So I've never seen my dad so excited to be photographed before until we went to this place.





During my brother's graduation in Brawijaya University, Malang we went out to lunch to this really unique place my brother recommended. Loe Mien Toe, a referred "coffee house" located at Jalan Tata Surya 2, Dinoyo, Kec. Lowokwaru, Kota Malang. From the first walk in you could already feel that "absurd" vibe when you walk into a museum. Except this was not a museum. It is actually a residence-turned-cafe of Miss Anita Dyana, a daughter of an architect that LOVES to collect antiques! Okay, maybe the word collect is a bit of an understatement. He actually seem to be a hoarder of interesting unique things!



Walking into the cafe, we would see how it is a merge of multicultural Chinese and Javanese vibes. The cafe, that is located above Brantas River is rich in so many different items and displays that is set up comfortably through out the whole cafe space. It has a semi outdoor seating area and indoors.

[caption id="attachment_2813" align="alignnone" width="1000"] Old beef grinder/pasta maker on the table. Wuuut??[/caption]



So let's go back to why Loe Mien Toe is so unique that my dad fell in love with it! My dad always has a taste of architectural antiques (and especially of Eastern meets Western arts and history), and this place has everything he longed for. The blend of unique stuffs ranging from old cabinets to beef grinder (!!), and even two of China-famous Terracotta Armies stood at its patio! Old European chandelier and grandfather's clock were inside too. But that's not all. Statues of Ganesha, Buddha heads, paintings of old Javanese women, Chinese men, hangs decoratively all around the place. My dad even was willingly photographed wearing an old Vietnamese soldier's hat and was excited about it! :D

[caption id="attachment_2808" align="alignnone" width="1000"]  "Fida, coba fotoin bapak pake ini, bagus nggak?"[/caption]

Glass cabinets with English-style tea cups and saucers were placed in one corner, and pebble-decorated cemented stair with wooden handle on another corner. There were so many things in so many places, but it still left us in awe! I think the owner deserve an award for Outstanding Neat Hoarder! I didn’t know that window iron grills and stained glass window with colourful doors could make such a beautiful photograph setting. Loe Mien Toe sure showed me that it works!

There were a lot of Indonesian culture decorations as well, from paintings of Javanese Wayang and Pancasila's Garuda. But the one thing that we realized stood out more than others were framed photographs of Ir. Soekarno, Indonesia's first president.

"Was your father an admirer of Soekarno?" I asked Miss Anita when I interviewed her.
"Yes. He loves Soekarno!"
"Made sense to why all his photographs," I said.

There were pictures of Soekarno with Marilyn Monroe and John F. Kennedy. It was historical!

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Famous for it's cheap menus, Loe Mien Toe is the best place for many students of Malang to do group discussions and studying. Unfortunately, I'd have to comment poorly about their mediocre foods. I know they could've done better. However, I have no complain about their Mozarella sticks and Ice milk coffee, because they were quite tasty!

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So should you need an antique setting for your new profile picture or Instagram posts, Loe Mien Toe definitely deserves your visit! (scroll for more pics)


Loe Mien Toe Coffee HouseJalan Tata Surya 2, Dinoyo, Kec. Lowokwaru, Kota Malang, Jawa Timur 65144
Closed Mondays
13:00 - 00:00