food / cooking / restaurants
If you are visiting the mountain town of Bedugul in Bali, you will probably be checking out the markets. Tucked away facing the car park behind the markets is this funky cafe called Eat, Drink, Love.
It is a good travellers rest place away from the pesky market sellers, ideal for a coffee break. Not sure if they did nay food, but it looks like the place best for drinks. There is a more relaxing area upstairs.
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Eat, Drink, Love | Jalan Candi Kuning -Bedugul, Bali
We came across Café´Smorgås while walking along the main road of Sanur, Bali, looking for somewhere for lunch. There were still a few people having a late breakfast, or dropping in for a coffee. We found out that Smörgås means sandwich in Swedish, and so was a great place to have a sandwich.
The wrap was full of healthy goodness.
Toasted focaccia bread sandwich
The kids were adequately entertained, using the paper and drawing supplies that were there.
This restaurant has been talked up for its quality food, and it didn’t disappoint. The dish above was a corn polenta with mushrooms, and it was amazing. Not quite what I was expecting, but much better! It was a baked dish, so it took some time to serve, but was absolutely worth it in the end, the texture was creamy, and the flavours even better.
The empanadas, were also really tasty. Deep fried with a fabulous flavourful filling. It was served with a lovely salsa which matched the flavours nicely. From memory I also think we got some complimentary bread on arrival, home baked and tasty verde salsa and butter as sides.
Ceviche, a classic south american raw fish dish. The flavours in this really hit you at first. It came as a cold soup, served with nice bread to soak it all up. Some tender fish (I forget the type), crunchy corn and red onion) and a super tangy (its made with lime juice) soup. You won’t forget this flavour any time soon, it works so well.
The setting is nice, it is located on Jalan Dewi Sita opening onto the busy street. There are only a few tables, so get in early or book a table to reserve your spot. The night we went it was very busy, and that was early days. The owner/chef was also very hospitable coming out to the tables to greet and talk to customers, a very nice touch.
Tempe Manis is one of our favourite meals from Bali. It can be part of a meal, or good enough to simply eat as a snack, delicious. This recipe is so simple and easy to make, you’ll be licking your fingers in no time!
Tempe Manis250g tempe, cut into small cubes or rectangles
2 shallots
2 garlic cloves
1 long red chili
1.5cm ginger root
3 Tbs kecap manis
1/2 tsp ground coriander seeds
40g of palm sugar (can use brown sugar)
50ml water
other ingredients that you can add in include:
kafir lime leaf, finely sliced
lemongrass, a whole bashed stick to release the flavour
galangal (possibly instead of the ginger, but it is not a common to find in some places)
a squeeze of lime juice
Method:
1. heat some oil and fry the tempe pieces until golden brown, set them aside on a paper towel
2. fry the onion, garlic, chili, ginger and coriander until soft
3. add the water, kecap manis, and sugar to taste, simmer until reduced by half
4. add the tempe back, mix together till the tempe is nicely glazed
The Blue Star Cafe and Bungalows, located along the shores of Jemeluk Bali in Amed, in the north-east of Bali. It is next door to Ombak Restaurant, sharing views over the bay. The restaurant is a step off the beach, and we took up half the place with my brother and his kids.
With 9 of us there, we tried a lot of different food. Starting with a mushroom bruschetta, which was a little like a pizza, having a sauce base, fresh tomato, champingons and melted cheese. The bread was more westernised than the usual sweet Asian style, and was very think sliced and filling.
The pizza was alright, personal sized, but a little heavy handed on the sauce. And only the cheese was melted, other ingredients were raw, including the onion.
The pasta marinara, was very tasty with a rich tomato sauce.
The chicken curry my brother ordered was very nice according to him, but he ordered it with potatoes instead of rice. Big mistake, as the potatoes were a creamy bake of some sort, so he had to order plain rice also, which just gave him more food than he could manage to eat!!
The sandwich was good, with nice bread as described above. All meals came with a small serve of pickled cucumber, carrot and pineapple. This was quite a refreshing addition to the meal.
The satay ikan lilit (minced fish with spices) was delicious. Best dish of the night. Tasty satay, served with my favourite urab vegetables (cooked with grated coconut). 
Not a bad night at this restaurant, however certain aspects were a little disappointing. The service was not at all friendly, which is unusual for Bali. Although the location is idyllic!
Warung Bali Balo is located on the busy Jl Raya Nyuh Kuning. There is a small amount of parking to the side of the entrance for a bike or car.
It is a cosy place, nestled into the front of a family compound. Budhi has good English and his mum (I think) does the cooking. The set up is actually quite thoughtful, even though it seems basic, there is some very nice art work on the walls.
There is the usual array of drinks, nothing out of the ordinary. We had some mango juice and a fresh coconut.
I wasn’t feeling that hungry, but the serves were substantial, and in the end I was totally full. We ordered steamed greens which came with a satay sauce. Although you can order a number of sauces with any of your meals, from satay, sambal, tomato, sweet chili, fresh spicy…
The pork sates were tender and the sauce was yummy.
A slight difference with lilit sate being served with the fried rice. Rob really enjoyed this rice dish, it was better than average. 
Ikan pepes, minced fish cooked in banana leaf, was a very decent serve, and also very tasty.
Cassava Rice (Tipat), which is plain rice cooked with small cubes of cassava, just for something different.
The food and service was all good, large serves for a very reasonable price. The setting is nice, although a bit noisy next to the busy road, but we’ll definitely come back again!
The ambiance of the ARMA café is very nice. It is the most causal of the eateries at the ARMA museum and hotel complex, situated road side on the bend in Jalan Raya Pengosekan.
Another dish which sounded great, but more closely matched our expectation was the lawar dish, a type of Balinese salad usually served on special occasions. This dish, Lawar Pakis Dan Papaya, was described with ‘fern and paw paw’. It came with minced chicken and grilled grated coconut, mixed with Balinese spices, and served with a large cracker. There was no sign of the paw paw? But the dish tasted lovely.
Bregedel jagung Dan kentang (corn and potato patties), these were also very average, lacking in any flavour at all. Even the kids didn’t like them!
Chicken wings; we asked for these not spicy as they were for our daughter Olive, but they were almost the spiciest dish we got! Olive was a trooper and ate them all up.
Clare’s main choice was Nasi campur bumbu desa, this dish came with saté ayam and saté lillit, vegetables, chicken with a coconut curry sauce, grilled tuna with Balinese sauce of matah, and rice. A very nice balanced and tasty meal. The best of the lot.
The restaurant is in a great location, has a very nice ambiance, but unfortunately the food was not up to scratch.
Cafe Garam is in Hotel Uyah Amed Spa & Resort, Amed, Abang, Bali. As we were driving through Amed this seemed like a pleasant place to stop. Once we saw the grass, the pool table and table tennis table, we knew the kids would like it here.
It had been too many days without a good coffee, so we were very glad to see they made a nice espresso coffee here.
The food was of very high quality, given the area it is in. There is not a lot of western or higher end options around Amed. The chicken wings were a good non-spicy option for the kids, with a lovely little salad on the side.
They have a rather unusual interpretation of bruschetta here, with the description not matching the product. On saying that the taste of the trio was quite nice. One was fried mushroom, one was basil pesto (a little dry), the last The bread was not the typical sweet white Asian bread, which was nice for a change!
A chicken and salad baguette, would have been great, if they hadn’t smothered it at both ends with mayonnaise. They seem to love mayo here in Bali, or they think that westerners love it??
Overall this was a nice experience, where the kids could play while waiting. They also discovered a giant chess set which occupied them for some time too. The food overall was very good, but maybe a few minor adjustments.
Location:
Near the start of the Amed strip along the coast. Paired with a lovely resort with lots of grassy space and ocean views.
There are a few small warungs with amazing views in the area of Penelokan, Kintamani, on top of the ridge overlooking Mount Agung. This one is in the most convenient location, right next to the parking spot with the view!
You can have drinks, or some small bites to eat, while you soak up the atmosphere of the stunning volcano. It is a breathtaking site to see the size of it, and witness where the lava has leaked down the mountain after an eruption.
The food was OK, however, the location is what makes it good. Our family just had hot chocolates (it was rather cool that high up), and fried bananas, but my brother and his kids tried the spring rolls, which were plentiful, mie goreng, and an omelette.
The service was friendly, but remember to take a light jumper or long sleeve shirt as it can get cold when the clouds roll over.
The Aloha Hawaiian Bistro is located at the beachfront, in front of Discovery Mall in Kuta. It is a fabulous location, with a great view of the sunset right on the beach. After an exhausting day at Waterbom park, which is across the road, it was a relaxing way to finish the day. Now I’ve never eaten Hawaiian food before, so I didn’t know what to expect.
The pulled pork dish came with rice a a nice side salad. However the meat dish itself was super salty type of stew, and the pork was a bit chewy compared to other pulled pork meat I have had in the past.
It was a pretty decent burger, with quality fries on the side. 
Chicken katsu type dish, which was again served with rice, but also an over creamy potato salad. The meat itself was so thin it was almost all batter!
This was a type of sushi, although it was called something else on the menu, nothing special.
Hawaiian fried rice – with pineapple of course. The interesting thing about this dish was the fried Spam that came on the side.Now this wasn’t the only dish with Spam in it, there were many that boasted this ingredient. I am not sure what is so great about a food that was eaten by those starving during the depression, or on a war-time mission, but it is not something that tickles my taste-buds at all. A big thumbs down for the Spam, even though the rice dish itself was OK!
We ordered a glass of milk for our child. They had no plain milk, only chocolate milk, and they had the audacity to charge us nearly $5 for one glass which came straight out of a carton worth about $1!
A dessert of milk, ice-cream and shaved flavoured ice on top… good enough as a main meal perhaps! It was enjoyed by the kids.
This place does not come recommended for food, only for the view and convenient location to Waterbom Park. Don’t go out of your way to get there!
