Choosing Restaurant In Bali

Locals are a great source of information so ask around. However, sometimes locals, such as hotel front desk staff and cab drivers, get referral fees for bringing in customers, so don't forget to ask some questions and do a little looking around before you go in. Asking locals can bring you some of the best information available about a restaurant.

Here are a few things to think when you choosing a restaurant :

• In what types of food does your restaurant specialize?
• What is your menu's price range?
• Can you make a reservation?
• When is it usually less crowded?
• How about any special theme nights, such as Balinese or seafood?
• Are there any special nights for live entertainment or happy hour?
• Do you have any exceptions to the discounts you wish to use?
• Can you honor your special requests?

You will find that although a restaurant may specialize in one type of cuisine, there will be a broad section of food for you to try. Please be aware of the following :

• Asking locals can bring you some of the best information available about a restaurant.
• Do not expect the same taste and style as you would in your own country when visiting restaurants specializing in specific cuisines. Like many Asian countries it has been adapted to the palate of the local and also dependent on the ingredients available.
• Of course you will want to try the local Indonesian dishes and depending on the restaurant, the taste and price varies. Many restaurants adjust the cooking of Indonesian food to make it mild enough for the non-local guest to enjoy.
• However if you are very game and would like to experience what most Balinese eat, try one of the many food stores 'warung' lining the streets of the downtown areas. The main part of the Indonesian meal is steamed rice (nasi). Accompanying the rice is usually dishes which may include one of a variety of meats and seafood, either boiled, steamed or fried.
• Prices, style, food presentation, decoration and service vary and range from very basic to luxurious and from extremely cheap to quite expensive. Prices vary dramatically depending on the location and area rather than the quality of the meals.

Bumbu Bali

The extravagant beauty of the Indonesian island of Bali is reflected in its unique food. Discover the destination through its traditional cooking, and treat yourself to a cuisine which features such delights as Roast Duck in Banana Leaf, Roast Suckling Pig, Sates, a large selection of vegetables, meat and fish salads, the famous black rice pudding and an ever changing selection of Balinese cakes. This and many more unusual creations, which are certain to please even the palates of Bali’s fabled Gods.

THE CREATION OF BUMBU BALI

Bali’s first authentic Balinese restaurant was created following the principals used in designing a traditional Balinese home compound. On our menu you will not find Balinese food commonly served in hotels and tourist restaurants, as it is our aim to serve Balinese food the way you find it prepared in Balinese homes or during traditional ceremonies. We take you on a journey into the culinary delights our island paradise has to offer.

Countless trips into villages, homes and temples, together with an endless drive in researching deeper into the food culture of Bali have resulted in several highly acclaimed publications by Heinz von Holzen the Godfather of Bumbu Bali. In “The Food of Bali”, “Bali Unveiled: The Secrets of Balinese Cuisine” and “Feast of Flavours from the Balinese Kitchen”, one will discover many secret dishes and delights served on our menu.

Recognized by locals and visitors alike as the leading Balinese Restaurant in Bali, and the many awards received since opening the small door in 1997, together with the incorporation of every day Balinese life into a harmonious surrounding will ensure a most memorable and authentic dining experience.

COOKING SCHOOL

To promote the food of Bali further we offer interested visitors to participate in our very popular cooking program. Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday we take participants to the local markets where we purchase many of the produces for the day’s class. After a hearty Balinese Breakfast we will spend a most informative morning in a specially designed kitchen preparing and grinding a minimum of 25 recipes. Classes are limited to 12 participants, this to give everyone a chance to receive personal attention in the step-by-step preparation of the dishes. For those who wish to experience a shorter version then we have SHORT CLASSES available where we prepare 9 recipes.

No effort has been spared in creating a place of discovery, friendliness and comfort. It is our aim not only to share with you the best dishes of Bali put to also let you into the many secrets of a true Balinese home.

We look forward to your visit, which we hope will be the first of many to follow.

USEFUL INFORMATION

Address :

Jalan Pratama, Tanjung Benoa,

P.O.Box 132 Nusa Dua 80363

Bali - Indonesia

Restaurants : 62 361 774502, 772299

Office : 62 361 771256

Fax : 62 361 771728

E-mail : info@balifoods.com

Web Sites: 

http://www.balifoods.com

http://www.indo-chef.com

OPENING HOURS:

Lunch-Dinner 11.00 a.m- 11.00 p.m.

ENTERTAINMENT:

Every Wednesday and Friday – Cultural Performance

Time: 08.00pm to 09.00pm

CUISINE: Traditional Balinese Specialties

Balinese Drinks

Balinese Drinks

Tuak, arak and brem are the main Balinese home brews:

Tuak

Tuak is made by cutting the undeveloped flower of either the coconut or the sugar palm tree. You then collect the sugary liquid that exudes into a bamboo container and ferment it. Fermented palm tree juice is drunk all over tropical Asia, Africa and America. It is the "toddy" of English colonialists and is drunk in the innumerable small warungs all over the island. It has about the same alcoholic content as beer.

Brem

Brem, pronounced "brum", is rice wine. It can be bought commercially, but ours is home made. Like arak, it is used in almost all ceremonies. It is a pleasant drink and can be drunk neat, over ice or mixed with arak. It is sweet and is made from glutinous rice or sticky rice (as it is also called). The rice is cooked for hours. Yeast is added. It is then allowed to ferment for three days, whereupon the brem drains into a pan. There are commercial factories, but the taste is not so good. It is not exported.

Arak

Arak is distilled tuak. It has a much higher alcoholic content and is colourless. It has a very sharp, biting taste. Since there is no fermentation, it can be bottled and sold. As the taste is unpleasant, the Balinese mix it with spices. It can also be added to coffee or mixed with brem. Arak is used as an offering in religious ceremonies. Having no sugar content, arak will keep indefinitely, unlike tuak. It cannot be a coincidence that the Mongols made distilled liquor called airak.

Balinese Wine

In the last few years, local wines have been produced, using Australian grapes. There is red, white and ros�, grown and bottled by two companies, Hatten and Wine of the Gods.

Spices

The Balinese use a wide range of ingredients. Instructions on how to prepare them are contained in the article entitled Balinese Recipes.

Balinese Drinks
Bali Food
Arak Bali
Indonesian Drinks

Bali Foods

Real Balinese food is not readily available to tourists unless a Balinese family invites the tourist to a meal or he goes to a temple. Restaurants catering for tourists do not serve authentic Balinese dishes, nor do hotels. The reason is that

there is too much preparation, large quantities have to be prepared and it has to be eaten when it is fresh. It is often spicy and very tasty. The Balinese traditionally used banana leaves as plates.

Balinese chickens are much healthier and have the taste of real chicken, but can be tougher than Western battery-fed chickens. Battery-fed chickens only live for 41 days, specially and artificially bred to produce large chunks of breast and short legs. The rush is now on to reduce the period of 41 days.

Etiquette

There are a number of rules concerning food, drink and behavior. Cake is always served with coffee or tea, nuts and krupuk with rice wine, and tea, water or tuak with the meal. The host does not usually eat with guests

The Balinese eat with their right hand, as the left is impure, a common belief throughout Indonesia. The Balinese do not hand or receive things with their left hand and would not waive at anyone with their left hand.

Famous Balinese dishes

Famous Balinese dishes are:

Lawar

traditionally cooked by men, who chop up strips of turtle or mango or coconut, add various spices and mix it with uncooked blood, so that it is red.

Babi Guling

roast suckling pig is a great favourite amongst the Balinese, although the pigs are usually too old to be suckling - from three to six months old, they are stuffed with spices, impaled on a wooden pole and turned over a fire of coconut husks and wood for one or two hours.

Bebek Betutu

duck stuffed with spices and vegetables, wrapped in a banana leaf, and cooked for three or four hours, this dish is eaten on special occasions.

Rujak

a refreshing sweet and sour salad containing unripe fruit such as mango or papaya, mixed with sugar, chill and salt.

Sauces

There are some common sauces:

Sambal very spicy chili seasoning.

Kecap asin sour soy sauce.

Kecap manis sweet soy sauce.

Desserts

There are a number of desserts:

Black rice pudding also known as tofu: soy bean curd.

Jaja crunchy shelled soy beans that have been mixed with a special strain of yeast to form a small flat cake, which are then friend - it tastes a bit nutty. Snacks

Very tasty, but not spicy, dishes or snacks are:

Tahu or beancurd also known as tofu: soy bean curd.

Krupuk prawn crackers.

Tempe crunchy shelled soy beans that have been mixed with a special strain of yeast to form a small flat cake, which are then friend - it tastes a bit nutty.

Bali Food, Jatiluwih, Pantai di Bali, 

Bali Fruits

The exotic, interesting fruits of Bali, and indeed the rest of Asia, are one of the best reasons for visiting. Bananas, coconuts and pineapples are well known - although you may not be prepared for the numerous varieties of bananas that are available.

The mangoes and papayas or pawpaws, which are now available in the West, are better in Bali. They have their seasons. Others are not available outside the tropics because they do not travel well and may not even be known outside Bali.

Tasty, interesting fruits are:

Durian :

The durian legendary is in the tropics. People either love it or hate it. It has an obnoxious smell and frightening appearance, weighs about 3 or 4 kilograms and is covered in large spikes. It is yellowish-green and has a hard shell. A creamy white pulp covers the seeds, which is what people eat.

Very good durians are for sale on the Kedewatan road from Ubud to Ponggang at the beginning of the rainy season in November.

Mangosteen :

Everyone likes this delicious sweet fruit. Queen Victoria offered to knight the first person who could get it to England in an edible condition. Nobdy succeeded. The shell is deep purple. It is a bit hard and has to be twisted or cut off to reveal four or five segments of brilliant white fruit. The season starts in December.

Lychee :

These are a native of South China. Payangan is the only place in Bali where they are cultivated. They taste acidic-sweet, rather like a grape. The season is late November. The bright red clusters of fruit are very attractive to fruit-eating bats, which usually get there first and finish them in one night.

Papaya :

These are known as pawpaws in the West. They are bigger in the tropics. The flesh is pink and rich in vitamin A. They are eaten at breakfast. There is no season.

Mango :

Mangoes are particularly good in Bali. The season starts in September. They can be big. The best way to cut them is in four lengthwise cuts and then peel. Mango juice is good.

Rambutan :

This red, hairy fruit grows in bunches in tall trees. Its name means "hairy", which describes it well. Take off the skin and eat the white, refreshing acid-sweet flesh that covers the single seed. The season starts in December.

Jackfruit :

These big, heavy, yellow fruits are very unusual and versatile. They be fried or eaten raw. They can also be cooked when they look like chunky pieces of meat. They are therefore ideal for vegetarians. They are the largest of all tropical fruits and weigh as much as 50 kilos.

The skin and protective white covering must be removed. Jackfruit juice tastes good. Jackfruit wood is yellow, easy to carve and is used for making wooden stands for musical instruments in the gamelan orchestra.

Pomelo :

The grapefruit is a descendant of the pomelo. Pomelos are bigger than grapefruits. The flesh is coarse and needs to be cut away to reveal the pomelo segments. They are bigger, sweeter and have a more subtle taste than a grapefruit.

Salak :

This fruit looks like a pear and has a reddish-brown, snake-like, scaly skin, which is easily peeled off to reveal crunchy, slightly astringent, white flesh. It grows in east Bali.

Star fruit: Blimbing

This yellowish-green five starred fruit is crisp and usually sweet.

Sirzak :

This large fruit is green on the outside, white on the inside, with an acidic-sweet taste.

Bali Food, Bali Activities, 

Lovina : Eating and Drinking

Zigiz Bar, Jalan Binaria (http://www.albe.net/de/zigiz). Live acoustic guitar nightly. Large cocktail selection.

Jax Bar, Lovina main road (http://www.jaxbar.150m.com). Live band every night, karaoke, pool room,darts board ,live sports including football on the biggest screen in lovina, dance floor, Chinese food,and probably the most extensive cocktail list in lovina,..... watch the big game sing on the karaoke, enjoy the band or just simply relax in lovina's newest nightspot... we even have a bouncy castle to keep the kids amused !!

Volcano Bar, is the only and best disco in town. If you are around on Saturday and want to make some moves with locals, you should go here. Entrance is around 25.000 (one free drink included).

Warru Bali is a cool place to get get a beer and watch the sun go down. One of the oldest warung in Kalibukbuk and still very popular. Stay late and you might enjoy a singalong with some of the locals.