Bali Expat Forum - Bali Travel Forum

Hi all,

I'd like to ask as many of you as possible for your view on this (hence posting it in a forum - ok so i stated the obvious)... Anyhow, I was wondering, if you were asked if there was any one type of restaurant that u thought bali was lacking (that there's likely an ok customer base for), would u say 'yes there is'? and if so, what type of place would that be?

my brother in law (living in jakarta) has a grand vision to open a restaurant in bali (i think jakarta's a better market myself), and he's asking me if i'd be interested in going in with him... my answer has been 'no' to date.. the skeptic that i am, tells me that there's not a lot of untapped market capacity in bali - i.e. whatever you want u can pretty much get, and if u can't there's probably a justified reason.. (though it is hard to find fish & chips there - wonder why that is...).. In any case, i think bali is jam packed full of good eats and i think it's pretty competitive (especially since you don't just have to out-do locals who may not have a good grip on western cuisine - there are tons of westerners running great restaurants too)..

anyhow, your thoughts would be appreciated..

ct

Burger King

Hahahahahahaha

What no Burger King?

That's it the move to Bali is off!

Just kidding..............

Though some thonk it's the same, give me Hungry Jack's any day of the week and twice on Sunday.. But something funny about indo, they're not burger eaters.. You really screw things up in macdonalds when u order a burger, they are expectin just to serve fried chicken and rice (I must say their fried chicken is unbelievably good).. If u order a burger in indo at macdomalds, it takes like 20 mins, coz so few people order them.. May work for westerners I guess..

Remember... "The burgers are better at Hungry Jack's"... mmm, I miss home (aust that is), no hj's here..

Ct

gross gross gross. I worked at HJ's for a while as a teenager. Cured me for life.

The weirdest thing is that when I was living in Indonesia, when I had to travel back to Perth for business, I would just about always have a Macca's at the airport in Bali. It was disgusting, I don't know why I did it. But I did it at least 3 times. I never normally eat that stuff.

On the restaurant business idea - I agree that probably most cuisine's are already catered for. Success is more likely to be found by researching location and potential clientele. i.e. is there a part of Bali that needs a good restaurant and doesn't have one? Who would be the clientele?

Tourists are obviously well catered for, but one thing that is self-evident is that more people seem to be buying homes in Bali these days. What about that market? I haven't been around the areas that are being targetted by the villa developments, but maybe there is an opportunity to open a good restaurant/bar in one of those areas?

Does you brother-in-law have any experience in the restaurant business? It has some pretty skinny margins....

thanks freogirl... some very interesting points... (i still wish i could get my hands on just 1 bdcbd (bacon double cheeseburger delux) - hold the ketchup...

only experience from an investment / owner perspective, but not managing one.. you're right, margins can be thin...

ct

For the non-aussies, Burger King = Hungry Jack

BaliLife wrote:(i still wish i could get my hands on just 1 bdcbd (bacon double cheeseburger delux) - hold the ketchup...

ct

There goes the diet

Bert wrote:For the non-aussies, Burger King = Hungry Jack

There is also Burger King in Australia. Hungry Jacks started in Western Australia, and has some stores on the Eastern seaboard - but yes, it's essentially BK. They have a whopper.

yeh, i lived in sydney for 2yrs... bk did not impress me.. i craved hj's all the time..

ct

Balilife,
Restaurant business in general takes alot of works, so you have to enjoy working in food business. Be prepared to not make profit in your first 2 years. I could be wrong, but don't think there's a tax break in Indonesia for that potential 2 loss years.

If I do it, I would open up a take-home style cafe in Kuta -- just a "hole in the wall" and put up benches with tables instead of full service table settings. It keeps your up front capital and overhead cost low. I would target mainly the tourists. The candidate list below can be done for breakfast and/or lunch only, so that you can have a family life in the evening.

1) Japanese bento box.
2) Fish chips, and be ready to offer rice and sambal.
3) Donuts and coffee.
4) Take out Chinese barbeque (pork, roast duck, chicken, etc).
5) Not too sure about a burger joint. I think Indonesian tend to eat their burgers from the MickeyD's of the world.

If you decide to open one, let us know. We'll try your food

/hh

I can remember there used to be a Burger King on Jalan Legian in Kuta more or less where the current McDonalds is now next to the closed Matahari, but that was way back in 1992 when I was on my first trip as a 12 year old whippasnappa. Not a patch on HJ's but close enough. Whopper with cheese and the WC Eagles on the TV (hopefully thrashing the dockers).....will cure homesickness anywhere in the world!

I like your idea Balibaba - included in the menu, how about Nasi Bunkus for tourists - wrap up some rice, tempe, veges, chicken, sambal in some brown paper and sell it for higher than the usual rate - a lot of tourists are scared to try real nasi bunkus because of health concerns, but might pay a bit more if there is some visibility on hygiene etc.

thanks balibaba.. some good ideas there...

adam, when i was a student, we used to go to every wc home game at subi (standing section - all we could afford), and always sneak in a huge feed of hj's (coz they take it off u at the gates, at least they used to)... ah... those were the days... i can still taste the mayo drippin down over the raw onion in the whopper onto that flame grilled pattie... and even when i forgot to order my whopper minus ketchup, the mayo would mix with it and make it oh so good... u put raw onion on a burger in north america and you'll get sued.. bunch of nancies...

ct (homesick and hungry:()

Balilife, westcoast vs bulldogs 2nite, so whoppers for tea - standard ritual. Hold the onion but, I hate that vegie in any form.

Freogirl, I think your idea about nasi bunkus is spot on - most people are scared to eat it (I used to be too!) for fear of getting crook but the flavour is streets ahead of what you can pay a small fortune for in the restaurants. The same could apply for Padang food. I used to be scared stiff about eating it - just sitting there with no refrigeration and all, but am well and truly over the phobia now and have never been crook. Rendang is divine.......though most tourists walk past Padang warungs as if they'll catch cancer or something. If they were brave enough to try it, they might be surprised.

I reckon a lot of tourists walk past nasi warungs and padangs not realising what they are. They are often a bit hidden down an alley or behind an awning.

Put it out in front of them, tell them they are getting 'authentic Balinese take-away' and they will go for it. Make it nice and clean, keep the food looking fresh. Market the 'authentic' factor and charge a bit more for the extra effort.

And sell cold beer and soft-drinks with it. Nothing like a cold bintang with a nasi bunkus.