Bali Expat Forum - Bali Travel Forum

What is lacking sadly is more choice of Indonesian food in the mid range restaurants. Warungs serve great noodles, rice, sate, a bit if chicken in a curry, the more specialist places like Ketupat and Bumbu Bali serve a feast for a price, but the tourist restaurants now focus on (albiet good) bistro / western food and so apart from the predictable nasi, sate, chap chay, gado gado and the occassional mediocre rijstaffel it's not often I can say,
"you get GREAT Balinese food when you holiday in Bali."

Hi all,

New to this forum but would like to contribute my 2 cents on the topic. Whenever I am in Bali, we always like to try local food. But sadly we didn't find too many authentic local cuisines - especially in the Ubud area where we usually stay - with decent pricing and clean premise. We love the Nasi Ayam Kedewatan...Babi Guling Ibu Oka is also very nice but the premise is a bit off putting.

I'd be the first customer in if there was a Warung Made type of restaurant around Ubud...

I think that's what missing in Bali cuisine. When we went to Thai resort islands (Phuket, Koh Samui and Krabi), there were tons of decently priced and clean Thai restaurants - restaurants in Bali typically cater (and is priced) for tourists. I don't about you, but we'd go and try local food whenever we travel.

Cheers.

adam... firstly, i hate you... am red with envy (and it's 1.40am here)...

secondly... this is all great feedback and most importantly, nothing like my brother in law had in mind.. this is a good indication that his idea might not tempt too many out there.. thanks all..

adam... i still hate ya..

ct

Here's another idea - take a leaf out of the book of the Ashtari coffee house in Kuta Lombok.
Food - sandwiches (on real bread or focaccia), fantastic big salad, great coffee, home made cake - nothing too fancy. Not local cuisine, but also not the sort of thing you can get in that area - done nicely - either.

Always people in there, even when every other place in the area is struggling for guests. Why? It has an amazing view. The style of the place is very casual - lots of big scatter cushions, magazines, board games etc to encourage people to hang about (and order another bite to eat/coffee etc).

Only open for breakfast through to late lunch - closes at sunset as they don't have electricity lighting (you need to see the location to work out why).

The point being they offer something that no-one else offers, and it's not neccesarily the food (although it's the best salad I can get in Lombok outside my own kitchen).

very true.. it obviously doesn't have to be top quality food to make it big in indo... look at bon cafe... the steak is like an old shoe and the other 'western food' is barely edible.. but they're huge in java..

ct

How about something like Subway? U can use bread rolls or pitta type bread with choices of meats and healthy salads. I love them. Mhh and curried egg with lettuce.

good gas material:)

ct

OK, since i like mexican food, whatabout a real nice Burrito/Taco Place, with rice (indo rice) guacamole, salsa, steak/chicken/fish etc or whatever. make it like King Taco, (LA taco joints/Famous) since indonesia like to wrap it in a bungkus, this one is a wrap that you can eat. burritos/tacos will be love by the indonesian and tourist in Bali. come on, they eat rice. make it with indo spice/sambal. not like the gyros/kebab/etc feels empty in the belly.

mexican food use spice, we could make it indo-mexi style spice.. hehehe fresh Local Produce. ie, Spicy beefSteak with nasi goreng Burrito instead of spanish rice. Chicken Satay Quesadilla, Gado2 + Beans Veggy Burrito etc. ALL With Local Sambal.. hehehehe.. Damn Hot !
have the restaurant stall just like East LA style' Corazon.
Most Mexican restaurant that served burritos/tacos they do it Gourmet/Restaurant/Culinary arts Style. Orale'. We want it the Real Mexicana Mericana foods, fresh tortillas, not the tex mex !!
It could be a small food joint like warung, nothing fancy, cheap burritos. painted it white with mexican gothics typo say "Legian Locos Burritos" or whatever that sound mexican. have a catchy happy fast mariachi songs all day long. waiters is all tattoed/goatties, hair nets/bandana/beanie, surfers tan, dress in white XL shirts/checkered, Cut Shortys, Long white Socks, and a White oldskool Nike, SO Fashionable huh.. OG style.. hahahahaha

Sorry, cant find any good burritos in Bali yet, well. at least soho, etc cure me a bit. but they;re pricey. this is just my idea and dream if there is a burrito/taco joint in bali. tourist, local, surfer, mexicans, brasilians, americans, everybody would love it.

..Oh No.. i Miss LA..

Hi frozzty,

See my problem is... I hate mexican food.. Well I should re-phrase, I hate the mexican food we're all given and I don't know enough about true mexican food to comment.. The only exception to me is Rio Grande is reston, va.. All other mexican food seems to come under what I'd call tasteless crap.. Again, I stress, that authentic mexican food (of which I've read a bit about) is vastly different to the tex-mex crap that's spread around the globe.. For me, I could only be involved in a style of cuisine I'm passionate about.. Ie. Italian, french, etc (even though I know that limits ones self, I think u need to have passion for what u serve)..

Ct

True to that BaliLife, i assumed Canada dont have a good tavo place, well first i dare to try mexican food, but its good. i think that's my passion, the urge to have a great burritos/tacos,
how about this, IHOP (international house of pancakes) 24 hour dinner, Bfast,lunch,dinner n supper. pancakes for supper, steak n egg for bfast, open one in kuta, the big pond with lots of big fish dunno what to eat locally, or jakarta people who like to try real american diner.
buy the franchise, its less risky than start to open a new error/trial dining place, but it cost bit pricey with the franchise etc, and i dont see any IHOP except in Japan. I havent traveled to Australia, some say they have IHOP down under..
well, i only suggest what my deep passion is about, hhehehe

I don't think ihop is in australia, and with a bit of luck it will never get there..

IHOP - "SPREADING OBESITY ACROSS THE GLOBE"

Ct

frozzty wrote:, IHOP (international house of pancakes) 24 hour dinner, Bfast,lunch,dinner n supper. pancakes for supper, steak n egg for bfast, open one in kuta, the big pond with lots of big fish dunno what to eat locally, or jakarta people who like to try real american diner.

the concept of a Real American Diner frightens me.
Already there are restaurants opening up where the sheer size of the meals makes me uneasy.
and queasy

G'day Bolli

Know what you mean...

Leroy Leroi in the Bali Advertiser says it better than anyone I've ever read...

http://www.baliadvertiser.biz/articles/ ... iants.html

> BaliLife ... so theres no ihop down under, great!!. that mean i have to enjoy it back in LA.. hehehe. as i have not been to australia before.
well, i think ihop is just a memory away, breakfast before school back in my college days after all night no sleep work fo at school. Obesity part, we're all grown up and educated enough to know or decide what to eat, and eat responsibly. rite..

> Bolli.. where r u from? its just my childhood/local eateries or any other people who lived in the state. some of us do love the concept of diner, its an american warung. well by american standard. some dont, some like it healthy some like it tasty.

As for Warungs in Bali, i think its at it best already.. no more changes please, go hunt deep in the village, or streets in denpasar, even in kuta etc. Cheap, good food, taste good, and friendly ibu/bapak serving your nasi bungkus/campur. And even some Warung open late, for the latenite supper. i could give you names n directions of warungs that i usually get my bungkus, but if you guys insist or like it HOT HOT HOT..

Sorry, my thread went to warungs,.. hehehe

Just a thought.

A Greek Kebab shop around the night club areas say near MBarGo, Apache, the Bounty or any others in Kuta.

The Aussies just love greasy lamb kebabs after a night on the turps.

Not the kebabs on the sticks but the ones rolled up in pita bread with lamb, pork, beef or chicken with lettuce, tomato, onion, with chilli and garlic sauce.

It should open around 11pm and shut when the clubs close.

lozza wrote: ...Just a thought.
A Greek Kebab shop around the night club areas say near MBarGo, Apache, the Bounty or any others in Kuta....

I can only hope that this type of eatery NEVER opens up in Kuta, or anywhere else in Bali, for that matter. With any luck, the McDonalds, KFC, Pizza Hut and all the other fast-food outlets could disappear as well. I hate the thought that Bali will become so western and commercialised that it's just an extension of USA or OZ!

Ubud has the right idea... no American-style fast-food joints to be found there. Thankfully, the banjars won't approve development applications for this type of enterprise in the Ubud environs.