While trying to find a lunch spot that won't be closing anytime soon, allowing us to actually sit down and enjoy our meals without having to worry about the closing time.. we found Maple 3 Cafe. With the elevated seating area, we were able to oversee the bustle of Maple Street with locals walking around and about to their local supermarket or shopping.

Maple 3 Caesar Salad was bigger than I thought and was filled with lots of goodness, enough sauce, not too rich and not too much. It was just right. With crisp lettuce, bacon, croutons, parmesan cheese, anchovies with creamy dressing. I decided to order it with smoked salmon extra instead of the usual chicken and I reckon it would've been good without it just on its own.

The amount of parmesan cheese was definitely insane, poured all over the whole salad and after mixing it altogether, it blends in nicely with the creamy dressing. The anchovies were much bigger than what you would usually get in other Caesar salads elsewhere but I didn't mind it, I liked it.. it wasn't very fishy but gave that extra kick to the salad along with the smoked salmon.

Maybe all of the previous toasted sandwich should've been with a focaccia instead as it kept the whole bun in tact with its fillings. Toasted Focaccia with smoked ham, jarlsburg cheese, avocado, baby spinach and sweet chilli sauce. The sweet chilli sauce smothered the ham and avocado well and the italian herbed focaccia gave it that smell of freshly baked bread for some reason.

On a nice breezy day, where the sun is not too hot nor the wind is not too cold, it's always nice to go out for a bit and just have a relaxing time sipping down coffee and nibbling on pastries. Always quite packed throughout the day so make sure you get a seat first before ordering anything as if you've ordered without getting one, you may end up having to take it away or just eating and standing.

'Spicy Chicken & Coriander Salad' comes with fresh green mix, crispy wonton, grilled chicken breast with a warm spicy lime dressing. An interesting salad compared to your usual Caesar or Garden but it was actually..... not bad. More crispy wonton please. The dressing had a slight tanginess to it but not too much. The amount of grilled chicken breast was okay but overall, everything was well mixed. Very refreshing salad to have on a hot day.

Tucked away in a laneway where many may walk past but not realise there was even a cafe/bar there. If you go towards the City Hall from Albert Street, you will find this low-key cafe on your right, just next to the corner 711 shop. From a light lunch or heavy, from cocktails to wine or even just a nibble of savoury or even sweets, you sure will find it here. The atmosphere is casual and has a bit of a vintage yet rustic look. The lighting can be quite dim for some as it isn't the brightest place you will find.

'Sweet Potato Fries w Mayo' (AUD $11) were a decent size served in a matte black bowl with a big dollop of Kewpie mayonnaise. I seriously do think they are very generous in terms of their mayo as in other asian restaurants, they wouldn't be this generous in terms of sauce or even dipping sauce. Imagine your good ol' tomato sauce or sweet chilli, this was heaps I have to say. Even after finishing a whole bowl of sweet potato chips, your mayo would still probably have leftovers.. The sweet potato chips were cooked nicely, crisp and hot on the outside, just righ on the inside. It also had the right amount of salt, not too much but just enough to give the extra saltiness.

Djournal, another achievement from Ismaya Group, focusing on coffee. Their idea of the ambience and environment of the Djournal Coffee branches is that everyone considers their house as their first home, their workplace, as their second home, and here, at Djournal establishments, they want it to be known as our third home. Where we all can have a smile on our faces and have a pleasant experience through the service, baristas, coffee and ambience too. They don't only sell coffee however, with various cakes and pastries displayed on their glass display on the front counter as well as a menu, filled with not many but a sufficient amount of main courses and side dishes for those who would like to have savoury dishes, not just sweet.

Although the overall taste and flavour of their Ice blended signatures were quite refreshing and has that hint of nutella and green tea, it was a dissapointment that they didn't even fill it up to where the plastic cup line was, and basically filled the top with cream, in which the Green Tea had the original cream size with the Nutella having a little bit of cream as requested.

'Gilroy Garlic Fries' (IDR35k ~=AUD$3.5) was served topped with bits of parsley which I thought seemed they were lazy to add more. The garlic fries weren't too bad but since we both loved garlic, it would've been great if there were more garlic fries that was infused or even added on top of the fries. Not so much garlic salt, no, but more bits and pieces of fried garlic.

Union cafe has been one of the most popular places to dine their savoury dishes but more towards their sweet side with their signature cake, the Red Velvet cake which boomed the social media since it came out. It has made many people wanting to come in, book a table and most of the times having to wait 30mins or 1 hour or even 2 hours to get themselves a table.

As we were here for coffee and cake, the drinks we ordered were 'Cappucinno' (IDR40k ~ AUD$4) and 'Latte' (IDR40k ~ AUD$4). The drinks were just okay, nothing special but as usual when ordering with coffee, it all depends on the barista who is making the coffee as well as the coffee beans used and how they have been roasted.

'Red Velvet cake' (IDR60k ~ AUD$6) is Union's signature cake which made them famous and a popular place to eat or mostly, to just try this specific cake. I did find that it isn't as wow as people have said about it but I do have to say, compared to the other Red Velvet cakes I have tried in Jakarta, it is one of the best, if not, the best. This cake has been their hyped up cake since the 2010's. Up to today, they seem to have maintained their consistency of the quality and the flavour of the cake as well as creating the new Red Velvet pie which some has said may be better than this.

The sides had crushed peanuts and what seemed to be crushed biscuits as well coating it overall even the top of the cake. The red velvet sponge cake had a dense texture with cream cheese that was quite sweet than usual in between. Red Velvet cakes is known to have a chocolate base but since its colour was quite red, I am unsure if they have heavily used or dependent on red food colouring or not.

A coffee franchise originating from Thailand made from 100% imported beans with true Arabica beans growing locally in their own country. With a motto, A drink from paradise... Available on Earth, was simply influenced by the quote, The best coffee is as black as the devil, hot as hell, pure as an angel, and as sweet as love!