Bali’s Cuisine

category: restaurants
by Yun,

Bali Island has a lot of different kinds of food to offer. This includes Italian, French, Indian, Japanese, or American food. However, for me, visiting Bali Island is not complete without tasting their local food. Below are some of my favorite restaurants and warung (street vendors) I visited during my Bali trip last September:

MENEGA CAFÉ

This café was one of the direct targets of terrorist Bali bomb blasts in 2005. Its location at Jimbaran Bay enables you to enjoy the beautiful sunset while dining in the restaurant. Watching sunset from Jimbaran Bay won’t be as spectacular as from Uluwatu or Tanah Lot. However, having fresh grilled seafood on the beach with a beautiful sunset scenery will absolutely be one of your most authentic experiences in Bali. What I love most from this café is their fresh grilled seafood, ranging from fish, crabs, squids, prawns and mussels. Their sauce is just a perfect combination of all barbeque spices. I think they use the same sauce for all their grilled seafood and it goes perfectly with the green lipid mussels. Menega is one of “must-visit” places each time I go to Bali. We even visited Menega twice during our last visit to Bali.

NAUGHTY NURI’S

In early 2006, I visited Bali with some friends. There was one day when we went to Ubud area and what we did was only to visit restaurants. Seriously, I am not exaggerating my story… We just hopped into the car in the purpose of going from one restaurant to another one. Our driver was baffled and asked us, “Did you still have space in your stomach? You’ve just visited many restaurants since you left hotel.” Then we explained to the driver that it was our culinary trip in Bali. Haha… After that, we went to Naughty Nuri’s, located at Ubud. I knew this restaurant from my best friend’s recommendation. We ordered half slab of ribs for each of us. And it was unbelievably good… All I can say is their BBQ ribs are truly a killer. The meat is just so tender that it can slip from the bone easily as you devour it through the sweetly succulent spare ribs. If you are a martini’s lover, keep in mind that Nuri’s is also well known for the finest Martini bar in the island.

NASI AYAM KADEWATAN

Nasi Ayam Kadewatan is another famous warung also located at West Ubud. They recently opened a new branch at Petingenget area, which is more accesible from Kuta. There is only one menu at this warung. It is nasi ayam, that is, steam rice with pindang egg, shredded chicken, betutu chicken (Balinese style cooking), fried peanuts, urap (vegetable), and all other parts of chicken such as: skins, livers and intestines. I believe that this is one of the most authentic Balinese food you must savor on the island.

NASI PEDAS IBU ANDIKA

If you like hot and spicy food, you can’t go wrong eating at this warung. They have a wide variety of meals you can choose: beef, chicken, tofu, tempe, vegetables, fried noodle, and egg balado. Almost all their meals are spicy. If you want spicier, you even can order more chili on the side. My top suggestion is their chicken skin, which is my favorite food at this warung. Note that this place is a real warung, not a fancy restaurant.

BUMBU BALI

Bumbu Bali is the first up-market restaurant specializing in authentic Balinese delicacies. Heinz von Holzen, previously worked at Grand Hyatt and Ritz Carlton-Bali, and his Balinese wife, Puji, opened their own restaurant, called Bumbu Bali. Heinz is the author and photographer of “The Food of Bali” and “The Food of Indonesia”. He also hosts Balinese cooking lesson at Bumbu Bali as a continuation of writing his books. All dishes served at Bumbu Bali were well prepared and presented. The ambiance is also very nice and relaxing, just a perfect place for couples or families who want to treasure their holiday time.

To my friends that already have a plan for visiting Bali in the end of this year, I really wish you have a very memorable experience in Bali. Have a safe trip and have a good holiday time with your family!

MENEGA CAFÉ
Jln Four Seasons Hotel
Muaya Beach, Jimbaran - Bali

NAUGHTY NURI’S
Jl. Raya Sanggingan
Across the road from Neka Museum
Down the Road from Uma Hotel
Up the Road from Nacho Mama’s
Ubud, Bali, Indonesia
Open from 8am - 10pm

NASI AYAM KADEWATAN
Kadewatan village, West of Ubud, across Kadewatan temple
Jl.Kayujati 12, Seminyak(in front of Villa Bora Bora)

NASI PEDAS IBU ANDIKA
Jl. Raya Tuban 118 (Across SuperNova supermaket), Kuta, Bali

BUMBU BALI
Jalan Pratama, Tanjung Benoa, Bali
62.361.774502

Comments

5 Comments so far

veny | 15 December 2008, 09:20
wahh Yun , elo reminder gw akan lezat nya icip2 di bali .. mau donk
Itu nasi Ayam Ibu Mangku aku missing krn milih icip2 di Suckling PIg Ibu OKa di Ubud juga . nyesel rasanya , abis musti milih mau Bebek Bengil, suckling Pig Ibu Oka or Nasi ayam Ibu Mangku ?? Difficult Choice de jadinya . ha22

Kalo naasi Pedes Ibu Andhika .. wuah aku cocok tuh , bener katamu >> Kulit ayam garing nya enakkk ! mantapp Bo ..

moga2 taun depan g bisa babck to bali lagi .
cobain Nasi Campur Ibu Wardhani ga ? enak juga tuh !

iya ke bali emang ga lengkap kalo ga sambil wisata kuliner ya ven? pernah dulu mampir ke wardhani tp kesiangan jadi dia udah abis, so kita cobain ke chandra… kalo ibu oka sendiri aku kurang gitu suka sih ya…
arman | 15 December 2008, 14:37
laperrrrrrrrr
Im3th | 15 December 2008, 20:20
wah gw jadi kepengen nasi ayam ala Bali
Yun, gw rasa lo cocok dah jadi pakar kuliner, ulasan lo menarik.

gue masih baru tahap belajar nulis meth, but I really appreciate your compliment
mamana clo | 06 January 2009, 03:59
menega emang top banget…
tapi antriannya juga te o pe hahhaaa…

mungkin elo kesana pas lebaran ato xmas holiday kali.. gue kemarin pas kesana 2 kali ga ngantri lho..
Manda | 04 January 2010, 04:44
mau tanya dunk itu iga panggang di naughty nuri’s halal atau tdk ya?thx.

Non halal sepertinya…

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