We rarely eat good pastries in Bandung. And god knows we try. We try so many croissants, pain au chocolates and almond croissants and we can’t even remember the last time we had one. They’re so rare.
So when we decided to head out to Batununggal to try out the new pastry shop, Harliman Boulangerie, we had very low expectations. Even from the photos of instagrammers, we felt sure the pastries were going to be dry and flakey as is almost always the case in Bandung.
But when we got there and tried their pastries, we were shocked. The pastries weren’t dry and flakey. They weren’t dense and bready. They were spot on and probably not far off what we’ve experienced in Paris! They were that good.
The pain au chocolate was a winner. The outside was only slightly stiff, but gave way as soon as our teeth sunk into it. The inside was fluffy and better still, slightly chewy.
The almond croissant was predictably dense, but surprisingly had a slight crispiness to it that we really loved.
And that’s the point here. Getting the fine balance between too crispy and too much like bread is extremely difficult. And at Harliman they’ve found that balance and as a result serve what we consider to be the best pastries in Bandung. It’s a big call, we know.
One piece of advice we’d like to give. DO NOT HAVE YOUR CROISSANT HEATED. They offer this at Harliman, but we suspect it will dry the pastry right out and make it flakey beyond belief.
Lastly, a small comment on the coffee. We didn’t really enjoy the coffee here. So if you need coffee, only order one if you’re desperate. Otherwise wait until you’re able to visit somewhere else for your coffee fix.
Harliman is definitely worth a visit if you love pastries and is our pick for them in Bandung.
Harliman Boulangerie
Jalan Batununggal Indah Raya 164, Bandung
Opening hours: daily 09:00 – 21:00