I’m back from my week long trip come food trail to Medan, Indonesia, which means loads of food reviews to write before work picks up again in the new year! Yipeee.
When it comes to specialty coffee in Medan, two cafes come to mind; The Thirty Six Coffee by Wahana Hospitality is one of them. Located along Jalan Multatuli, it is home not only to a sprawling bungalow-like space, but also its own parking lot for customers – a very useful feature where people drive 90% of the time.
An industrial, yet homely atmosphere permeates its two indoor and alfresco seating areas; its simple white interior contrasted with concrete flooring and wood fixtures. The five of us found ourselves seated around a large wooden table drenched in the late afternoon sunlight – a dream come true for light hungry photographers like us!
The Thirty Six offers a sprawling menu that ranges from Western brunch selections and desserts, to Indonesian cuisine to suit the local palate. A Latte costs RP 40, 000 – pretty reasonable! That’s partly because specialty coffee is not commonly drunk in Medan, and prices have to be kept competitive to draw the crowd.
One of the must-try items is the Big ‘R’ Burger (RP 120,000), named after my friend, Big Roy, who is a close acquaintance of the owners’.
For its price, I’d say you pretty much get bang for your buck – fresh lettuce leaf, juicy meat patty layered with cheese and beef bacon, and generous slices of beef steak topped with a sunny side up egg. Oh, and not forgetting a side of crisp french fries and coleslaw. Worth it or what?! This would easily fetch $18-$25 back in Singapore.
My favourite in the Big ‘R’ Burger has got to be the steak – every bite exploded with flavour, complimented by the savoury cheese and runny yolk it that sandwiched it. And the buns – surprisingly sweet, yet not too oily.
A side dish that caught our eyes – Old School Sausages (RP 45, 000). What we initially expected to be ordinary bangers and mashed turned out to be a unique combination of sausages wrapped in omelette and topped with ketchup, mayonnaise, homemade BBQ sauce and chicken floss. Kind of like a deconstructed roti john.
I quite liked the contrasting flavours of sweet and savoury too, thanks to the way the ingredients were layered. Hard to believe that this is only a side dish, and not a main on its own. Do not attempt this by yourself!
What truly caught my eye at The Thirty Six, though, were the desserts. For starters, check out the 36S Apple Pie (RP 45,000):
Doesn’t look like your average apple pie, does it?
Another dessert we tried was the Avocado Mousse Cake (RP 32,000) – rich, velvety chocolate sponge layered with thick avocado cream and more chocolate. The taste of raw avocado might be a tad strong for some, but as an avocado lover, I just couldn’t get more of that avocado cream! Personally, I liked how The Thirty Six took a big risk in making the avocado taste stronger just so it would not be overwhelmed by the chocolate, which tends to be the case for most desserts with this combination.
Overall, The Thirty Six was a great start to our week long Medan food trail. I’ll be back if I ever get another chance to travel to Medan!
Address: Jalan Multatuli No. 36
Opening hours:
Monday to Friday: 11am – 12mn
Saturday: 10am – 1am
Sunday: 10am – 12mn
Wifi: Yes
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