Introducing Cafe Unju'an & iLegal Library

Unju'an Cafe/iLegal Library

Although I don't drink coffee but I always love the smell of coffee in a cozy coffee shop accompanied by my favorite books and good music, wow....such a piece of heaven. Hence having a cafe on my own was also one of the wishlists.

I flashed back a bit. Back to several months ago when my partners (in our law firm) & I  thought that having an office in Kuningan area was not nice anymore. Its crazzy traffic slowly  killed us and we just realized that it's time for us to make our move. Moving somewhere else. Leaving all this hustle and bustle and finding a more peaceful office space.

And one day one of my partners found this cozy house in Kebayoran Baru area. Located in the residences area surrounded by lots of nice cafes and restaurants, we thought this was it. We negotiated with the owner and decided to rent it for the next  two years.

The first program at iLegal Library was Book Discussion

This was the first time for our law office to be located in a house instead of tall buildings since for the past nine years we always rented office space in Kuningan area. So...yes, we needed to adapt, to do lots of renovation and to shop for many furniture and stuffs.

You can also karaoke here!

We then thought to do something as our legacy.  Yep, we've been working for more than 20 years so it's not only works then. We must do something different. We decided to have a complete yet nice legal library that will provide law books for anyone needs it. However we realized that library is not a popular place for Indonesian therefore we need to combine this library with something. 

or have a family gathering

One quite afternoon a friend of us thew his idea to open a cafe in our library. We were speechless and could only say, WOW. It's true what Paulo Coelho said, when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.

That's how one of my dreams came true. Finally, the cafe is there. Next to our office. I can always visit it to work/read/have meetings/daydream/chat or just sit there and do nothing.    

Still need more books to fill in the bookshelf

So...if you guys happen to be around Kebayoran Baru/Wolter Monginsidi/Blok S/Pasar Santa/Ciragil and around, please do drop by at Cafe Unju'an. You can enjoy our coffee/tea/chocolate and some snacks. We also rent the place for private meeting/gathering/book launching/karaoke, etc for limited 15 persons (yup,,,it's just a small but COZY cafe). Btw the name Unju'an is from Javanese. It has several meaning but for this cafe we think we want to relate it with 'something served' (hidangan). We have three baristas and they are college students who have passion in dealing with coffee. Salute to these young people.

All in all, we'll be waiting for your visit:))

Cafe Unju'an/iLegal Library

Jl. Cikatomas II No. 1A

Kebayoran Baru

Jakarta Selatan

Working Hours: Monday-Saturday, 08.00 - 21.00 

Birthday

Dear Daddy,

We may find a prince someday

but...you will always be our KING.

Happy birthday.

Love,

Najla & Zea

#ABelatedBirthday
#August10,2018
#DaddysGirls

Weekend Getaway: Hotel U Janevalla Bandung

Ah .....after five months left this blog, I am so very happy to finally write something here. Miss you, my blog:)

  

My hubby got two wedding party invitations in Bandung last week. Considering the crazy traffic from Jakarta to Bandung, it seemed it's impossible to go back and forth from Jakarta to Bandung. Then in the injury time, I browsed in the internet and found this cozy place to stay, Hotel U Janevalla on Jalan Aceh, next to Arya Duta Hotel and behind Bandung Indah Plaza.   

The hotel has an industrial design. Simple yet interesting. It's completed with a mini library (with limited books and visitors), and what the girls love would be the rooftop restaurant and swimming pool. It reminded us of a small version of Jane Orchard Hotel Singapore's rooftop swimming pool.

Athough the hotel was just open for the past three months however I saw that it was quite full. I guess that's due to the power of Traveloka, Trip Advisor, Social Media and all which give high score for this property.

One thing that disturbed us was only the breakfast. The restaurant for breakfast was too small while the hotel guests were soooo many. The hotel provided two floors for the breafast unfortunately the food and the drink were only available on ground floor while mezanine floor only had chairs for sitting. Since my family was a leyeh-leyeh group and arrived there on 8 o'clock then almost all places have already been occupied so we finally sat on mezanine floor and needed to go back and forth from one floor to another with glass and plate on our hands to get our breakfast. Gosh...it's killing me (makan jadi ga maksimal, KZL).

Hopefully the hotel will do something about the breakfast thing since this hotel is quite recommended. It has strategic location and  lovely design. Although the parking space is limited but the hotel provides a valet parking. If you're looking for an alternative hotel in Bandung, this hotel might be an option since it has instagrammable spots in many areas.  

Find more on Hotel U Janevalla here.

Book Review: Mata di Tanah Melus

Title: Mata di Tanah Melus

Writer: Okky Madasari

Publisher: PT Gramedia Pustaka Utama

First Printing 2018

192 pages

After releasing six novels, Entrok, 86, Maryam, Pasung Jiwa, Kerumunan Terakhir and the latest one was a short stories collection Yang Bertahan dan Binasa Perlahan (2017), now finally Okky Madasari launched her first children book, Mata di Tanah Melus. 

Mata di Tanah Melus is the response for Okky's restlessness. As a mother with a small little girl, I felt her, that sometimes it's a bit hard to get good books for our kids. A story that brings something. Fun, educative, but still made in line with the kids' age. English children books are a lot but once in a while we need to get Indonesian book just to introduce the kids with their own local wisdom and to date there are still not to many options for Indonesian children book that are able to capture children's heart. With the current gadget attack, it's a serious work to create a book that is able to make the kids glue to the story until finished.

Although the book stated as  children novel 5+ however I started reading it before my girls do. As a fan of Okky's works, I am curious how Okky wrote this child adventure. Would she be successful?

I guess so, it's an adventure of a little girl, Matara, who joins her mom trip to Belu, East Nusa Tenggara. One day something happens  and Mata is separate from her mother and landed in Melus Land. Here is the adventure, Mata experiences lots of incredible stuffs. She needs to be on her own and fights to survive.

Okky said that this is her first book of kids adventure and she promised to continue working on this project. Can't wait for another adventure.   

Dilan 1990

Just like others, this Dilan fever truly hits everyone from almost all level of ages. I never read the book, I thought the book was kind of teenagers' romance and I guess I am done with that kind of book genre. The reason why I watched the movie several weeks ago with my hubby and the girls was simply to celebrate our nineties moment since the movie was set back in 1990 and this was totally my hubby and I since we enjoyed our high school moment exactly during 1989-1992. Yep, I know we are old. *defensive* 

But Dilan 1990 the movie turned out to be wayyyy beyond that. Its simple yet sweet story left us smiled here and there and haunted me for several days, hahaha...I finally went to Gramedia and directly bought those three books of Dilan series and...finished all of them within a very short time *thePowerofHighCuriosity* hahaha...

The movie is very faithful to the book perhaps since the movie script writer was also the author himself Pidi Baiq. Pidi even chose the lead characters for Dilan and Milea. Although at the beginning many people doubted Iqbaal as Dilan however Pidi proved himself that he as the author knew best for the characters he created. Kudos to Pidi Baiq and also Iqbaal, his acting was awesome.

The movie took almost two hours without any extreme conflicts but it's just enjoyable. We enjoyed every scene, its absurd yet witty dialogue, the athmospere and all successfully brought us back to that highschoolers moment when your most serious problem was having a fight with your boyfriend/girlfriend hahaha...

And I just found out that on its 12th day, the movie has already reached its 4 millions viewers, a big WOW. This Dilan series, the books, the movie and all teach us that something simple can leave an important mark on people's heart. As it is said that when you make something purely with your heart, the result also will easily touch other people's heart. That simple. 

  

Semarang, The Little Netherland #3

After experiencing Airbnb properties, I think I am in love with it. Everytime we go somewhere, if it is possible I prefer to check Airbnb properties first before choose Agoda, Traveloka, or others. 

It happened when we were in Semarang. Since the girls are getting bigger so now we need 4 (four) beds for all of us. The choices will be booking 2 (two) standard rooms (not a nice choice since we will be in separate rooms) or second choice is booking a family room while not all hotels have it or they provide it with a pricey price. While at Airbnb, I can get an entire  house or an apartment with 2 (two) bedrooms for all of us with friendly prices. 

Like in Semarang, I browsed the Airbnb properties before I found this awesome villa complex at Bukit Jaya Residence, Banyumanik. Located up in the hill of Semarang therefore the view is beautiful and the weather is kind of cool. Remind me of Puncak area in West Java. 

The villa itself is located in a new complex consisting of 12 villas. The villa was equipped with fully furnished furniture, two bedrooms, two bathrooms, one is with a bathtub, a living room, a dining room and a kitchen. It also has a swimming pool facility and Mas Aris, the man who was in charge, served us with yummy breakfast. You can choose, there is Nasi Pindang, Nasi Soto, Nasi Kuning, Bubur Ayam, and many more.    

With all those excellent facilities, the property only asked me for a very reasonable price, less than 1 million. Wow. I guess it's just another lucky day for us in Semarang.  

Semarang, The Little Netherland #2

Tay Kak Sie Temple Jl Lombok

"You're not just paying for a trip,

you're paying for an experience

and a LIFETIME of memories."

Sam Poo Kong Temple

Kampung Pelangi

Where to go in Semarang?

Menu @ Teko Deko

Soto Ayam Bangkong-Kampung Pelaangi-Lawang Sewu-Sam Poo Kong Temple-Tay Kak Sie Temple-Restoran Pesta Keboen-Kota Lama Semarang-Gereja Blendoek-Spiegel Bar & Bistro-Dream Museum Zone-Teko Deko Koffiehuis. 

Spiegel Bar & Bistro

Dream Museum Zone

45

It was January 14, 2018

It was my 45th birthday 

Endless gratitude for this beautiful life

and....uncountable happiness.

Big thanks for Mbak Debby for its yummy Nasi Kecombrang Sambal Gandaria and its fresh Rujak Tampah

Alhamdulillah...

Semarang, The Little Netherland #1

We didn't realise  we were making memories

We just knew we were having fun.

Destination: Umbul Sidomukti, Pondok Kopi & Masjid Agung Jawa Tengah

This Semarang trip was kind of a sudden idea. Our family is really not into crazy crowd therefore we always stay home on new year's eve. Lucky us, last week people already got back to their works and kids were back to school so..yes, it's a perfect time to just enjoy our holiday peacefully.   

I love old and historical buildings and I never thought that Semarang has LOTS of grand historical buildings in many places. God. However the maintenance is not so good though but the guide at Lawang Sewu, Pak Aris, told me that the recent government seems to care more for these cultural heritage.

I really hope that when I go back to this city, Semarang has changed into the little Netherland just like what's stated in my daughters' t'shirts.  

Turning 11

Hey, our new year baby!

Here's wishing you a birthday as special as you are.

You are one-in-a-million and deserve the best birthday ever!!!

Love & Hugs,

Ayah, Mama & Kk Najla

#CelebratedOnJanuary1st