Sun Plaza Medan

July 31, 2012 Admin

I was told that when I am in Medan, Sun Plaza is the mall that I should visit at least once. It was opened in the year 2004 and it is still the largest and most luxurious mall in Medan. I took a cab to this mall from my hotel and arrived at about 10 a.m. Surprisingly many shops were not even opened yet at this hour. So I took the opportunity to browse around the empty shops, noting that the walkaway was spacious. Sogo is the anchor tenant for this shopping mall. You can enter into Sogo department store from almost any level in this shopping mall. The other anchor tenant is Hypermarket which is a well known supermarket chain in Indonesia.

Sun Plaza Medan is currently the most upmarket shopping mall in Medan.

It seems that there are an abundant of food outlets in Sun Plaza. There is the food court, A&W, KFC, Pizza Hut, Nelayan, Ayam Penyet Ria ( one of my favorite), Es Teler 77 ( delicious noodles), Red Mango frozen yogurt ( nice but too expensive) and many coffee joints. I liked the food court because it is spacious and clean. Food variety are plentiful because there are many individual food stalls operating there. The best way to enjoy is to buy one small portion of food from different food stalls and try it out. During lunch hour, the food court was crowded; as many office workers would be here to take their lunch.

Sogo at Sun Plaza occupies the most retail space in the Sun Plaza Mall. In fact, Sogo is located almost on every floor and it provides a one stop shopping concept for the whole family (except food items ). But I find the the prices of certain clothes and shoes in Sogo were rather steep as compared to similar merchandise that I can buy in Singapore. Many of the branded products that I saw in Sogo, I can find it too in Singapore and Malaysia – and they are less expensive in these 2 countries. So hopefully Sogo could readjust its pricing policy on the products, if they are keen in attracting more tourists here for shopping in their store.

The Hypermarket is located in the upper floor of Sun Plaza and it is a nice supermarket. However the size of this supermarket is smaller than their other branches in other parts of Indonesia where I have been. The selection and variety of food and sundry items here are sufficient to satisfy the average household family. One thing I noticed was that certain areas in this supermarket was rather warm – so was the air -conditioning faulty or was it not turn on? I came to this supermarket twice during my stay in Medan and I felt warm and stuffy in some areas of this store. This is a good place to stock up on your food, drink, toiletries if you are staying in Medan for a few days.

For those who are seeking some entertainment, there is a cinema, Time Zone and Himalayan games centers for young adults and kids. There is also a popular book store called Gramedia, where you can buy books, computer accessories, stationery, gifts, etc. One of the nice feature about this shopping mall is that there are benches located on every floor for the shoppers to sit and rest their feet. The Sun Plaza is a spacious mall and you could easily spend half a day here without feeling bore or hungry.

I read some comments in the travel forums that there is no taxi stand in this mall. This is not correct. There is in fact a taxi stand right outside the main entrance of this mall. Just outside the glass door of the main entrance, there is a small signage for Taxi and you can see a guy standing there with a walkie-talkie ( handheld transceiver) who can help you in getting a cab. The condition is that once the booking is made for a cab, the minimum charge would be Rp25,000 irregardless of the distance. For example, if the meter in the taxi states Rp15,000 upon arrival at my hotel, I still have to pay the drive Rp25,000. But if the meter states Rp50,000, then of course I have to pay the cab driver Rp50,000. I would also normally tip the taxi drivers because most of them are helpful and courteous. My view is that if I am going for holiday, I am not going to fuss or waste my time hunting for a cab outside the mall just to save a couple of dollars – whatever it is, it is an individual choice; as there is no right or wrong way on how you want to spend your money.

Do visit Sun Plaza Mall when you are in Medan. It is a refreshing change after visiting so many old malls and old buildings around this city. It is also a good place to recharge and get away from the smoke, dust and congested roads. Most of the shops should be opened by 11.00 a.m and it is a good place to get a sumptuous lunch – the variety and choices of food here is really amazing.

I will be adding more photos of Sun Plaza Medan in the Image Gallery of my website at – Indonesiapics.com

Medan, Must Visit Places

Graha Maria Annai Velangkanni Church in Medan

July 30, 2012 Admin

I wanted to visit the famous Graha Maria Annai Velangkanni, which is a Catholic church located in the outskirt of Medan city. The easiest way to travel would be to book a taxi to take me there. The problem with Medan is that it is quite difficult to find a proper taxi – the ones that use meter; whereas pirated taxi are plentiful. In some hotels such as Swiss Belinn Medan, I could not find Blue Bird or Express taxi outside the hotel – I wonder where they had gone? Anyway, once you have booked a taxi to this church, it would be advisable to ask the cab driver to wait for you for about 30 minutes at the compound of this church ( extra charges of course ); and thereafter you can take the same cab back to whenever is your next destination. The reason is because this church is located in the middle of nowhere. The church is surrounded by residential homes along a narrow dirt road – so be warned and be prepared.

Graha Maria Annai Velangkanni in Medan — Graha Maria Annai Velangkanni

The Graha Maria Annai Velangkanni is one the most bizarre church I have even visited in my life. When I step out of my taxi and stared at the building, I thought I was visiting a Hindu or a Chinese cum Hindu temple combined into one. Couldn’t really make it out that this tall structure building is a Catholic church – and I am truly amazed and loved it! It is a church dedicated to the Holy Mary Annai Velangkanni or Our Lady of Good Health who appeared in Tamil Nadu in India in the 17th century.

On the ground floor of this church building is a community hall which is for activities held in this church. The prayer hall is located on the 2nd storey level and to reach it, you just have to walk the gentle spiral slope. Before you enter the prayer hall, all visitors have to take off their shoes. There are 2 large statues on the balcony itself – the statue of St Paul, the Apostle of nations and St. Francis Xavier, the Apostle of Asia welcoming visitors into the prayer hall. The prayer hall is well decorated with paintings, art and shrine and very peaceful too. I saw many young students sitting on the bench at the time. In front you can see the Lord with the words – ” Come to me, all who laboured and are heavily burdened, I will give you rest.” Very meaningful words and very peaceful environment; and so I did sat down and rest; together with the many young students sitting on the bench.

I understand that the church has its own spring water which was discovered at the Altar of the Marian Chapel. I am not sure whether they allow visitors to collect the blessed spring water in a bottle – do asked the staff when you are there. The Graha Maria Annai Velangkanni is really a must visit place in Medan. Do make the time and effort to see this unique church. Not only it is beautiful, the prayer hall is also a peaceful place to rest and sort out your thoughts or problems. And don’t forget to make a donation at the donation box ( any amount) – though it is a voluntary act, but I felt that it is the right time to do.

For those interested in viewing more photos of Graha Maria Annai Velangkanni, do check it out at the Image gallery of Indonesiapics.com

Food, Medan

Ayam Penyet Ria in Medan

July 30, 2012 Admin

While I was shopping with my friend at Sun Plaza. we decided to try out the Ayam Penyet Ria restaurant at LT4 ( which is Level 4 ). There were numerous food outlets in this shopping mall and it would take me days if I wanted to try them all. The Ayam Penyet Ria has a few restaurants located in Singapore and many of my friends are crazy over this food. Personally, I am not so keen on deep fried food, be it chicken, beef or seafood. But my friend had never eaten Ayam Penyet or smashed fried chicken before, so I decided to let her have a go on this food. By the way, Sun Plaza is the most modern and popular shopping mall in Medan. If you are a food lover or enjoy shopping, this is the place to visit while you are in Medan. I will be writing a blog on this shopping mall later on.

Ayam Penyet Ria in Medan — Ayam Penyet is deep fried smashed chicken.

My order for that day was 2 Ayam Penyet – Rp29,000/2 sets, 2 Nasi putih ( white rice ) – Rp13.636/2 sets, 2 Teh Botol ( Indonesia No. 1 Ice Tea ) Rp10,908 for 2 bottles and lastly one bowl of Soto Ayam Ria – Rp 13.636 So the total cost of this meal for 2 persons inclusive of tax was Rp68,999 or US$7.80 which was reasonable. The same meal if you ordered it in Singapore would definitely cost much more. The food arrived at our table in about 10 minutes and the restaurant was not crowded at that time. The staff were courteous and efficient and overall the restaurant was clean and spacious.

The ayam penyet was placed on a round bowl on top of a banana leaf. Included was a slice of deep fried beancurd ( tahu goreng ) and fermented beancurd ( tempeh ) raw peppermint leaves, a slice of cucumber, small portion of boiled cabbage and not forgetting the blacan chilli. There is also a small serving of a slice of lemon with another type of strong, pungent spicy chilli. The ayam penyet was covered with layers of fried batter bits which actually taste good.

Ayam Penyet Ria in Medan - Soto Ayam — Soto Ayam.

The chicken was non oily and slightly dry and it was a small chicken drumstick/ thigh. The chicken serving was rather small as compared to the chicken portion in KFC. Separating the meat from the bones was an easy task and when I dipped the chicken meat onto the blacan chilli, it was a mouth watering sensation – delicious. The other chilli that was served with a slice of lemon was really too strong for me – it had a very strong spicy, tangy and bitter flavor. The soto ayam was good – it consists of vermicelli, eggs, vegetables and thin slices of chicken. The gravy of this soto ayam was not too sweet, not oily and not so spicy; and it goes well with the white rice.

On my next try to Medan, I will come back Ayam Penyet Ria restaurant again to try their gado gado and oxtail soup as well. As for the ayam penyet – smash fried chicken, it was delicious but the chicken portion was rather small. Well, there are many other food in the menu that I can order if I am still hungry. To be fair, for the price of less than Rp15,000 for a set of ayam penyet, the serving was reasonable.

Hotels, Medan

Swiss-Belinn Hotel Medan Review

July 29, 2012 Admin

I stayed in the Swiss-Belinn hotel in Medan a few days ago while I was in Medan Indonesia. This hotel is on Jalan Surabaya and it is not far away from the Polonia Airport in Medan. It took about 20 minutes by taxi to reach this hotel from the airport. I was charged Rp55,000 for this taxi trip after booking it at the taxi counter at the airport -which I felt it was quite expensive. The Swiss-Belinn stated in its website that it is a 3 star international hotel; but in my opinion I would only give it 2.5 star at most and I would shared the reasons for this rating.

The standard room at Swiss-Belinn Medan.

Swiss Belinn hotel is located in a minor road and surrounded by rows of shops in front and at the back of the hotel. Many of the shops were run down in appearance and were used by traders dealing in hardware, machinery, food and sundry businesses. The back of this hotel was more interesting – there are many rows of food outlets in a small narrow road shared by pedestrians and vehicles. Many of these food stalls were selling Chinese food such as duck rice, chicken rice, pork, noodles, pastries, etc.

The hotel seems to be popular among budget travelers and the reception area seems to be always crowded with people sitting around the rows of sofa bench provided at the lobby. I saw bus load of tourists coming down from the bus and walking into the hotel with their tour guide. I booked the standard room and was given the highest floor ( 9th floor if I could recalled correctly). To take the lift up to your room, you need to scan the magnetic card on the scanner and pressed the desired floor level – which was good for added security. Just beside the lift was the hotel restaurant where breakfast would be served. One good feature was that there was a 24 hours convenient store located near the lobby; where I bought some beers and snack during the night.

The standard room was compact, spartan but clean. I am rather amused to see that the floor tiles of the room was black and the entire bathroom is black. The black floor and wall tiles in the bathroom created a very dark atmosphere when I was inside it. And to make the matter worse, the lighting on the ceiling of the bathroom was very dim. The hotel should seriously consider using a higher watt light bulbs to enhance the lighting condition – perhaps a 15 watt energy saving bulb for the shower area and another 15 watt energy saving bulb near the basin. Every time when I entered into the bathroom, I felt that I was entering into a cave.

Though the room was compact in size, it was sufficient for 2 persons. There was a kettle and 2 bottles of mineral water provided but there was no mini fridge. The brand of the LCD TV was TCL – a China brand. This LCD TV was acceptable except that you have to put up with distortion in the sound system. The air conditioned system was not strong enough; making the room rather warm. The setting of the temperature would always reset itself to its default temperature no matter how many times I tried to reset the temperature. The walls and door of the room was not thick enough to isolate the noise coming from the next room or the corridor. In fact I could listened to the conversation of people talking right outside the common corridor. This hotel provides very minimal toiletries – so do bring your own personal toiletries set. For the queen size bed – it was clean and comfortable. There were 2 clean pillows provided.

I had booked their Ramadhan package which includes 2 complimentary free dinner. I went to tried out their dinner with the initial impression that the dinner buffet spread would be a limited spread of food available. Actually the spread of food given was good but the problem was that all the food was cold. The rice, fried noodles, vegetables, meat, etc were all cold. I brought this to the attention of a lady staff in the restaurant. I told her that food should be served at in warm temperature and they should used a warmer to heat up all the food. She just listened, smiled and then walked away. Had I know that the food were cold, I would have taken my dinner at Sun Plaza where I was there before returning back to the hotel.

Then in the morning, I walked into the restaurant again for breakfast. I told myself that if the food was cold again, then I would skipped breakfast. Fortunately, the breakfast turned out to be all right. The rice, vegetables, meat, noodles were all served hot. I liked the fish crackers which I think was delicious. The tea was slightly weird in taste and diluted – perhaps they were using some local tea. Overall the breakfast was good considering that it is a budget hotel.

One of the problem that I encounter while staying in Swiss-Belinn Medan was transport. It was hard to get a taxi just off the street. You could get pirated taxi just outside the hotel who would quote you a much higher rate – so you have to bargain but the taxi driver may not be interested in your reduced rate. There were pedicabs just outside the hotel and you need to fixed the rate with them before proceeding to your destination.

Overall, the condition of the room was all right. Improvement should be made on the lighting in the bathroom, air-conditioned settings in the room and transport availability for customers. If you are keen in viewing more photos of this hotel, go to my website at Indonesiapics.com and proceed to the photo gallery section. I would put up more photos over there.

Food, Medan

Ucok Durian in Medan

July 29, 2012 Admin

I was told by my friend that I should find time to visit the Ucok Durian store while I am in Medan. It is the most famous durian shop and even the bellhop at the Grand Aston City Hall hotel told me not to miss trying out the durians. So with all the hype about this durian store, I took a cab from my hotel to Jalan K. H. Wahid Hasyim No. 30/32 which is the location of this durian shop. I was told that there are 2 outlets for Ucok durian and this particular outlet opens for 24 hours daily – just liked Seven Eleven convenience store. The journey took less than 20 minutes depending on traffic condition.

Ucok Durian in Medan — Lots of durians on the floor in front of their shop

My first impression of this Ucok durian store is that it was a no frill, simple and messy shop. Durians were piled up all over the frontage of the shop and the workers were busy sorting out the durians. Cheap looking tables and plastic chairs were placed all over the entire shop. On the table is a tissue holder that holds a toilet roll and a metal bowl with clean water to wash your hands. There were also small plastic cups of mineral water on the table for customers. As I sat on the plastic chair, I saw that the road outside the shop had quite a heavy traffic flow; so noise and dust was inevitable.

A staff from the Ucok durian store came to my table and asked me how many durians I wanted. I told him 3 durians and the taste of the durian should be sweet and bitter. You can actually request for the type of durian that you want. If you are unsure, just let them pick the durians for you. I saw him telling his staff to pick 3 durians from the large pile of durians that was piling up on the floor. He came with 3 durians in a plastic square container and opened up the fruits. The durians looked good and creamy and he stood there opening up the durians as we ate. If the durian was in bad condition, it would be replaced immediately at no cost.

Ucok Durian Shop in Medan — There is no renovation or air conditioned but they served delicious durians.

Ucok durian from Medan differ in taste from the Malaysian durians that I had eaten frequently. My friend said that she still preferred the Malaysian durians, as it was stronger in taste as well as smell. My opinion was that durian from Medan had a milder taste and smell. The sweetness and bitterness of the durian was less distinctive than the Malaysian durian. It was still a delicious durian to eat and it has more flesh too. After eating the Ucok durian there wasn’t much lingering smell on my mouth and hand – which was good as I was going for another appointment after this durian feast.

And talking about the cost of eating Ucok durian as compared to Malaysian durian, the Ucok durian in Medan would beat the Malaysian counterpart hands down. It only cost Rp25,000 for one medium size quality durian. That works out to be US2.80 as compared to US$8 for an average quality Malaysian durian. Will I come back to Ucok durian store on my next trip to Medan? Definitely YES! The next time I would probably skip lunch and eat 2 durians instead. The durian shop is crowded in the evenings and on weekends, so if you intend to cut the queue, it would be better to go there in the afternoon.

Medan, Transportation

Bandara Polonia Medan – Medan Airport

July 28, 2012 Admin

The Bandara Polonia Medan or Polonia Airport in Medan is the airport that served International and domestic flights in and out of the city of Medan. When my plane landed on the airport, there was no aerobridge available. So to alight from the plane, everyone had to use the stairs to walk down to the tarmac of the airport. Then the passengers had to walk from the tarmac to the arrival hall. The arrival hall reminds me of the time of old airport that was built in the early 1980s – small, very simple and basic facilities. I had read that Medan is currently in the process of building a new airport for their city, which is definitely the right thing to do.

Polonia Airport Medan — You have to walk on the tarmac from the plane to the arrival hall.

The Customs and Immigration clearance in the Polonia Airport was surprisingly quick and efficient. There is a counter specifically for those passengers who need to purchase Visa on arrival and then a few counters opened to clear the immigration process. There were some passengers who needed to have their fingerprints scan on a compact scanning machine; and there is a camera mounted on each immigration counter to have the photo of travelers taken. The whole process of immigration clearance took less than 15 minutes and I am out of the airport arrival hall.

The conveyor belt for the luggage is a very short one. Do pick up your luggage as quickly as you can and do not allowed any stranger to help you with your luggage. Just hold on to your luggage and walked to the custom clearance counter where your luggage would be scanned in the machine. After I had walked out of the arrival hall, I had to face a continuous harassement by touts. These touts would asked me where I am going and do I need a taxi? I simply walked to the nearest cafe and sat down for a drink. It gave me an opportunity to observe the entire area outside the arrival hall and at the same time enjoying a delicious avocado fruit juice or called apokat juice in Indonesia.

Bandara Polonia Medan — The Polonia Airport in Medan is an old airport with basic facilities.

There is two ways to take a cab from the Polonia Airport in Medan to the city. First, I had a choice to take a taxi by going to the taxi counter outside the arrival hall and the charges was steep for a ride to my hotel in Jalan Surabaya – which was Swiss Belinn Medan. I was quoted a fee of Rp55,000 and was non negotiable. The second option was to walk out of the airport itself and go to the Petronas Petrol staion. Do not walked directly to the Petronas Petrol station as it is fenced. The easiest way to walk was from the entrance and exit point for vehicles at the airport, the Petronas Petrol station is on the right. Over at this Petronas petrol station, there were a couple of Blue Bird taxis which runs by meter parked there. However, if you are carrying heavy luggage or with children; it is advisable not to walk to the Petronas petrol station as the traffic in Medan is notorious. For myself, I choose to pay at the taxi counter Rp 55,000 and board a designated taxi. The reason is that the savings of only Rp25,000 if I do not used the taxi at the airport was not worth the time, effort and risk. Besides, when you use a meter taxi, the taxi driver could easily bring you in a merry go round just to cloak the meter higher.

For departure from the Bandara Polonia Medan, just inform the taxi driver whether you are going for international or their local domestic flight. The cab driver would then drive you to the correct gate. For international, it is Gate 1 if I can recalled correctly. It is advisable to check in early as the departure hall is again basic and messy. Again there would be a few people approaching you asking to see your passport – do not hand it over to them. There was a guy who was persistence in asking me details about my destination. I simply ignored him then he walked away reluctantly. Do not give money to anyone in assisting you to pay the airport tax. I sat at the departure hall for an hour, as I was early and the booth for Valuair was not opened yet. The touts are those guys from the counter that provide the service that laminates and secure luggage. During the one hour sitting at the departure hall, I saw 2 guys from the same counter that secures luggage harassing passengers. I saw vulnerable passengers handling cash and passports to them. I do hope that the Medan airport officials would kicked out these touts from the departure hall if they are serious about promoting Medan as a tourist destination.

Airport tax for international departure from the Polonia Airport in Medan is Rp75,000. Go to the check in counter first to get your boarding pass and check in your luggage. Thereafter, turn around and there is a small counter opposite the rows of airlines check in counter. Walk to the counter and you can see a notice been pasted on the window of the counter – that it is an counter for airport tax and the tax rate that you have to pay for International and domestic flight. Just queue up at the counter and when it is your turn, hand over your travel document and money to the staff. The counter staff would paste a airport tax sticker at the back of your boarding pass and hand back the travel documents back to you. After this, you are good to go – just need to clear the immigration and customs and later wait at the departure waiting area for your flight.

Indonesia Pics

Monthly Archives: July 2012