Eat, Drink, and Enjoy: Medan

When I was in Medan, I didn’t realize that Medan has quite a few good and nice cafe in town! So I tried to visit some of them, and have listed down 5 of my favourite cafes or restaurants in Medan. It doesn’t necessary have great food, but it does have nice design and look of the cafe and restaurant. I also went there to work, so sometimes I required the electric socket to charge my laptop battery, but I didn’t really require the WiFi connection in the cafe as I could use the internet from my phone.

061 Bistro
Address: Jalan Ahmad Yani No. 80 (Kesawan), Kota Medan 20111
Phone: (061) 4525415
Facebook page: 061 Bistro
WiFi/electric socket: Yes/yes

061 Bistro (Medan, Indonesia)

Pipis menu in 061 Bistro (Medan, Indonesia)

061 Bistro is located in the Kesawan square area, so it’s occupied the old building in this area. It’s easy to find this place as it’s near the famous Tjong A Fie Mansion and it’s at the same place with iPlug.

What I like the most of this place is the ambiance and the look of the cafe. It’s simple but nice. In some part of the wall, they let the brick uncovered by paint, so it looks more natural.

What’s interesting about this bistro is they have a very interesting menu called ‘Pipis’, which in Indonesia it’s translated into ‘pee’ hahaha. But don’t worry, the food is completely different with the Indonesian translation. The word ‘pipis’ actually stands for ‘Pizza Pisang’, which in English is ‘Banana Pizza’. See … it’s different right 😉

So how’s the taste?! It’s the first time for me to taste this kind of pizza. Imagine that you’re having your a regular pizza, but this time the topping is banana, cashew nut, and chocolate.

Pizza Pisang or Banana Pizza in 061 Bistro (Medan, Indonesia)

Harbour 9
Address: Forum 9 Building, JL. Imam Bonjol, No. 9, Medan
Phone: (061) 7511 7599

This place is relatively new in Medan. It’s located at an office building called Forum Nine and side-by-side with District 10, another bar & lounge / restaurant.

You can see these two when you drive pass Jalan Perdana, as they have also an outdoor area, which is side-by-side too.

At first I thought these two places are under the same management, but apparently they are different. As I could see, District 10 is more like ‘the bar scene’ , while Harbour 9 is more like a restaurant-like.

Harbour 9 is quite a nice place, especially if you sit outside and the weather is cool. The food is also quite good where I tried my favourite dish, the lamb shank. The taste is quite nice and the meat is tender with savory flavour.

Harbour 9 (Medan, Indonesia)

Lamb shank in Harbour 9 (Medan, Indonesia)

Why they called it Harbour 9? Is there something to do with a ship dock, or else? Unfortunately I didn’t remember to take the photo of the outdoor area. In outdoor area, there’s a wooden deck which is quite higher than the surrounding. It has limited table, and luckily I got to sit in this area. So is this the ‘ship dock’? My friend said that actually the wooden deck is shaped like a ship. I really didn’t realize that as we entered the deck from the side. (And he’s actually right. I just browsed the internet and got the photo of the front side of the wooden deck! Lol).

Pilastro
Address: Jl. Bukit Barisan No.3H-I, Medan, Indonesia 20211
Phone: (061) 4524199
Facebook page: Pilastro
WiFi/electric socket: Didn’t remember – but I think they have/Yes

It’s quite difficult for me to find this address in the internet. The maps was showing to other direction, but another website is giving other direction to Merdeka Walk. The latter is correct. So to make it easy, from 061 Bistro direction (Kesawan Square), you head to Merdeka Walk. Then turn right in the junction just after the Merdeka Walk (you will see Post Office in the corner). Pilastro is just next to BCA and ACA buildings.

Pilastro cafe (Medan, Indonesia

The name ‘Pilastro’ was not quite noticeable during the day, but I think it’s easier at night as apparently the name ‘Pilastro’ is made from lighting. Of course they turn it on during the night 😉

The place has an outdoor and indoor area. I prefer to be indoor so it’s much cooler during the day 😛 . There’s also an outdoor area in the second floor. The design of the indoor area is very simple where they use wooden wall for half of the wall, and I could also see the collection of photos hanging on the wall.

Pilastro is actually more to a coffee shop, but they also serve food here. They are famous with what it’s called molecular gastronomy. Hmm … interesting to try, so I tried their recommended drink called ‘Con Heilo’. They only serve it in a small glass. A very small glass, I think it’s like an espresso cup. They also have an instruction of how to drink it!

The signature drink at Pilastro cafe – Con Heilo (Medan, Indonesia)

Con Panna tiramisu in Cafe Pilastro (Medan, Indonesia)

‘Drink slowly half of the Con Heilo – wait 5 seconds – then shoot (fast drink) the rest.’

The staff said that it will taste fresh after I finish the drink. I did try as instructed, but not really sure where ‘the fresh’ comes from, or perhaps I just don’t know how to taste it right. Lol. I did taste a bit of lemon in the drink though.

Another interesting thing to try is a dessert called ‘Con Panna’. From the look … It looks like potted plants. So will I eat dirt for my dessert?! Haha … No, it’s not a dirt. It’s actually the Oreo crumbs!

Meneer Cuisine
Address: Jln. Merak Jingga No 2, Medan, Indonesia
Phone: (061) 4536388
Facebook Page: Meneer Cuisine

The logo of the restaurant is quite funny … It’s the face of a guy with mustache where the ends of the mustache are twisted inward. Lol. So perhaps it’s the resemblance of a ‘Meneer’ (Dutch of ‘Sir). While if I look at the interior of the restaurant, it looks very clean and (again) simple, with an old style chair. I really love that they use wood for the ceilings, where I could see the ‘vein’ of the wood.

The Meneer at Meneer Cuisine (Medan, Indonesia)

Meneer Cuisine (Medan, Indonesia)

Ayam Ungkep at Meneer Cuisine (Medan, Indonesia)

The recommended dish that the waiter suggested me is ‘Ayam Ungkep’. Hmm … So I think before they cook the chicken, they put the chicken in the container with the spices and leave the chicken there for a moment. With this, the spices will seep into the chicken. I thought they will fry the chicken, but it’s actually more like a soup. The soup is quite unique and flavoury. I’m still thinking, what’s the spices for the soup. Is it coriander, is it galangal, or I didn’t guess it right?! Lol.

Charlie Brown Cafe
Address: Hermes Place Polonia Mall – Jln R.W. Monginsidi No. 45, Medan, Sumatera Utara
WiFi/electric socket: Yes/Yes

When my friend said that our meeting point was at Charlie Brown cafe, my first thought was the Marrybrown in LCCT Airport, Malaysia. When I entered this place, then I was a bit confuse. ‘This is weird … why there are pic of Snoopy everywhere. There’s no such pic inside Marrybrown in LCCT Airport!’

Then after a while, I realize … ‘Aaahh that ‘Charlie Brown’!!’ Lol

The ‘Bone’ table at Charlie Brown Cafe (Medan, Indonesia)

The colourful light with Charlie Brown character at Charlie Brown cafe (Medan, Indonesia)

This cafe is not for kids only, but for adults too, well that’s include myself and my friend who come to this place! 😉

All the design and look of the cafe have Charlie Brown and friends, including Snoopy, all over the place (that’s why it’s called Charlie Brown cafe! Haha). They also have a school bus inside the cafe! Big one! But … It’s only a drawing! :D. Not only that; you can see that the table is shaped like a bone, not for you to eat, but for the Snoopy … Right? Even if you order a cup of coffee or a pancake, they will try to put the characters on it, so it will make you not wanting to eat or drink it haha.

I didn’t really try the main dish here. I only ordered french fries and the pancake. The taste of both dishes are okay-ish.

This place is a good one if you want to rekindle your childhood memory … They will also give you free Charlie Brown mug if your bill is above IDR150,000. Sounds interesting?

The school bus at Charlie Brown Cafe (Medan, Indonesia)

The Snoopy on my coffee!! Drink it or not?? :3

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So … What are your favourite cafe or restaurants in Medan? 🙂