bali bagus!

sitting down to punch out this post brings back good memories of fantastic weather, great hospitality and of course bagus food that g and i enjoyed at our little getaway to the island of bali.

the very first thing that i have to rave about is that krispy kreme doughnuts have landed in kuta bali. yup, you heard right. the world's best doughnuts are but a 2 hour flight away! you should have seen my eyes grow big in disbelief upon seeing the famous sign en route to our boutique hotel and i immediately told g we had to get some for home. krispy kremes are the absolute best and just so its clear, no others have come anywhere close to delivering the awesome taste that krispy kreme doughnuts have.

krispy kreme
jalan kartika plaza
kuta bali


we spent three fantastic nights at the alam kul kul. perfectly located at the northern end of kuta, it was close enough to the beach but far enough from the touristy mayhem of kuta. rooms were nice and comfortable, with little touches of bali tradition here and there. food at the papa's cafe on site was very good too, with yummy thin crust pizzas and generous helpings of nachos, i'd go back to papa's even if we didn't stay at the alam kul kul!

the holiday was highlighted with even more good meals at both local warungs and what i'd called more posh nosh restuarants. i have to admit that food choices were really swayed by the shop till you drop book i managed to borrow from the national library...although slightly disorganized but has quite good content food wise so yes, highly recommended if anyone's headed to bali! g and i managed to hit quite a few joints so this girl's gonna give her take on the places to go when in bali.

1. made's warung

for good traditional indonesian fare, made's warung comes up tops. with a huge menu that includes western food as well, made's warung is always busy regardless of time of day. my vote goes to the gado gado...prepared the tradiationally indonesian way, the plate was filled with a generous serving of fresh greens topped with hearty wholesome peanut sauce, sprinkled with crunchy bits of tem-pe and kachang bali. really different from the singaporean's style gado gado with a lot more cabbage and bean sprouts and a whole different peanut based sauce. bagus!

mades warung
jalan pantai kuta
(62) 0361 755297

2. kopi pot

kopi pot comes in second following made's warung...nestled somewhere along jalan legian, this is a nice little oasis to rest tired feet and cool down with a bottle of bintang and bali cider. my nibbly mouth was very satisfied with the freshly deep fried lumpia whilst g was content with the spaghetti neapolitan. i do have to rave a bit about the lumpia, being somewhat a fan of po piah, this traditional version really adds a nice refreshing twist the classic chinese deep fried ones. maybe its the simple veggies they use, similar to that in the yummy gado gado, or maybe its in the peanutty oil they scald the rolls in. whichever the case, it was yummy. crispy on the outside, piping hot on the inside...dipped in thick homemade peanut sauce and washed down with ice cool cider, this would be the way i would like to chill out in the afternoon!

kopi pot
jalan legian
(62) 0361 752 614

3. kafe warisan

introducing kafe warisan. not a really hyped about place, maybe in lieu of the more 'sexy' outfit - kudeta, but i think kafe warisan should deserve twice as much rave and shout outs. not only does it have a fantastic ambience, service is superb and the food is truly truly amazing. the absolute must haves? the large portion of foie gras served with raspberry vinegar sauce. extremely sinful but extremely good. the roasted mushrooms stuffed with escargots and parsley butter is number two. absolutely no shells to tussle with, allowing one to really enjoy the juicy little morsels encased in creamy butter, nestled in fresh mushrooms. as for mains, the grilled lamb rack served up with potato gratin, baby beans and walnuts truly hit the spot with g whilst i really enjoyed the duck confit with warm tomato dressing, steamed chives potato and spinach salad. both were cooked with extreme precision, ensuring that every part of the dish was prepared to perfection. the lamb was tender, done precisely medium rare. the gratin composed of layers of cream and potato interlaced. the duck too was outstanding. crispy layers of skin encasing tender, melt in your mouth duck meat. it was the best dinner of the trip and i think we might have stumbled onto one for the most favourite dining places for the local expats of bali...next time, we will most definitely leave room for dessert! (pics aren't too good due to lighting so do head over to the website to check out the food images!)

kafe warisan
38 jalan raya kerobokan
banjar taman
(62) 0361 731 175
www.kafewarisan.com

4. gado gado

gado gado was the place of choice for dinner number two. it was a nice huge restaurant, located right on the beach. with the sounds of wave crashing in the background, dinner that evening was made up of freshly shucked australian oysters served on a bed of sea salt with a mirin soy dipping sauce, sea bream in a creamy milk sauce and tenderloin. the seafood was fresh and meat was tender but both g and i felt that after kafe warisan, the dining experience at gado gado managed a slightly above average nod. don't get this girl wrong, the food is good and service was warm but the overall package still somehow lacked a certain oomph in my book. i'd head back with good company just to enjoy a nice laid back meal on the sandy beach of seminyak.

gado gado
99 jalan abimanyu (dhyana pura)
seminyak
(62) 0361 736 9666

5. kudeta

guess this place needs no introduction, with everyone telling us that we had to head to kudeta. i do have to give it to kudeta for the exceptional chilled out posh vibe it exudes. think cafe del mar type music in the background, sea breeze constantly blowing and the sounds of crashing waves, kudeta really scores for ambience. slightly touristy...it didn't matter if one came in shorts and flip flops or dressed up in killer heels...all were welcomed to either enjoy a meal or kick back on the deck chairs at the beach front with a martini (or mojito!) in hand. having heard rave reviews about the desserts from the shop till you drop guidebook, g and i decided to skip the appies and head to the mains, just so that we had room for dessert. i thoroughly enjoyed the baby lobster linguini which was done al dente, with a generous portion of fresh lobster and little ripen tomoates, tossed in yummy basil and chilli. the basil truly added a new dimension to this version of the seafood pasta, giving it a slightly salty earthy touch, complementing the sweetness of the tomatoes and lobsters. g opted for the roasted beef fillet done medium rare after much consideration and was quite happy with the tender juicy meat with bits of marbling. the potato and goats cheese galette however could not rival the gratin at kafe warisan but in total the meat was good.

the desserts i guess were the prize winners at kudeta. i mean the food is good, but a tad pricey. desserts on the other hand were reasonably priced and were sensational! absolute must haves for creme brulees and creme caramel fans? the brulee tasting plate. four little dishes of pure heaven, brulee done in classic chocolate and vanilla, calvados apple and blueberry..g really was blown away with this, literally licking the dishes off just to savour every last bit. creamy but yet not too sweet, each bite filled the mouth with the richness of each flavour without masking any bit of the freshly made custard. i indulged in the sinfully rich dark valhorana chocolate souffle, served with a nice little mountain of chocolate mousse with a hazelnut bottom. extremely well done with a light and fluffy souffle encasing rich dark molten chocolate. truly worth bursting your diet for if you ask me!

ku de ta
9 jalan laksmana
seminyak bali
(62) 0361 736969
www.kudeta.net

other places worth checking out include some pampering at the everyday spa, yoga at the pranas (g's first lesson was here!), and of course shopping at all the surf outlets (especially the surfer girl outlet with factory outlet located right next to the everyday spa!)

piccies here!

everyday spa
jalan dewi sri
kuta bali
(62) 0361 763347

the prana spa
jalan kunti 118X seminyak bali
(62) 0361 730 840
www.thevillas.net