In February 2025 I was one week in Medan on the Island of Sumatra. There I found this massive shoppingmall called Sun Plaza. It was so big. Hidden in the back I found this shop called La Maison. And guess what? They sell macarons! So i had to try them! Cookie hunting. So here’s my findings on: Macarons from Indonesia.

Patisserie La Maison

La Maison is specialised in French Macarons. Their presentation in the shopping mall was very impressive. It looks real luxurious. They had plenty of flavours. The price was not too bad. Approximately 1,40 euro per macaron. I decided to start with one first.

Popcorn Salted Caramel

I chose Popcorn Salted Caramel. I mean, who doesn’t like Salty Caramel. Right?? They carefully packed it in a little transparent plastic bag. I sat down on a bench in the shopping mall. Took the macaron out of the bag and took a bite.

Personally I didn’t expect much. So far the macarons that I’ve tried in the last 7 months that I’ve been travelling, were so so. But this one! OMG! What a pleasant surprise! It was delicious! The structure so nice and chewie! The flavour of the Salted Caramel so beautiful! This macaron made me happy I decided to go back tomorrow, to try them all! Macarons from Indonesia.

The next day

I went back to La Maison the next day. I wanted to try all their flavours. But I could never eat all of them. At once I mean. So I chose for a 6 box. I picked 4 of them and asked the girl from the shop which 2 others she’d recommend. These were my flavours:

1. Kue Kacang (Peanut Butter)
2. Salted Popcorn
3. The Simpson Doughnut
4. Bubblegum
5. KitKat
6. Kinder Bueno

She packed them in a beautiful box. Which I carefully took back to the hostel, to taste them. My findings you can see in my YouTube series: Cookie Hunt. Here’s chapter 1.

Cookie Hunt 03, Macarons from Indonesia

Check La Maison out yourself

Are you curious about La Maison? They have a beautiful website. Go check it out. They have beautiful pastry creations: La Maison

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The reason that I traveled to Medan wasn’t because of sightseeing. Nope. I went here for a visa run. My visa of Malaysia was about to expire. In order to get a new one, I had to leave the country for one week. Medan was one of the closest and cheapest options. At least, I thought so.

The capsule pictures were promising. But then again, so are all hostel pictures. They were made when the hostel was brand new. Many times it happens that since then there has been no maintenance. 

According to booking dot com, this RedDoorz Hostel is an 8.1 on a scale of 10. So that’s pretty high. 

The Grab taxi dropped me off at the hostel. As I feared the girl at the reception desk asked for a deposit. In cash. I could not check-in without the deposit. Not all hostels are this strict by the way.

So I went searching for an ATM. It was about 5 minutes walk from the hostel. I collected my 1.5 million rupees from the ATM and went back to the hostel. 

According to the pics on Booking the Coffee counter is shiny black. In reality the restyled counter is foil white (February 2025).

The girl gave me my keycard and followed me upstairs. She gave me a pair of flip-flops to use in the dorm. She showed me the bathroom and my capsule. Number 334. She gave an explanation how the buttons in the capsule work. Since the door locks itself after 10 seconds. Press the center button on the panel to unlock. Roger that.

Then she gave me a blue bag with a towel and a bottle of water. Very considerate. No complaints about the service.  

The capsule looks beautiful. Very spaceship-like. I immediately tried out all the buttons. There’s even a TV inside the capsule. But unfortunately it only shows a freeze frame of a TV show. The remote doesn’t work. The little hook to hang your clothing was broken. It fell off when I tried to hang something.

Unfortunately the staff doesn’t speak English. So it’s quite a challenge to explain an issue. Altho they’re always willing to help. Today they told me that the TV-box and remote are broken. Tomorrow someone will come to fix the TV-box.

The bathrooms

The showers and toilets are not as fancy looking as the capsules. They are simple. On the floor are antique shower-mats. The shower-heads are beyond simple. Cheap plastic ones. Most shower-hooks are broken. So you have to hold it while showering. There is hot water tho. But only at the beginning. The water turns cold after a minute. There is also soap in the showers. Simple dispensers. 

There is an ass-shower, but no toilet paper. I wonder how do people dry their ass after showering it?  

The dorms are pretty noisy. A man from India decided to do some phone calls at 01:00. His voice, as any sound, goes right through the plastic capsule walls. 

Your private bedroom

The capsule mattress is big. Not really thick, slightly hard. But okay. I’ve slept not bad my first night. I must say I woke up many times. Don’t know if it was because I always sleep on one side. Until my arm starts hurting, then I have to turn around. I’ve turned around many times. But I fell asleep right after. 

I think it’s not really a social hostel. You don’t really have roommates since everyone locks himself up in his pod. I guess mainly guys book it. So they can have their own private Star Trek bed. I was surprised to see a girl just now. Not very talkative tho. I read on the dorm doors today that one floor is for women. There are no men allowed. The other for men. Likewise no women allowed.

Conclusion

To me it looks like this hostel had its glory days when it was all new. It is not bad. But it doesn’t really look anymore like the booking pictures either. The red couches in the lobby are pink these days.  

Would I recommend it? If you want to travel back in time, yes. Because you have to experience your private spaceship capsule bedroom at least once. Would I book it again. Maybe. If I want privacy and be by myself, then yes. But in general I’m always a fan to try new things. So if RedDoorz Capsule worth booking? Yes. Considering the price and what you get. Unless you prefer a 5-star hotel. Then this is not for you.

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