafes which are popular among teenagers, it has a quieter and more relaxed atmosphere: no loud music, no ‘buzzing’ chatters, and – best of all – it is strategically located between my office and home. So, whenever the traffic is bad and I don't feel like driving through it, I can just stop by the place, have a piece of pastry and a coffee, read a book or write a post for my blog, and wait till the congestion is easing.



The decoration of the cafe is quite nice too. I like how they  put a bag of coffee beans and  jars containing different kinds of coffee beans that they serve at the counter.



And I didn't know until quite recently - when I accidentally met an ex-student of mine - that the back room of this cafe is actually also a "Rent Office & Meeting Room." These rented offices and meeting room, according to him (who happens to have  his office there),  provides shared office facilities and even a private secretary and office staff. This can save a lot of overhead and operational costs for a small or a start up business like the one he is trying to start.



Curious, I asked if I could have a peek into his office. It's a nice three square meter office space. It looks like a decent office of a company executive.

Directions

A sign post attached to an "alternating alternates" amber traffic light near Ledeng Bus Terminal indicating the directions to Sapulidi and Imah Seniman (lit. Artist/Artisan House). Both of them are cafes, resorts, and galleries owned and managed by the same company.

Sapulidi is located at Graha Puspa, Cihideung Village, on Sersan Bajuri Street. Imah Seniman is located further away at Cikahuripan village on Kolonel Masturi street.

Many direction signs in this city are what can probably be called "commercial directions" because they don't give you direction to a general area or location, but to a specific commercial venue. I don't know if this is quite common in other cities. I also don't know if this practice is being regulated here.

Tall Iced Cream Caramel Latte

Summer or dry season is in full swing here. It's been warm and sunny with a lot of clear blue sky these days. It's great to be out and enjoy the outdoors. But when it gets too hot, you can always hop into a cafe and have something cold to drink, just like what I did.

A tall iced cream caramel latte, everyone?

Reading and Creativity Cafe

Today I was invited for a photography exhibition and discussion at S-28, a bookstore cafe and an 'oleh-oleh' store (oleh-oleh = gifts/presents one brings home from a trip) on Sulanjana street.

The exhibition displayed the works of very young photographers aged between 8 and 15 years old. The discussion was on how children express themselves through the medium of photography and how photography education could benefit and help them explore and express their creativity. It was an interesting discussion.

But no less interesting was the place where the exhibition and discussion were held. It was filled with young people who came there not just to enjoy the coffee or snacks but to do some serious stuff too. I saw a couple of groups engaging themselves in what looked like creative project discussions - one over a laptop and the other over some posters of some sort. Then I also saw quite a few 'loners' reading books and scribbling what looked like some serious academic notes.



Frankly speaking, I was surprised and pleased to see this. The scene reminded me of some American university towns that I have visited, where cafes were not only a place for relaxing and socializing but also a place where students would come together to read books and have some serious discussions about their academic projects.



Then it came down upon me that this cafe was located near ITB (Bandung Institute of Technology) and a couple of other university campuses. That might explain why many of its visitors are engaged in what looked like some academic activities.

That aside, I was once informed by some students of mine that there were actually quite a number of cafes in Bandung that are quite popular among the creative youth communities: musicians, bloggers, web designers, and photographers. I have yet to explore them. But this and a couple of other cafes that I have often visited convinced me that cafes in this city are the nursery of creativity. It is part of the engine that makes Bandung one of the most vibrant creative cities in Indonesia.

By the way, here are some of the children's photographic works exhibited at the cafe.

coffee tables

I don't always take photos for reporting purposes. In fact, most of the time, I take photos for the fancy of it, like this one: the neat rows of coffee tables and chairs at a local cafe on Jalan Ranggamalela.

Pinhole Ideas Over A Cup of Coffee

Once a month, a group of photographers in Bandung get together for a late afternoon talk of nothing in particular in a forum called ONGKOSS (Omong Kosong Sore-sore), a name which literally means Afternoon Chatters. I'm a 'member' of the group (well, sort of, because this group has no formal membership; any photographers or people interested in photography can come and join the chat).

Last week, the gathering was held at Bengawan Coffee Shop on Jalan Bengawan 54 where a pinhole photography exhibition was being held as part of Komunitas Kamera Lubang Jarum Bandung (Bandung Pinhole Camera Community) efforts to introduce and share their works with the public.

I was there, and the topic being discussed that afternoon was Pinhole Challenge to The Established Photography Practice. It sounds serious enough. But believe me, the atmosphere was very informal: the coffees and the comradeship (camaraderie?) were not less important that what was being talked about.

Coffees, so it seemed, were the source of good friendship and ideas. A good flow of one is a good flow of the other.

Bandung Architectural Heritage: Braga Cafe

This is Braga Cafe on Jalan Braga number 15. It occupies one of the buildings listed as Bandung's architectural heritage. I do not have any information about who designed the building, but it was built in 1919 and is currently owned by Dekranasda Jabar (The West Java Provincial Chapter of National Handicraft Board).

Braga Cafe is owned by Fery and Kathy and serves a unique variety of local Sundanese cuisines.

Bandung's Favorite Hangout Places

What are Bandung's most favorite hangout places?

That depends on a lot of things: age groups, economic groups, etc. But like in any other big cities around the world, the trend for a favorite hangout place here, especially among the youths, has been cafes and malls, and more specifically, those cafes and mall where there are cozy rooms with sofas and hotspot internet access like the one on the above photo.

This cafe on Jalan Purnawarman (street), Bandung, is locally owned. Modelled after the worldwide success story of that American coffee shop francise (you know what I mean), this cafe offers more local varieties of coffees and other beverages and foods at prices more affordable to the locals than that other one. That is one thing that makes this place popular. The amenities of cozy spaces, comfy sofas, and high speed hotspot internet access add more value to the money you'd want to spend in a place like this.

Globalization may have created a cultural and economic hegemony that benefits huge multinational corporations, but it has also nurtured local creative forces and economic potentials through the adoption and local adaptation of ideas coming from different corners around the globe.