The fertility of the Balinese lands is reflected in the plate with colorful and flavorful products.
Chili, crunched like candy by little Balinese from an early age, embellishes dishes with its incomparable spiciness and enhances them with a bright red.
The rice fields which dress the plains and hills of the island in a soft green, deliver a fragrant grain of dazzling white.
Garlic, shallot, ginger, lemongrass, turmeric, tamarind help to multiply the tangy flavors.
Peanuts and coconut are also essential ingredients.
Sweetness and smoothness are provided by a few grains of palm sugar, which enter into the composition of savory recipes.
Like everywhere else in Indonesia, chicken and fish are on every menu.
But in this Hindu land of Bali, the pig and the duck prevail.
Not a feast that is not celebrated without the bird or the pig which are then cooked over a wood fire for hours.
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Indonesia: the
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travel guide
Sate ayam, the flagship dish
If you find the kebabs on the menu in many restaurants, you should taste them in the night markets. Gourmet Sate House
The chicken skewer is the flagship dish of Indonesian cuisine. Thin strips of chicken are marinated in a mixture of ginger, turmeric, lemongrass and oil to fix the flavors. They are then cooked over charcoal and served with a sauce made from peanuts and coconut milk. If you find the kebabs on the menu in many restaurants, you should taste them in the night markets. A good
sate ayam
should be soft, caramelized and slightly spicy. There are variations in fish (
ikan
), beef (
daging
or
sapi
) or pork (
babi
). The Balinese have a clear inclination for the
sate babi
sometimes spiced up with a supplement of pepper (
lilit
).
WHERE TO TASTE SATE?
Sate Babi Bawah Pohon
.
A tired sun yellow paint tries to give a little color to this charming place.
Customers congregate around the long tables covered with oilcloth to taste some of the best
sate
on the island.
Perfectly caramelized and accompanied by a thick and rich sauce, the kebabs are eaten like candy.
Jl Dewi Sri Campuhan, Legian.
Phone.
: +62 819 3625 3567.
Arang Sate Bar.
This address ticks all the right boxes.
The setting is pleasant with its brasserie-like airs, its bistro tables and its long bar in varnished wood.
The “Arang Sate Platter” combines traditional skewers with beef or pork and more original ones such as smoked duck or fish with miso.
8 Jl Raya Ubud, Ubud.
Phone.
: +62 361 479 2199.
Babi guling, the festive meal
Hindus celebrate festivals and ceremonies with a spit roasted suckling pig.
Adobe stock / carles
The Balinese, devout Hindus, are crazy about pork.
They celebrate festivals and ceremonies with a spit roasted suckling pig.
The animal is stuffed with a mixture of ginger, chilli and garlic and cooked over a wood fire for hours on a bamboo stick.
The crunchy skin is served with pulled pork.
WHERE TO TASTE BABI GULING?
Warung Ibu Oka
.
This unpretentious canteen is Bali's go-to establishment for trying babi guling.
Located right across from the former royal palace in Ubud, the haunt mostly attracts tourists.
The suckling pig is served in several preparations in small wicker baskets lined with food paper.
1 Jl Suweta, Ubud.
Phone.
: +62 361 976 345.
Warung Babi Guling Pak Malen
.
The locals hurry at lunchtime to enjoy a full plate of lacquered pork.
Everything is there.
The skewers, the crispy skin, the tender strips of meat, the rice and the vegetables.
The alignment of exotic wood tables in a small shed barely cooled by fans lacks charm, but the essentials are on the plate.
554 Jl Sunset Road, Seminyak.
Phone.
: +62 851 0045 2968.
Bebek betutu, beware of strong flavors
Rice accompanies all dishes in Bali.
Its cooking is an art.
thekitchenarchive
The
Bebek betutu
is for thrill seekers.
The
betutu
means a spice mixture made of shallots, garlic, ginger, turmeric, walnut bancoulier, peanuts, shrimp paste and chilli.
Everything is finely reduced to a paste in a mortar and covers a duck leg which will be steamed in coconut bark or banana leaves.
The
Bebek betutu
is accompanied by green vegetables and sambal, a red pepper paste.
WHERE TO TASTE A BETUTU BEBEK?
Cafe Wayan is
worth a visit if only for its enchanting surroundings.
Gazebos are scattered around a lush garden filled with delicate flowers, ponds and fountains.
Come on Sunday evening for the Balinese buffet which, in addition to the duck, allows you to learn about many local specialties.
Jl Monky Forest, Ubud.
Phone.
: +62 812 3873 0135.
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Gado gado, the vegetarian option
The favorite dish of vegetarians consists of crunchy green vegetables (beans, cabbage, bean sprouts…), hard-boiled egg, tofu, grilled shallots and two typical Indonesian elements.
The
tempeh
is a fermented soybean paste and
lontong
is in the form of a small pressed rice cake cooked in a banana leaf.
This mixed salad is generously drizzled with a peanut, chili, garlic, tamarind and palm sugar sauce.
WHERE TO TASTE A GADO GADO?
Ulekan's chic and bohemian canteen.
Ulekan Bali
Ulekan
hides in a pavilion of joglo architecture, traditionally reserved for Javanese aristocrats.
As beautiful as a double page from an interior design magazine.
The equally “Instagrammable” plates convince with their frank and fresh flavors.
Be careful, it is often full.
34 Jl Tegal Sari, Tibubeneng.
Phone.
: +62 813 3921 1466.
Nasi campur, a mosaic of flavors
The dish appears on restaurant menus as
nasi Bali
.
Made's Warung
There are as many versions of
nasi campur
as there are islands in Indonesia.
The plate consists of white rice (
nasi
) accompanied by small portions of meat, fish and vegetables.
In Bali, grilled tuna, fried tofu,
tempeh
, spinach, pork or chicken sate integrate the mosaic of flavors.
The dish appears on restaurant menus as
nasi Bali
.
WHERE TO TASTE A NASI CAMPUR?
Lilla Warung is
doing well in the jungle of countless restaurants in busy Sanur.
We love the modernized Balinese setting, the exposed framework, the brick and pitcher decoration.
The
nasi Bali
ranks high on the list of house specialties.
Jl. Bumi Ayu No.6, Sanur, Denpasar Selatan, Kota Denpasar, Bali 80228, Indonesia.
Phone.
: +62 819 3431 1241.
Lawar, beans and coconut
Green beans, fresh coconut pulp, coconut milk, kaffir leaves and beaten eggs.
Adobe Stock / tang90246
Lawar could be a great vegetarian dish if it wasn't served with grilled chicken or pork skin.
Green beans are mixed with fresh coconut pulp, coconut milk, kaffir leaves and beaten eggs.
When it presents a pinkish color, the
lawar
is prepared with pig's blood.
WHERE TO TASTE A LAWAR?
Nasi Ayam Kedewatan Ibu Mangku.
It's hard to find more traditional than this little restaurant near Ubud.
The wooden and stone pavilion hides a nondescript dining room where regulars flock to taste again and again the only dish served here: a
nasi capur
and
lawar
.
18 Jl Raya Kedewetan, Ubud.
Phone.
: +62 361 974 795.
Sambal matah, the not-so-accessory condiment
This chili paste enhances dishes and coats them with a touch of acidity and umami.
Adobe Stock / Rulli
More a condiment than a dish, sambal occupies all Indonesian tables.
This chili paste enhances dishes and coats them with a touch of acidity and umami.
Bali has its own recipe, served raw.
The sambal matah mixes chopped shallots, crushed garlic, fresh chili, lemongrass, lime and palm sugar.
It is aimed at adventurers of taste who do not fear the flame of chili.
WHERE TO TASTE SAMBAL MATAH?
Warung Cahaya.
Hidden in an alleyway in Legian, this all white hut has made sambal matah its specialty.
It accompanies fried chicken or pork.
Aficionados ask for more to the point that a “sambal” supplement is on the menu.
1 Jl Dewi Rathi, Legian.
Phone.
: +62 852 0583 0136.
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