Bali, Indonesia - Part 1

I went to Bali with my best friend Tina last year in October, we planned to stay there for a week but one week is just not enough I say! Bali is one of those places that Australians love to go because it's relatively close and also cheap as chips. So I will be sharing some of my experiences and recommendations on Bali this week :)

Accomodation

We stayed at Amana Villas in Seminyak, which is a very tourist heavy place. We opted for a private villa, it came with a private swimming pool, daily breakfasts and your very own butler. Amana also offers a airport pick-up service for an extra fee so you don't get hassled by taxi drivers who will most likely rip you off if you don't know how to negotiate. The villa is simply gorgeous, immaculate, clean and beautifully decorated with dark woods and white tiles throughout. The service is tailored for your needs and likings but never intrusive. Our butler was very well informed and friendly, always called us by "Miss Tian" and "Miss Tina". The bathtub was filled with rose petals when we arrived, that would've been a nice surprise if we were a couple lol. The pool was so refreshing as the weather in Bali was very hot and humid. I was quite surprised at just how quiet and tranquil the villas were because if you walk 50m down the road to Seminyak, it's full of cars, bikes and noise pretty much 24/7. Seminyak is a good place to stay if you want to be close to everything, there are heaps of really funky bars, shops and restaurants around this area and it's also very close to the beaches. 

Food

My favourite topic! All the food we've eaten in Bali has been so delicious not to mention dirt cheap. After we took a dip in the pool we decided to go out and explore the streets and also get some light dinner (paddling around in the pool is hard work). We found this place called "Sambal Shrimp" on Oberoi St and thought we'd give it a try. The staff here were so friendly and they actually remembered us the next day when we walked past. We got their signature sambal shrimp and also a fried rice with shrimp paste grilled on lemongrass. I'm so glad that we chose this place because the food was heavenly, the shrimp was extremely fresh and bursting with flavour, it was moderately chilli probably due to the fact that it's mainly tourists that come here. The rice was fragrant with the smell of lemongrass, it wasn't too oily and was a nice accompaniment to the shrimp. The cocktails were also fantastic, I think all Tina drank on the trip was Mojitos. The total for food, drinks + tip: $10 AUD

We booked a Ubud tour with the villa and our tour guide took us to "Bebek Bengil" or "Dirty Duck Diner". Surrounded by rice patties it was a very pleasant place to relax and eat a slow lunch. They specialises in duck dishes so we got the duck in Balinese sauce and also some chicken satays. The duck was so tender and just melted in your mouth, a little spicy and very fragrant. Even though it was almost 40 degrees outside it was so cool inside the restaurant without fans, Balinese architecture is amazing.   

Across the road from Sambal Shrimp is "MAMA San", a very hipster looking joint that reminded me of places in Surry Hills. It's a fusion restaurant that combines various asian cuisines. The bar upstairs the dining hall is also very funky, they serve some of the best cocktails I've had. We ordered the buns ( I forgot what was actually in the buns..), Pork hock, Eggplants in chilli sauce, Mung bean cake with coconut ice cream, Black sticky rice with coconut cream. The pork hock was huge, we could not finish the whole thing. The dipping sauce was really nice though, the acidity from the vinegar and chillis really cut through the heaviness from the pork. The pork itself was crispy on the outside and fall off the bone tender on the inside. The eggplant was ok, I don't think it was anything spectacular. My dessert which was the black sticky rice was awesome, creamy and sweet, if I wasn't too full I would have finished all of it. The mung bean cake was a bit too dense for me though.  

The next place I'm going to talk about would have to be the coolest place I've been to..ever.
It's called "El Kabron", a Spanish tapas restaurant that is situated on top of a cliff overlooking the ocean. We went during lunchtime but it would be the coolest place to watch the sunset. There is a minimum spend if you want to sit near the pool but seriously, for this kind of view why not?  
The infinity pool is the coolest, you can rest at the edge and take in the magnificence of the ocean and horizon.
Not only is the view specatular, the food is also mouth-watering and authentic. We started off with a jug of sangria, Tortilla De Patatas (Potato and onion omelette, toasted bread drizzled with tomato & olive oil),
Croquetas De Marisco (Prawn and lobster croquettes), Almejas Al Vino Blanco (Fine clams deep steamed in a white wine sauce),
Crema Catalana ( Vanilla & cinnamon caramelised catalan cream) and
Sacher Chocolate Cake. The potato and onion omelette is surprisingly good, it's smooth and creamy with the texture of a potato cake. The clams were juicy and flavoursome, the toasted bread that sucked up all that juices were awesome. The Catalana cream was very similar to a creme brulee but with a hint of cinnamon, it was lighter than a brulee and not as sweet. The cake was what you'd expect a chocolate should taste like, rich and sweet with slightly bitter notes. This would be a must try if you're thinking of going to Bali, not just for the food but for the whole experience.


I had the best iced coffee at "Anomali Coffee", situated in Seminyak, it seemed like a cool place to relax and have a light lunch so we went in. The atmosphere is pretty cool, lounge music playing in the background and a lot of people around. We had the pho (Vietnamese beef noodle soup) and iced coffees. The pho was a little funny, having had quite a few in Sydney this one tasted like a tamrind based soup instead of beef broth.
The iced coffee was just amazing, the best I've had for sure.

To be continued...