Little Feet Round the World: Bandung Trip - The Wasted Trip to Situ Patengan

The folklore said...

Once upon a time there lived a prince named Ki Santang and a goddess named Dewi Rengganis. They loved other so deeply but were forced to walk away from each other. However, due to their deep deep love, they searched for each other and finally met at 'Batu Cinta' (Love Stone). Dewi Rengganis asked Ki Santang to create a lake and a boat for her.

And taa daa.

The lake is Situ Patengan Lake and the boat turned into a heart shape island in the middle of the lake called Pulau Sasaka (Romance Island).

It is believed that couples who circle this island together will have a happily every after ending. Wanna try?

It was about 15-20 minutes drive from Kawah Putih. We finally reached Situ Patengan and were asked to pay IDR 15000 (SGD 1.6) per person for the entrance fee and IDR 15000 (SGD 1.6) for the parking fee.

So we drove in and parked. The place was so quiet. We were the only tourists there at that time. By the side of the lake, there was a gazebo. We sat there for a while looking at the lake.

The lake and the gazebo

The other side of the lake

It says "Patengan Lake Nature Park"

I could not say that this lake was ugly, nor it was beautiful. Maybe it was huge and the scenery was nice, but it was not enough to fill my expectation bucket. After visiting Kawah Putih, I expected to see similarly wonderful place. But this place was just so-so.

Someone approached us and offered to bring us around the lake and to Pulau Sasaka by boat for IDR 150000 (SGD 16). We didn't think twice to reject him just because all of us felt the same thing: disapppointment.

Instead, we walk towards a small road besides the parking area. I thought the road could actually bring us to the other side of the lake, but apparently no.

We walked along this road. So quiet.

I like how they paint the boats

After walking for sometime, we found a street seller. That was the only shop that opened along the road. Mom bought passion fruits and we headed back to the car.

Green passion fruits

Dad playing happily with the sword (The seller sold it too)

We drove back through the winding road again. Luckily this time we did not ask for help from Google Map. Bro stopped once in while to ask for direction and we managed to keep our car on the main road.

The view along the way back from Situ Patengan. Tea!

We reached Bandung when it turned dark and Bro brought us to Rumah Makan Bakso Enggal (Enggal Beef Ball Restaurant). This place was pretty crowded maybe because it was the time for breaking the fast. Just like most of beef ball restaurant in Indonesia, you can pick your own beef ball to your own liking. Whether you want small one, big one, tofu, fried fish ball, anything!

You even can take as much fried shallots and spring onion as you like

The bakso (beef ball) , siomay (Bandung fish cake with flour skin), and tahu (tofu)

The fried items were separated from the soup

Okay, time for review. The most delicious thing about this was the soup. It was sooooo tasty till I finished it to the last drop. The second winner went to the fried fish ball. I loved the crispiness. The fried items were unique because you couldn't really find them at other places.

However, the beef ball itself was not so satisfactory. It was a bit too soft for my liking.

Ok, whatever. It was a good dinner and it only cost us IDR 98100 (SGD 10.5) for six bowls of beef balls with all the accessories. :P

Of course we should have dessert after dinner. So we went to Gardujati area to have Ronde Jahe. Ronde is glutinous rice ball with peanut filling and jahe means ginger. So, ronde jahe is glutinous rice ball in ginger soup.

The signboard on top of the cart

The best ginger soup!

Ronde Jahe Gardujati is only one of the street sellers along Jalan Gardujati. However, this particular seller has been so well known since 1986. And do not fret, you will find this particular cart surrounded by a lot of people.

I loved the ginger soup a lot. It was strong and hot and not too sweet. I asked for second bowl of soup! The ronde was nice too with a lot of peanut inside. For a peanut lover like me, this was the best pair. It cost only IDR 13000 (SGD 1.4) per bowl. Additional soup is free~~~

Besides Ronde Jahe Gardujati, there was another cart selling bola obi. Obi or ubi in Bahasa Indonesia means sweet potato or cassava. Usually people use cassava to make bola ubi. However, this one was different, he used local sweet potato. The way he fried it was also different. Initially he fried the tiny dough and fried it again upon order. During the second round of frying, he kept pressing the fried ball into the wok and the ball turned bigger and bigger. When you bite it, you will find that actually a lot of air has pushed in when he pushes the ball towards the bottom of the wok. The sweet potato ball was so crunchy and hole-y! And it won't cause a hole in your pocket. 10 for IDR 10000 (SGD 1.1).

The bola obi!

We took a walk towards Cibadak. Both sides of the road were filled with street sellers offering a lot of delicacies. We walked about two blocks before reaching Cibadak. Initially Bro wanted to bring us to eat Nasi Campur Babi 888 (Mixed Pork Rice 888) but we were too full to stomach anymore big meal. So we saved it for the next day.

Cibadak was even more crowded than Gardujati. This area is known as the Chinatown of Bandung. A lot of foods were offered here. Halal or non halal.