PatrikB

New Member
Jul 28, 2012
17
0
1
I am in Bali from July for around 1 year long project. I tried to setup something which I can call a small home here - and the home is always connected with good food, at least in my case. During around my 1,5 month stay I visited many restaurants across all price levels- in Seminyak, Cangdu, Jimbaran, Sanur, E and N parts of Bali, but to be honest, did not find something really memorable or justifiable the price tag. I realized that Bali, in contrast to many other SAE countries, is not definitely gourmet destination (I did not expect Singapore, HK or Panang, but still had some expectations, however for the local people the good food is probably not so important and many "western" restaurants are far beyond the real western standards, for the price).

So we decided to cook by ourselves - food is our passion, so no problem. But I have problem with the ingredients and materials. I made many deep inspections in various shops and markets around and would like to ask the experienced where to buy (if they are available here) the following things which I miss:

A. Food

1. Root vegetable, which is essential for European cuisine - celery (did not find the root, just leafstalk of mediocre quality), parsley/parsnip (just found very pricey imported root in Deli Bali), carrot (found, but really nothing special), garlic - non Chinese origin (it has low level of garlic oil, so the taste is very weak)
2. Horseradish - found just imported one in Deli Bali, mouldy and around 4-5 more expensive than in the Europe
3. Sour cream - at least with 12-15 % of fat
4. Cream - at least with 30% of fat
5. Non grinded spices - juniper, allspice...
6. Good quality Italian olive oil - just found something of the supermarket quality, but really nothing exciting
7. Good quality Italian aceto balsamico - ditto olive oil
8. Peanut and sunflower oil - did not find, everywhere is just refined palm oil (uff) and from time to time canola or rice oil, or some horrible mixtures of everything
9. Flour (not rice) noodles
10. Flour - semolina, semi fine and coarse grained wheat flour
11. Gherkins
12. Speck
13. Fermented vinegar made from potatos (found just one made from corn)
14. Good dark chocolate (with at least 70% of cocoa) - found some, but overall just supermarket quality
15. Italian tomatoes purée and cut tomatoes - canned, made only from ripe tomatoes and eventually salt, found something but tasteless
16. Yeast - but not the dry one, but the "wet" one
17. Good quality pork, veal, lamb, duck and chicken
18. Fresh leaves and spices - basil, rosemary, parsley, sage, thyme, lovage, mint, oregano...found something, but variable quality and many times tasteless (obviously fast grown under glass)
19. Ice cream - made from real cream, sugar and vanilla (not any chemical mixtures of vegetable oil and aromas). Found just the mass producted Haagen Dasz, which can be called ice cream (well, I know), around 2x the price in Europe, but nothing else...

I was quite surprised with the beef selection (even for broth) and the availability of the real parmesan...even we found a quite good bakery with real bread ( slightly sour and salty, not sweet toasts :), so that's good.


B. Seafood
Where to buy fresh, or if possible, alive seafood (like in SG or HK) - is that available here or is here some good market? Found some seafood stalks, but mostly just with refrozen seafood declared as fresh...

C. Drinks
Big pain here...
Is it possible to buy somewhere good quality wine for reasonable price? I just found some Balinese, Australian or Chilean wines, but usually very basic quality, for the price 20-30 EUR per bottle or more, although in Europe such sort of wines would hardly be sold for 3-5 EUR.

The same with the spirits, common JW Black Label costs more than 50 EUR per 0,7l (normally around 20 EUR incl. all customs and VAT, which is very high in the Europe), Vodka Absolut around 50 EUR, normally around 15 EUR and so on. Are the taxes and customs here really so high so even the very basic alcohol is priced like middle class fine drinks? I did not find any really good quality spirits - like good grappa or so…

D. Import

How does it work if I would import some food and drinks from outside exclusively for my own consumption:
1. Personal import, just few bottles - at the airport, do I have to just go through clearance there and pay the duties and taxes - is that easy or complicated? What are the taxes?
2. Delivered via cargo - around 10-20 boxes (aprx. 100-200 bottles) , how it is in that case?
3. How does it work with import of food, again strictly for personal consumption?

Thanks a lot for all advice, this is a truly vital matter.

Patrik
 

Markit

Well-Known Member
Sep 3, 2007
9,317
1,110
113
Karangasem, Bali
Hi Patrik,

If as you say in your final sentence "this is a truly vital matter" then you, my gormet friend, are truly fecked!
 

sakumabali

Well-Known Member
Apr 2, 2010
1,056
185
63
Hi Patrik,

If as you say in your final sentence "this is a truly vital matter" then you, my gormet friend, are truly fecked!

:icon_smile: you will spend all day in the traffic Patrik going from shop to shop, paying soo much more money and in the end you'll end (same as us after years) frustrated in your neighbor warung, eating nasi goreng & drinking bintang...
 

PatrikB

New Member
Jul 28, 2012
17
0
1
Markit: own experience? :)

Sakumbali: I can survive with Bintang, not with nasi goreng - at least not now and I hope I will never have to...

But for sure there are people in Bali who like good food and I have already found some channels...so I am not so desperate as it may look from first post :) But you know, it is my first time in Bali so I came a bit unprepared, expected that Bali is more developed (and not just from material point, but also from personal perspective, but this is different story).
 

zoyra

Member
Jun 24, 2010
204
0
16
Bali
Food

I am in Bali from July for around 1 year long project. I tried to setup something which I can call a small home here - and the home is always connected with good food, at least in my case. During around my 1,5 month stay I visited many restaurants across all price levels- in Seminyak, Cangdu, Jimbaran, Sanur, E and N parts of Bali, but to be honest, did not find something really memorable or justifiable the price tag. I realized that Bali, in contrast to many other SAE countries, is not definitely gourmet destination (I did not expect Singapore, HK or Panang, but still had some expectations, however for the local people the good food is probably not so important and many "western" restaurants are far beyond the real western standards, for the price).

So we decided to cook by ourselves - food is our passion, so no problem. But I have problem with the ingredients and materials. I made many deep inspections in various shops and markets around and would like to ask the experienced where to buy (if they are available here) the following things which I miss:

A. Food

1. Root vegetable, which is essential for European cuisine - celery (did not find the root, just leafstalk of mediocre quality), parsley/parsnip (just found very pricey imported root in Deli Bali), carrot (found, but really nothing special), garlic - non Chinese origin (it has low level of garlic oil, so the taste is very weak)
2. Horseradish - found just imported one in Deli Bali, mouldy and around 4-5 more expensive than in the Europe
3. Sour cream - at least with 12-15 % of fat
4. Cream - at least with 30% of fat
5. Non grinded spices - juniper, allspice...
6. Good quality Italian olive oil - just found something of the supermarket quality, but really nothing exciting
7. Good quality Italian aceto balsamico - ditto olive oil
8. Peanut and sunflower oil - did not find, everywhere is just refined palm oil (uff) and from time to time canola or rice oil, or some horrible mixtures of everything
9. Flour (not rice) noodles
10. Flour - semolina, semi fine and coarse grained wheat flour
11. Gherkins
12. Speck
13. Fermented vinegar made from potatos (found just one made from corn)
14. Good dark chocolate (with at least 70% of cocoa) - found some, but overall just supermarket quality
15. Italian tomatoes purée and cut tomatoes - canned, made only from ripe tomatoes and eventually salt, found something but tasteless
16. Yeast - but not the dry one, but the "wet" one
17. Good quality pork, veal, lamb, duck and chicken
18. Fresh leaves and spices - basil, rosemary, parsley, sage, thyme, lovage, mint, oregano...found something, but variable quality and many times tasteless (obviously fast grown under glass)
19. Ice cream - made from real cream, sugar and vanilla (not any chemical mixtures of vegetable oil and aromas). Found just the mass producted Haagen Dasz, which can be called ice cream (well, I know), around 2x the price in Europe, but nothing else...

I was quite surprised with the beef selection (even for broth) and the availability of the real parmesan...even we found a quite good bakery with real bread ( slightly sour and salty, not sweet toasts :), so that's good.


B. Seafood
Where to buy fresh, or if possible, alive seafood (like in SG or HK) - is that available here or is here some good market? Found some seafood stalks, but mostly just with refrozen seafood declared as fresh...

C. Drinks
Big pain here...
Is it possible to buy somewhere good quality wine for reasonable price? I just found some Balinese, Australian or Chilean wines, but usually very basic quality, for the price 20-30 EUR per bottle or more, although in Europe such sort of wines would hardly be sold for 3-5 EUR.

The same with the spirits, common JW Black Label costs more than 50 EUR per 0,7l (normally around 20 EUR incl. all customs and VAT, which is very high in the Europe), Vodka Absolut around 50 EUR, normally around 15 EUR and so on. Are the taxes and customs here really so high so even the very basic alcohol is priced like middle class fine drinks? I did not find any really good quality spirits - like good grappa or so…

D. Import

How does it work if I would import some food and drinks from outside exclusively for my own consumption:
1. Personal import, just few bottles - at the airport, do I have to just go through clearance there and pay the duties and taxes - is that easy or complicated? What are the taxes?
2. Delivered via cargo - around 10-20 boxes (aprx. 100-200 bottles) , how it is in that case?
3. How does it work with import of food, again strictly for personal consumption?

Thanks a lot for all advice, this is a truly vital matter.

Patrik

Patrick, have you checked Ubud Deli at jalan raya Mas? Plenty of spices, allspice, coriander, juniper berries, black pepper etc - all non grinded. Also different brands of extra virgin olive oil, first cold pressed. If you can't find what you are looking for, the staff will try to get the products - if it is available in Indonesia. Hope this helps.
 

PatrikB

New Member
Jul 28, 2012
17
0
1
Zoyra, thanks for the tip - I was in Ubud for couple of days but did not check this shop (I had no idea that something like that would be there) -so I will try again :)
 

sakumabali

Well-Known Member
Apr 2, 2010
1,056
185
63
Hi Patrik,

it's a long long list, so I will pick just some...I started with a friend to grow vegetables in Bedugul, not for sell but for us & friends, we have some nice Java goats and we will start to make cheese there, my partner started to grow nice salad, tomato & other vegetables as well. He's the pro ;-)
We also make very good Salami, this I can say without getting red...
Import alcohol via airport without paying skyhigh taxes: more than 1-2 bottles / person - forget it. Indonesia has one of the highes taxes in the world and they are very strict. Hotels / Restaurants keep complaining every year that they can't compete with other tourist destinations in South-East Asia but government don't care. on the other hand government keep complaining about the low profit tourists who don't spend enough money. It's a mess. Anybody would call it a strategy? LOL
 

SHoggard

Member
Nov 28, 2011
738
3
16
Singapore
Hi Patrik,
Indonesia has one of the highes taxes in the world and they are very strict.

Let's not loose sight of the fact's here, Indonesia is:
  • A developing country - I used to pay those prices for wine in Singapore till recently (5-6 yrs)
  • A muslim country, outside Bali, - be thankful the project isn't in Saudi Arabia

But on the up-side 'fresh' spices are plentiful in the pasars all over

The trick is learning to adapt to nasi goreing - after all we're not in Kansas anymore toto ;)
 
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Markit

Well-Known Member
Sep 3, 2007
9,317
1,110
113
Karangasem, Bali
Stupid question perhaps but if you require all these things for a "good life" why do you want to spend it in Bali? I mean if they are that important to you and your well being why don't you go where they are readily available?

Funny thing is objectively I would love most of the things on your list but having done without for some time I've found them not to be really very important after all - maybe if you spent some time learning to love Nasi Goreng and all its permutations you would be happier than trying to form the Balinese world to your "needs" and doing unhappily without most of them?
 

chris44

Member
Oct 28, 2010
98
0
6
Bali, Nusa Dua
www.deluxespas.ch
hi patrik, i think you wrote me email yes? Yes you correct all expensive here and hard to get. But if you need pork usus or good high quality sausage skin from germany you need to invest lot of money and nervs. I have Speck, Endiviensalad, Kardamon, Rettich, Tomatos, Salami,,all type of sausage you like (mainly heheh) I have joghurt and soon cause we bought our own goat, milk from goat and goat cheese. I still work on other milk products but hard to get any good milk here. greenfield, diamond, and indomilk is not real milk, you can not make cheese from it, they put something inside wich "is something" but not milk..
greetings chris
 

chris44

Member
Oct 28, 2010
98
0
6
Bali, Nusa Dua
www.deluxespas.ch
hi markit, i think you are wrong..the turkish guys as well formed germany towards a smal turkish country and we all love the döner and all variations..so why germans or europeans can not turn bali into littly europe from food point only1 would be fair enough chris
 

Markit

Well-Known Member
Sep 3, 2007
9,317
1,110
113
Karangasem, Bali
Hey Chris,

I would agree with you but for one thing: You will not find a Doener in all of Turkey like you find in Germany (excepting the tourist areas - for the touris...). Just like most other "Ethnic" foods they are almost unrecognizable to the ethnics they are supposed to be like. For example, check out a chinese restaurant in any country and then go to China or Mexican in Texas, Greek in Germany. My point being that all these types of food conform to the culture (dare I say, learn from?) they are in - the only exceptions are the big multis McD, BugerKing, PizzaHut, etc. But that's not food anyway is it?

Ich würde mit dir einverstanden sei, ausser für eine Sache: du findest nicht ein Doener in der gesamten Türkei, wie Sie in Deutschland (mit Ausnahme der touristischen Gebieten - für die Touris ...) zu finden ist. Genau wie die meisten anderen "Ethnic" Essensarten sind sie fast unkenntlich zu den "Ethnic" die sie anlisch sein wollen. Zum Beispiel, gehe mal essen in ein chinesisches Restaurant in jedem Land und gehen Sie dann nach China oder Mexiko in Texas, Griechisch in Deutschland. Mein Punkt ist, dass alle diese Arten von Essen sind verendert von den Kultur (ich wage zu sagen, lernen?) wo sie sich befinden - die einzigen Ausnahmen sind die großen Multis McD, BugerKing, PizzaHut, etc. Aber das ist sowieso kein Essen oder? Etchuldigt mein beschissenes Deutsch, bin lang aus der uebung. Mann versteht sich trotz der sprache oder?
 

sakumabali

Well-Known Member
Apr 2, 2010
1,056
185
63
Hey Markit, du sprichst ja deutsch! Respect...well I'm with you that all types of food conform to the culture they are in, the restaurant owners do this mostly to succeed & find customers in the beginning but in the 2nd / 3rd generation these restaurant owners are already half german / half (please insert whatever you like). Mexican food in Mexico is adorable, mexican Food in all the other countries (USA is an exception) is just ok at best. Do you know that the Döner has been invented in Berlin, Germany?
When these Turkish migrants went back to their villages to spend their hard earned money they wanted to eat a Döner there too...

BTW missus just really laughing about your "I'm God" subtitle
 
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Markit

Well-Known Member
Sep 3, 2007
9,317
1,110
113
Karangasem, Bali
Ich freue mich ein bischen heiterkeit in die welt gebracht zu haben.

Glad you enjoyed it.

Yeah I had heard that the Doener wasn't from Turkey. Had also heard that the Pizza was from New York - not sure about that either and don't want the Sicilian Mafia after me so pretend I didn't write that.

I kinda go with the flow that we are all Gods in our own little universe, population 1.
 

Success.Bali

New Member
Jun 26, 2010
21
0
1
72
Buruan, Blahbatuh, Bali
www.ici-bali.com
Dear God Markit,
You always bring Heiterkeit into this world of population 1, I am so grateful for this. That's my true view of it!
Have you ever got into trouble telling your truth? But then, being God, there is only your truth. :)

Greetings from Angel Lucifer
 

Markit

Well-Known Member
Sep 3, 2007
9,317
1,110
113
Karangasem, Bali
Wow Angel,
Just what every God needs - an acolyte (follower, groupie, etc). Can you clean a car? Cook?

I've never, knowingly, been out of trouble and that's the truth!

Nice to hear from you Angel
 

tintin

Well-Known Member
Sep 13, 2005
2,305
34
48
23
Boston, MA, USA
Hey Chris,

My point being that all these types of food conform to the culture (dare I say, learn from?) they are in - the only exceptions are the big multis McD, BugerKing, PizzaHut, etc.

I beg to differ with your "exceptions," at least with the Macdo. When in Paris, I usually go for bft to the local Macdo for excellent (and cheap) croissants and espresso: nothing to compare with the s**t sold in Boston --> obviously they learned.:icon_cool:
 

Markit

Well-Known Member
Sep 3, 2007
9,317
1,110
113
Karangasem, Bali
You are absolutely right Tin tin - here in Bali the McBarfs sell KFC chicken with dry white rice. They do offer some alternatives to fit the local tastes but funnily enough even in a Hindu land (India and Bali) their main menu choices are still beef burgers...? Which surprise, surprise they sell truckloads of.
 

Markit

Well-Known Member
Sep 3, 2007
9,317
1,110
113
Karangasem, Bali
Haha Matsaleh what you been doin? That was days ago.

Hangin out at the local resto drinking Binis and eatin steaks - I vote the next Expat get together is at yours and we can all crash at your homi - what do you say?

Group deal? Maybe a day out at the prison for fun? Throw toms at the druggies. haha