Went to Illy Cafe, In Malang City while Had Vacation

Hi, everyone. Hope you all are still saving and happy until this day, and can write in Peakd, especially in the Worldmappin community. About me, who is not stable enough to write a blog in Peakd, because I did many things related to finding a job, both in Glints and Fastwork, so I think writing a blog is something I have to miss.

So here we go, my third blog in the Worldmappin community about my experience going to the oldest cafe in Malang, which, I guess, this cafe still has many visitors, as it might be more than one decade old.

This cafe is called Illy, which serves coffee as its beverage, as well as other contemporary beverages, and has brought its cafe famous for 15 years. Then, they also sell many kind of main and side dish menus which is remark as a worldwide cuisine. They provide many kinds of baked rice and baked pasta as their first-ever menu, which is their signature and is known to many visitors. So, when everyone knows Illy, the one thing I like about that is their baked rice and baked pasta.

Here is my story about Illy cafe in Malang city, about why this cafe is one of my favorites, and the cafe interiors, menus, and what I ate when I last visited its cafe. Let's read it along.

Illy Cafe was the Most Comfort Cafe for Me and Many Malang Residents

Illy cafe was located in a building called Lay-Lay Swalayan is a kind of first-ever international supermarket in Malang, which was established in 2007, then Illy cafe is somewhat opened 3-4 years later.

Because Lay-Lay is labelled as the first international supermarket that sells many kinds of items from a wide range of countries, the one I noticed is snacks and many kitchen produce, then Illy cafe was the cafe that has a worldwide concept. I think Illy was the first ever cafe in Malang which served the best and top quality of worldwide menus, then it's a milestone for many evolved cafes in Malang city with a wide range of global concepts.

Because Illy is also developed by the evolution of the changed culture into a more precedent era, that also the first ever commitment for Malang residents to grow and move into the modern era. Those of the 15 years ago era, I think, is the beginning for Malang to be a modern city, then the moments were also supported by many residents, which has changed slowly but surely to be more modern. So, Illy was very welcome to many of Malang residents, both for the younger and the older generation, from time to time. Until now, Illy cafe is still operated and serves a warm service and nice comfort food.

That cafe is located at the end of the corner place in Lay-Lay Swalayan, at the end of the right place, which the location has never changed since they opened. That Lay-Lay building is also a Dutch colonial heritage, that located on the most famous street, called Arjuno Street, where it street is in the middle of Kayutangan Street and the only and the biggest soccer field in Malang, Kanjuruhan Stadion.

Because of the coincidence of the Illy cafe location, at the strategic position in Malang city, its cafe has less effort for growth as the first international-based cafe. My brain automatically thinks of Illy cafe as a culinary destination whenever I want to drink and eat comfort food and beverages.

This cafe has no bigger place with the expensive interiors, Illy serves us in one of quite comfortable places with just one of the restaurant reception desk, which also functions as the barista space for making many beverage menus and for cashier, that space for me is the specific of Illy with a standing menu not too far from its space. Then, on the left and the right sides are full of wooden dining tables. The right side is the most spacious when the daylight, it provides nice natural lighting from the wooden windows with the patterned glass windows. The left side is full of the dining table that is closed with a small doorway that opens evenly.

The Menu and What I Ate There

If you are going to the Illy cafe for the first time, you may want to return because the food and beverages are so comforting and delicious. When my family and I want a girls' day out, Illy cafe becomes the most popular destination. In the case of my mother, who really likes the beverage menu there, I can not decline if my mother wants to reserve a lot there.

My mother loved the beverages called yoghurt drink there, which her favourite is strawberry and guava flavour. At Illy cafe, there are 10 kinds of specific beverage menus that offer many choices. There are iced coffee, hot coffee, Original juice, Combined juice, iced blended coffee-based milkshake, soda drinks, cocoa-based drink, yoghurt, and hot/iced tea.

Because they have seriously improved the beverage menu, the food also did well. At Illy, the most appetizing menu is served fresh from the kitchen, so the food is always warm in your stomach. I do not know how they cook all the food for the customer, but when I ate their food, it was really mention well Illy profiles. Their baked pasta and rice, as their main and viral menu, have a character that I think they have succeeded in developing as the Illy cafe concept.

Besides their viral baked pasta and rice, they also provide many menus that are worth trying. More menus can be a spotlight too, like their Bruschetta or their Oriental Pancake. As I also informed before, Illy cafe has a menu that uses fresh main ingredients that they pick up directly from Lay-Lay swalayan. Like their bruschetta, which has two main flavour choices, like tomato or tuna-potato-egg, or the Oriental pancakes, which have three main flavours like broccoli-corn, tuna, and Tomato-smoke beef.

Talk about their baked pasta and rice, I could recommend to you each of the menu items that I like. First is their pasta, the most comforting menu that comforts me without seeking the menu is their spinach pasta. Its menu was a penne pasta served with creamy milky herb with hints of crushed black pepper and salt seasoning, combined with fresh spinach and topped with melted cheese. It's very warm for pasta and calms your soul. Then, for the baked rice, I want to recommend the sweet and sour chicken baked rice. Its menu features rice and their sides in general, which use a lot of big chunks of chicken katsu that are cooked with the sweet and sour sauce and the diced carrots and onions, which are topped with the last touch of melted mozzarella cheese.

When my family and I went to Illy cafes on our holiday last July, we ordered many of the food and beverages. My mother and father are fans of baked pasta, then they order spinach pasta and baked broccoli cannelloni pasta with cheese sauce. And I ordered the baked sour chicken rice, and my sister also ordered the chicken burger. For the beverages, my dad ordered some of the carrot-orange-tomato juices, and my sister ordered guava yoghurt.

The price menus in Illy cafes are a little pricey but actually worth it given the hypes and its price are standard like many cafes in Malang now. Their beverages and their main dishes' prices are at the same level in the range of Rp26.500-Rp45.000 or about $2-$3. In Jakarta, the most business-dense district in Indonesia, the menu prices in Illy are cheaper than many cafes.

Because of that, Illy cafes have much potential to be crowned as the comfort cafe that suits well with many circles, from the old to the younger people in Malang city.