Jom makan kat Bali
Day 1
Lunch
We had first day’s lunch aboard on AirAsia’s flight. It was SO extremely freezin’ cold in the cabin and I thought this must be how AirAsia “encourage” it’s passengers to buy the on-flight food. Everyone was asking for hot food. When it ran out, like what happened to us, we ordered the the Indonesian version of Maggi panas and hot Milo. Boy, instant noodles and Milo had never tasted so good before.
Dinner
First day dinner was a romantic candlelight dinner along the shores of Jimbaran Bay (ehem). Since the sunset arrives earlier over here (sun rises about 5.30am), it was already dark when we reached the restaurant. That was how our initial sunset dinner turned out to became candlelight dinner instead. The atmosphere here is good; cool sea breeze, sound of the waves, ahhh. You might have guessed, we had seafood dinner. The portion was humongous I tell you. Our dinner included a welcome drink, fries, squid, lobster, fish, oyster, prawns (and all the other cholesterol laden foods), served over rice and fruits as appetizers. It was really too much for the 2 of us and I could hardly walk after the dinner.
Our table # 008
My watermelon juice
Harby ordered Mango Lassi
First things first, put the flowers in your hair! All customers are greeted with fresh flowers.
The "damage"
Day 2
Lunch - Babi Guling
Babi Guling (roasted suckling pork) is probably the most famous dish in Bali. As Bali comprises majorly of Hindus, pork is of abundance here. Our initial plan was to go to the famous “Babi Guling Ibu Oka” which we have read so much about on the internet before our trip. However we later decided to ask Putu to bring us to the shop he frequent because I feel that Ibu Oka may be getting too much publicity. Furthermore the locals will know the best places best right? Putu brought us to a small stall along the road side. Boy.. did we have the meal of a lifetime. The dish consisted of a banana leaf plate piled with rice, pork, unidentified condiments and topped with a piece of crispy pork skin. The soup that came with it was really good. I’m salivating at the thought of it now.
I love Teh Botol
The soup - hevenly
Served with fragrant rice (I think the rice is pre-seasoned)...
Dinner – Kafe Batan Waru
This restaurant is located in Kuta. We stopped by for dinner during our amazing 8-hour marathon shopping spree. The ambience and deco is nice and cozy. I ordered Mee Soto with Ginger Soda and Harby ordered Nasi Campur with Mango smoothie. My Mee Soto was ok but the ginger soda, nasi campur and mango smoothie is really good.
Day 3
Lunch – Kintamani Volcano
Dinner – Bebek Bengil (Dirty Duck Dinner)
This was another highly recommended place to eat. I was curious how the name “Bebek Bengil” that translates to “Dirty duck”, came about. Obviously I wasn’t the only one. Here’s the story behind the name, as printed in their menu:“Bebek Bengil ( Dirty Duck Diner ) was first opened in 1990. Since then we have been serving delicious foods and providing good services in a friendly, comfortable and relaxed atmosphere. Many people have asked us how we got the name 'Bebek Bengil',well here's the story..
When we were building the restaurant, we thought long and hard about a name. Many good suggestions came from our friends, but none seemed just right. We knew we wanted a Balinese name that translated well into English. However, for a long time the metaphor eluded us. One tropical monsoon morning, when the restaurant renovation was very close to being finished ( we had the concrete floor down, and the tables in ), a flock of ducks from the rice field across the road ( yes, there were rice fields all around us then ) ran quacking and squawking into the restaurant and across the floor and tables. They left muddy webbed footprints all over the place. They were our first guests - those dirty ducks !”
So there you go… . The scenery here is simply beautiful and food was superb. The restaurant is surrounded by paddy fields and you can even see the farmers toiling on the field. I ordered a set of the famous “bebek” and Harby ordered ribs. Again we have ordered too much for ourselves. Next time, must remember to always order 1 set first! The duck was really good. Very crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. The set comes together with other side dishes but I was too full, in fact I left most of my rice intact. Ribs were succulent and juice. The sauce really completed the entire set.
Pork ribs to die for (served with a beautiful view)
The famous duck Day 4
Lunch- Bakso
I had been bugging Harby on Bakso even before our trip. Bakso is actually noodle soup served with hand-made "meat balls" (bakso). You can adjust the taste of you bakso by adding in grounded hot chili (cili padi) sauce into the soup. I like mine spicy! Actually Bakso is commonly sold in Malaysia as well but I never tried it. Someone told me that the Bakso in M’sia is nothing compared to the real stuff in Indo. I was adamant to try it during this trip. So there I was bugging Harby to eat Bakso. Seems like Putu was a bit apprehensive to bring us. According to him, all his good years of being a driver, he had never came across any tourists requesting him to bring them for Bakso. He also mentioned that most tourists couldn’t tolerate the spicy food that the locals eat and usually end up having tummy problems. In the end Putu still bought us for Bakso. No regrets man. I was really good and cheap too. We tried Bakso after we were back in M’sia but Harby said the one in Bali was still the best.
The bakso (meat balls) is the highlight of this dish. Dinner – Café something
Forgot the name of this place. This restaurant is located along the road leading to our hotel. We were lucky to get a place because the restaurant was full to the brim. We only had 30 minutes to eat because we were taking up a table which was booked for 8pm. It seems like all restaurants in Bali are very nicely decorated. This one is no different either. They put effort in details like the restaurant ambience, food display and tabletop display as well. I ordered Gado-gado which is a non-meat set. It’s really a healthy dish as it comprises of several different kind of vegetables (either lightly sautéed or steamed), tofu, tempeh, served with satay sauce for dippings. The set is served with rice and as usual, I hardly touched the rice. Harby ordered his Nasi Goreng Satay, basically fried rich with 2 skewers of satay. Harby usually do not drink but for this occasion Harby decided to order beer. I do not drink and I don’t plan to make a fool out of myself in a foreign land. Therefore I ordered my Bintang-0. Why 0? Because it’s a malt drink with 0% alcohol! It looks like beer, sound like beer but it’s not beer. ;) So you get the “taste” of beer without the mind-altering alcohol.
And finally...my Bintang Zero!
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