Bali 1 - Rural Charms

Unlike the other parts of predominantly Muslim Indonesia, the people from the island of Bali are mainly of the Hindu religion. Balinese food therefore range from a mixture of seafood such as fresh fish, crab, shellfish either char-grilled or stewed with local herbs into delicious curries  to a legendary local favourite – Babi Guling, a whole suckling pig spit-roasted and served with rice and a fragrant concoction of long beans and shaved coconut.

The initial days of my first trip to Bali on Christmas Day 2009 were spent in Gianyar, a small village approximately 30km to the south of Ubud town. My wife and I stayed at the Puri Saron resort, where individual Balinese style villas are set amidst a lush and tropical rainforest where padi fields were the backdrop to private spa and infinity swimming pools. 

Rays from the morning sun stream through the lush tropical palms, ferns and colourful flowers kissed by fluttering butterflies. The gardens are scattered with coconut, rambutan, papaya and lime trees, the fruits of which appear on our morning breakfast plate. The chorus from crickets, birds and rustling leaves amidst natural waterfalls creates an ideal setting to sit out on the deck and read your favourite novel or to simply relax and unwind.

Whilst the surrounding village is charming, its people and the service at the resort friendly, the food on offer from its menu needs drastic improvement. It has a selection of classic local Balinese fare such as nasi goreng to Western cuisine like pizzas, pasta and hearty choice of American, continental or club sandwiches for breakfast. The local fare of nasi goreng or Balinese curry chicken cannot compete with the most average of similar cuisine in the region. The simple and classic club sandwich is mediocre at best with its soggy toasted white bread.

I am writing this hub as I sit in Casa Luna in the heart of Ubud, a beautiful Balinese restaurant founded by Janet De Neefe and her Balinese husband Ketut. Tourists and locals are attracted to this place for its Balinese decor and of course, its food which range from local Balinese favourites such as Bebek Tutut, smoked duck with fragrant rice to Mediterranean offerings of Italian pizza and pastas. A hearty breakfast of eggs Benedict which is obviously Janet’s brainchild will transform any homesick Aussie back to the eclectic cafes in Sydney and Melbourne. I am attracted to this place for its free internet Wi-fi connection whilst downing an icy cold local Bintang beer with succulent char-grilled chicken satays, all for an equivalent of A$8.

Ubud is known for its artistic flair where local artists ply their trade in a serene village away from the more popular tourist areas such as Kuta beach. To take advantage of this setting is to check into a spa and massage overlooking the padi fields whilst sipping on a therapeutic and soothing concoction of tamarine juice, palm sugar and lemon grass. To me, this therapy has been a small respite for my first impressions of Bali where searing heat and humidity are only as good as your ability to find a dip pool nearby. Your beer gets warm faster than you can drink it and the best way to counter this heat is to pour an icy beer over a glass full of ice and drink it as fast as you can. Unfortunately, the best ayam goreng over my first five days in Bali is Kentucky Fried Chicken.

The "trick" to get decent food thus far is to eliminate any kitchen acrobatics for the chef and order what I have deemed to be "safe" on the menu. It has worked as I stuck to simple things like club sandwiches whilst my wife insisted that I should sample local fare since we are in Bali. Truth of the matter, the local fare she has ordered thus far has been utterly disappointing to say the least and she has finally reverted to accepting simple Western cuisine. I find it extremely difficult to leave even bad food on my plate in Bali simply because of so many children begging for food on the streets. I have eaten my fair share of food left over from my wife over the last five days while she is pinching at my club sandwiches.

For New Year's Eve, we transformed our 1 bedroom villa into a private dining room by setting up the dining table by the pool. This is because it was just impossible to have dinner even in the evening heat and humidity and I heard about the warning from the US embassy about "possible trouble in Bali on new year's eve". We dined to a starter of salad of local vegetables and a main of grilled seafood to Diana Kraal's jazzy tunes and an impromptu from Aria's resort very own guitarist's rendition of Lionel Richie's "Hello" and Sinatra's"My Way".

I find myself in Kuta beach now. The cooling breeze helps counter the heat and humidity somewhat. I gaze into the horizon and it reminds me a little of Bondi beach back home in Sydney, well minus all the rubbish strewn and dead fish rotting in the sun.

Related hubs by the same author: Bali 2 - Alila Manggis resort, Candi Dasa, Bali

More later...