bali – Page 2 – Cooking Masterclass

ARMA Thai Restaurant Review

ARMA Thai is located at the enormous ARMA Resort and Spa on Jl Pengosekan. The entry to the Thai restaurant is off the side street…? There is a sprawling dining area, which begins indoors, and then branches to an outdoor area, and the extends further to small romantic tables near the creek running through. The ambiance was lovely.

There are many drinks on offer, and to add the pleasure there was a free appetizer, of spiced pumpkin soup to enjoy while having your drink.

One of our entree’s was rolled eggplant. This was delicious and nicely spicy, with some fancy rolled carrot to garnish.

For mains we ordered a stir fried chicken dish, and a red curry. The chicken was battered, and the curry was amazing!

Mingle, Ubud

A well ranked restaurant in the Ubud area, so we thought we would check it out. It’s on Jalan Dewi Sita.

We started with a tasting plate, a great way to sample a few different Balinese dishes. IT included spring rolls, satay sticks, bregedel (corn and potato fritters), served with a tasty chili sauce.

Clare’s choice was a caesar salad with chicken, to get some western variety that we miss. It was a very good quality caesar, and I am usually very fussy with them.

The pesto pasta was very nice. It is surprising that many restaurants in Ubud struggle to do such a simple dish like pasta. The garlic bread did not match the quality of the pasta, again that is something that has rarely been mastered by the Balinese chefs.

Mingle is a very nice place for a drink and to watch the busy street below. There are two levels to dine at, and we chose upstairs to avoid the noise of the street. The atmosphere was really relaxing and the staff were very friendly.

Warung Pojok, Nyuh Kuning, Bali

Warung Pojok is a small restaurant in the centre of the village of Nyuh Kuning, opposite the football field. It is our favourite local restaurant.

We go regularly to this restaurant, so have tried most of the items on the menu. Takeaway is also an option if you need it.

Most times (for Rob) the meal starts with a serving of lumpia (spring rolls). Their satay peanut sauce is one of the best in Ubud, nice and thick.

The special fried rice which comes with a fried egg and sate ayam (chicken on a stick) is a favourite with the kids, as long as we can communicate that we don’t want it spicy! They know us well enough now, to know what we want!

This dish does not look very appetising at all, but it is actually quite delicious. It is fried egg/omelette with vegetables and tofu, and satay sauce on top.

Not sure what this meal is, maybe chicken with a balinese sauce. The tower of rice is symbolic though, with the uppermost part being reserved for the oldest member of the family!

Other meals we regularly order are: Mie goreng (fried noodles), cap cay (stir fried vegetables), fried rice with cap cay on top (Clare’s favourite), satay chicken, fried chicken.

Whatever you choose, it is the best value in the village at around $2-3 per meal. The food is always fresh and tasty. I would not make a special trip to Nyuh Kuning to eat here, but if you are staying nearby it is definitely worth coming for a meal or two.

Cafe Teras Lempuna, Bedugul Bali

The Cafe Teras Lempuna (Teras means terrace). A lovely English garden that could only be located in the cooler climes of the hills of Bali. Near lake Batur.

Café Teras, Bedugul

Rob was very excited to see onkonimyaki on the menu, his favourite Japanese dish, and it was a very good one too by western standards.

A club sandwich, the usual quality, presented nicely.

It was soup weather, but the spicy tomato soup really wasn’t spicy at all, which was rather disappointing! It was also tea weather, so I indulged in a pot.

Café Teras, Bedugul

The cafe must attract many Japanese tourists as there was also katsu don on the menu, which is a fried meat and egg style omlette with a sweet soy sauce on top of rice.

This is a good place to stop for lunch if travelling to or through Bedugul, in the north of Bali. You don’t get the lake view that many of the other lunch stops may have but the quality I think would be better here, plus it has some western choices.

Ombak Restaurant Jemuluk Bay

Warung Ombak is located at the end of Jemuluk Bay, next door to the blue star hotel, in the area of Amed in the north of Bali. It is a basic warung, but we were attracted to it’s view of the ocean, and it was just next door to where we were staying at Villa Coral.

Being by the sea, fish dishes seemed like a good idea. Rob started with fish cakes, then ikan pepes, fresh fish wrapped in banana leaf.

The kids were keen to try the chicken nuggets, even though we have had bad experiences with them recently. Thankfully they were not the processed type, but pieces of real chicken battered.

Clare went with an interesting soup, coconut and carrot, with a salad too. It was soup was not in a coconut cream base, but it actually had bits of coconut in the soup. It worked well.

Then there was grilled chicken and chips.

And some more fish. The only fish available was Mahi Mahi, as we found every day we were in this area.

It was a risk ordering pizza at an Indonesian Warung at the beach, but this wasn’t so bad. It was packed high with an unusual mix of ingredients. You would struggle to really call it a pizza.

We liked it!

Warung Saya, Ubud

Warung Saya on Jl Goutama in Ubud is one of our favourite places to eat. It is tiny and exclusive little venue nestled between a villa (and currently a construction site). There are only two tables, possibly three, but only if it’s not raining. It is highly recommend that you book, as this place is booked up for at least a week in advance. It is that good.

The menu varies each night, having different choices each day of the week, but only limited choices. There are only three options each night, one Indonesian, one Indian and one Thai choice. Sometimes one of these is a vegetarian choice but not every night. Of all the meals we have had (2 choices on two different nights), they have been excellent quality meals.

Unfortunately we only have one picture of the dishes, which does not give justice to the place. Pictured is Badal Jaam (Indian) eggplant with tomato, creamy yoghurt, a huge entrée size meal. This had amazing depth of flavour being an Indian style curry.

On this night on the menu was Ayam Kecap (Indonesian) – chicken with soybean sauce, and Gaeag Gari Chicken (Thai) – coconut chicken curry with basil.

The chef is a highly charismatic fellow, with a very relaxed attitude. He cooks for the love of it, and loves what he does. He runs the whole show on his own, as he wants the quality of the food and service to be of his very high standard. Not sure how long he will be in the same location as last time we dined there (November 2014) he was talking about moving to a new place. You will not be disappointed with any meal here!

Hotel Komune Beach Club, Keramas

Hotel Komune’s Beach Club provides a Bali experience like no other. The heart of the place is the sensational pool, surrounded in a semi-circle of day beds. You have to get there early or you will miss out as we did, and had to wait for a space to become available. Once you settle in though it’s all luxury. You can swim, order food, drink beers, whatever you like, and for as long as you like.

There is no entry fee (as there is at some other beach side restaurants), however you are not allowed to bring in food or drinks from outside, and there is really nowhere else to go to eat or drink, as it is a fairly isolated spot! So you must eat and drink here.

There is a restaurant you can go to if you want to eat at a table, which has a different menu to the day-beds around the pool which provides mostly bar snack options. We ate at the restaurant – while we were waiting for a day-bed – and the food was top quality. We also enjoyed a beer or two when we were back at the pool!

The roast vegetable salad with feta was delicious, and the dressing to die for.

A great quality burger with the best crinkle cut chips I have eaten on the island.

Even the toasted ham and cheese sandwich was served with really nice bread and good quality cheese, none of the plastic rubbish you can often get. …and more chips served with gravy! Yumm.

The Keramas surf break is apparently one of the best on the island, and is a popular spot for surfers and group surfing trips. The beach creates a stunning backdrop for drinks, food, swimming and fun. Even though the surf was rough, the kids still enjoyed playing in the black sand. There is also a large grassy area on the other side of the restaurant, which on the day we were there, had a giant blow-up jumpy castle set up for a kids party! A great space. This was a great day out!

D’Star Bar and Restaurant, Mas Ubud

D’Star restaurant and bar is located in Mas, about 5 minutes drive south of Ubud.

We went as it was Rob’s birthday. But there was another reason dragging us there… an online promotion through facebook. They have been quite marketing savvy in the aim to attract customers, and it worked!

The atmosphere was stunning, with a fabulous grassy area for kids to run around. There was a band playing some nice tunes, and an eclectic mix of metal artwork on display (some for sale), and fish ponds, and other nic-nacs. There was a kid’s corner which the kids discovered later in the evening after a lot of outdoor play.

We ordered some cocktails for the birthday celebration, and milkshakes for the kids. Casper enjoyed his share in a tea-cup!

We ordered pizza for the kids, which was very nice.

Rob ordered the following, but we can’t recall what it was ?? A sliced beef roll with some yummy chips.

…and a hot dog! Jetson obviously enjoyed this one.

The hospitality was absolutely wonderful. After chatting to the owner, I happened to mention that it was Rob’s birthday, so they thoughtfully brought over a piece of cake with a candle in it for Rob. It didn’t stop there either, the owner then ordered a drink from the bar, a spirit of some sort, plus a gorgeous wine for Clare.

A great experience on all accounts! We totally recommend this place.

Location: Jl. Raya Mas, Abianseka, Ubud, Bali, Indonesia
Web: www.dstarmas.com

Munchies Warung Ubud Review

This place is on the corner of Jalan Raya Ubud, and the street that we stayed on 3 years ago. Just west of town. We chose it today sa there was a large cremation ceremony of a member of the Balinese Royal family. So it was a sight to see the procession as it made its way along the street to the site of the burning.

I am not sure what the theme is supposed to be, its called Munchies and the sign is a rainbow coloured surfboard.

For drinks we had a Sangria, made from rice wine and fruit juices. The taste was very sweet, and rather palatable. With no power due to the parade there were no mixed juices, so Clare had a diet soft drink.

Rob’s standard Lumpia, were good, nothing fabulous, but tasty. Rob’s main meal was steamed minced chicken with spices, sambal matah with rice. A very tasty dish

The beef Randang was average. The meat was tender but there was not enough depth of flavour in the sauce and there was not enough sauce. It was served with sayer urab, the vegetable and coconut

Sangria

The Pirate’s Bay

This restaurant in Nusa Dua, could be called a playground as well. Right on the beach front nestled among the 5-star resorts, is a life-size pirate ship for little ones to play on. There are also swings, climbing apparatus, tight rope walks, and other organised activities. We didn’t see any the day we went possibly because there was a kid’s birthday party on, which seems like a good location for one!

There are many tables and shelters to sit at, as well as several tree-house spots to have your drinks or lunch. These are pretty groovy as you are quite high off the ground, some are two-storeys, however it is a little inconvenient having to climb up and down each time the kids want to go off to play! So we chose a low level shelter. It costs 50,000 IDR entry unless you buy drinks or lunch when you are there.

We all ordered the Pirate burgers with chips plus one club sandwich. The club sandwich was very good, but the burgers all came out raw in the middle. After sending them back to cook them properly, they tasted quite good with a good quality meat pattie which is sometimes hard to find in Bali. The accompanying chips were also pretty good. One of our burgers was ordered with a rendang sauce (for 70c extra) which was a nice Asian touch to a western meal. Food is reasonably priced but not cheap. This is compared to the fancy places next door. The beer though was more expensive than elsewhere.

You can head off to swim in the mellow waters of the bay in front of the place at any time, which we did or to visit the two islands (dua nusa) which have small temples and statues. After which you have access to toilet and shower facilities for a rinse off.

It was a pretty good day out, in that you can relax, eat, swim, drink, rest and take all day to do it! The kids loved it because there was sand and a pirate ship! What more do you need. The only downside is there is no pool, which would have been an added bonus, as it was quite a hot environment unless you’re in the ocean.

Location:

This place is not easy to find. We followed our google maps, and made it there with a few wrong turns at the end. Head to the Theatre or The Bay Hotel, and it is on the beach near there.