Warung Wardani - Denpasar, Bali

Warung Wardani is another eatery in Bali that is famous for their 'Nasi Ayam' or in English 'Chicken Rice'. Basically it shares the same idea with 'Nasi Ayam Kedewatan Ibu Mangku' (See post 26/09/12). It is basically a selection of vegetables with chicken cooked in several different way, topped with a chicken satay served on top of steam white rice. The idea is simple but the taste is definitely complex and something you can never belittle.

Menu : Nasi Ayam Campur
Price : Rp 35,000
Score : 7.0 / 10

>> If you look closely to the picture above on the right, you can actually figure out each of the food items on the plate. The side dishes consists of :

1. Keripik Kentang
2. Sayur Nangka
3. Dendeng Sapi
4. Buncis
5. Ayam Suwir
6. Sate Ayam
7. Sate Lilit
8. Acar & Sambal

The items above combined together makes a good fulfilling complete dish. I like the chicken satay and sate lilit best. The other vegetables side dishes were 'okay', nothing stood out to me.

Overall, I would say 'Nasi Ayam Kedewatan Ibu Mangku' is definitely much better. I'm sure judging from my score you all can figure out. As a matter of fact, one of the main point that Warung Wardani disappointed me was their poorly executed chili. But bottom line, not a 'to die for' but a fairly good dish.

Warung Wardani
Jl. Yudistira 2 - Denpasar, Bali
Phone : +62 (0361) - 224398

Babi Guling Bp. Dobiel - Nusa Dua, Bali (Lebaran 2012)

Another round of pork feasting in Bali !! There were so many other stalls selling pork rice dishes, besides the obvious famous ones (eg; Candra, Bu Oka) I couldn't made up my mind on which others to choose. My local driver took me here to Babi Guling Bp. Dobiel which was situated in Nusa Dua and I must say, it has potential. 

On an overall basis, I would say Candra has better food but this wasn't half bad either. There were quite a crowd on lunch time and even though they weren't as busy as Candra, but I noticed that there were Jakarta & Surabaya people there, thus fairly known by pork lovers.

Menu : Nasi Campur
Price : Rp 30,000
Score : 6.0 / 10

>> The vegetable side dishes were alright, nothing majorly 'wow-ing' or terrible about it. It was a good compliment on the side. The pork satay over at Candra is better, it has more smoked / burnt barbequed grilled smell in it and the meat was also smaller. However, the stir fried pork meat infused with local Bali herbs (Babi Suwir) were good. It has a subtle herbs smell which does not overpower the meat and most importantly taste good!

So...bottom line I'd still say Candra is the winner but this Babi Guling Bp. Dobiel can be a welcoming alternative.

Babi Guling Bp. Dobiel
Jl. Srikandi No. 9 Nusa Dua, Bali
Phone : +62 (0361) - 771633

Nasi Ayam Kedewatan Ibu Mangku - Ubud, Bali (Lebaran 2012)

Upon landing in Bali, this is the first restaurant I went. It was just slightly past lunch time and FW was getting cranky by the minute. He was certain that he wanted Nasi Ayam Kedewatan for lunch and the fact it's situated in Ubud, close by our hotel, I had no issue about it. 

To be honest, I didn't quite understand what is the big deal about this place until I had my first plate....and I'm hooked for life! One of the most spiciest plate of Nasi Ayam I had ever tasted, and you don't get to hear me say 'kepedesan' very often (very rarely actually). I have a high threshold for chili but this made me have tears in my eyes! Bloody good chili! And I even bought a kilo of the chili and took it back to the hotel and home to Jakarta. It's awesome !! A definite must try for chili lovers out there :)

" THE AWESOME CHILI !!!! "

Menu : Nasi Ayam Kedewatan
Price : RP 15,000
Score : 9.5 / 10

>> After nearly one month passed since I actually sat down and ate this plate of rice, I am now still able to drool just by looking at the picture and imagining the taste dancing on my taste buds. This is probably the best food I had ever eaten in Bali. Yes, bali is famous for the pork and their duck but damn! This is the Kings and Queens of all rice dishes I had ever tasted. I may sound 'hyperbolic' but these are my honest words.

I really think the secret weapon lies in their chili. My goodness! Eat a spoonful of it and I guarantee you'll blow your brains out. I loooooove chili and I couldn't remember when was the last time I was running for icy cold water wanting to ease off the heat from my mouth. This plate of chili really brought me there. It was extremely HOT !!!! And it actually made me have tears and made my lips rather swollen. The rice itself is cheap (Rp 15,000 or around only USD 1.80) and also generous with their meat, veges and other fillings. If I ended up broke while in Bali, I'll probably spend my money here and still manage to get a decent meal !!! This is not only worth your money but also worth your time for traveling all the way to Ubud.

Nasi Ayam Kedewatan Ibu Mangku

Jl. Raya Kedewatan 2 No. 18, Ubud Bali

Phone : +62 (0361) - 974795

Manega Seafood - Jimbaran, Bali (Lebaran 2012)

I always put aside one dinner slot schedule for about eight out of ten trips to Bali, especially for this restaurant. There were some renovation made to the place, better decor all around but one thing for sure, their food is as good as ever! I made a point to come there sharp at 5.30 pm, just managing to catch a good glimpse of the Jimbaran sunset while waiting for the dishes to be cooked.

If you reach here at their peak period (per say 7 to 9pm) you will need all the patience you can find inside you to wait for seats and chasing the waitresses for to deliver your food out of their super chaotic kitchen. Therefore, I seriously suggest for you all to reach no later than 5.30 pm. Rather early for a dinner but the time they get your food onto your the table it's 6.30 pm! Perfect timing isn't it?

Menu : Sate Cumi (Squid Satay)
Price : Rp 75,000++ (For 15 sticks)
Score : To Be Advised

>> If you don't know, I don't eat squid unless maybe fried calamari rings (not a fan either). I didn't try any of these but hearing from FW, he loved it. There is something about the texture and the chewy pat of the squid meat that I just don't like any bit.

Menu : Tiger Prawn

Price : Rp 70,000++ (For 4 pieces)

Score : 6.5 / 10

>> Very well cooked, exactly how a prawn should be grilled. It's well done, but still retains it's 'springy' texture when you bite and chew into it. The smoke grilled taste is infused into the dish and when dipped with 'kecap manis' (sweet soy sauce) and cut chili with sambal matah, you'll probably order another dozen of these!

Menu : Kerang (Shellfish)

Price : Rp 40,000++ (For about 12 pieces)

Score : 9.0 / 10

>> This dish is not only the cheaper among the menu but also simply the best tasting one! The shape of the shell retains all the sauce that was smeared all across it instead of dripping down the grilling stove. The sauce is simply yummeh!! It's their specialty I suppose, it's buttery, able to taste the smoked effect from the grill, strong in garlic and has a slight BBQ tang ! Hmmm....delightful :)

Menega Cafe

Jl. Four Seasons Muaya Beach, Jimbaran Bali

Phone : +62 (361) - 705888

Nasi Jinggo - Ubud, Bali (Lebaran'12)

The first time I tried 'Nasi Jinggo' was about a year ago. A Balinese butler introduced me to this dish. Nasi Jinggo is perceived as a 'peasant' food, due to the relatively cheap nature I assume. A packet of this particular Nasi Jinggo in Ubud Street costs only RP 3,000, USD 0.30 when converted to the US Dollars. With that mere amount of money, you can actually get a decent amount of rice, with a scoop of fried noodles, a little bit of stir fried egg, half handful of ground peanuts and most importantly a dollop of home made chili ! All that for only RP 3,000 !! Try to beat that price! Well, that is the basic Nasi Jinggo, but there is always room to make a simple vegetarian rice dish to be slightly more interesting.

At this street food stall (Warung Kaki Lima), there are options for additionals; chicken, pork and tuna. Those side meat are packed in banana leaves and charged at RP 1,500 per packet. I had all three meat together with a packet of Jinggo Rice and I like the Tuna best. Unfortunately, I forget to get pictures of those meat dish thus unable to share it here. Tuna is best, second is the chicken and last was the pork meat due to the powerful stench 'pork smell' (difficult to describe that smell, but I'm sure you readers could understand).

Honestly, I wasn't impressed by this particular 'Nasi Jinggo' but was rather surprised to be able to still find a decent rice with meat meal that cost RP 7,500, barely a dollar!

Nasi Jinggo, Ubud Bali

Gita Gili Seafood - Gili Air (Lebaran'12)

I was astounded upon seeing the fresh seafood paraded on the tables, just right by the walking pathway. All of the seafood were caught daily and the eaters were allowed to choose themselves on the selection. Well of course due to the nature of the sea, the variety will depend on the daily catch, therefore each seafood cafe's menu selection will also vary from one another. I wanted to try the busiest seafood resto there 'Wiwi Cafe' but due to the queue, I went to 'Gita Gili' instead. It was a dinner for 2 person and thus we ordered 2 dishes, 6 large prawns & a good sized salt water fish!

Menu: Grilled Fish & Grilled Large Prawns
Price : RP 150,000 (for 2 person)
Score : 8.0 / 10

>> Can you imagine the freshness of the seafood I had at Gita Gili? When the raw seafood were paraded on the display tables, there were no stench whatsoever! Superbly fresh and literally smell of fresh salt water. I love the idea of eating fresh ingredients and somehow imagine myself being instantly 'healthier'. The way they grilled was pretty much the normal way, no special BBQ skills applied. It was the ingredient itself that gave this dish an 8 pointer. Nothing beats damn good ingredients! In addition, every person was given a choice of baked potato or steam rice with complimentary stir fry vegetables at the side.
Gita Gili
Gili Air, Lombok Indonesia

Biba Beach Cafe - Gili Air (Lebaran'12)

Biba Beach Cafe might be the most well known restaurant in Gili Air. A few reasons I assume :

1. The only Italian eatery
2. Friendly Service
3. Bloody good food!

I might sound bias or hyperbolic on the 3rd point 'bloody good food' but it is! The owner is Italian himself, he and his wife now own the Biba establishment and resides there. There must be something right about the Gili Air island itself, so tempting that even Italian would wanna live in Gili Air itself. The Biba Beach Cafe sits directly in front of the beach and opens for lunch and dinner. However, if you want to try their famous Italian Pizza, you would have to be patient and wait till 7pm. But hey! It was worth waiting for :)

Menu : Kiss Pizza with Extra Anchovy
Price : RP 75,000
Score : 9.0 / 10

>> Thin crust pizza, generous amount of onions, mushrooms, anchovies (for the extra salty kick) with a spread bed of tomato bolognaise sauce at the bottom. Something was special about this pizza over here. It wasn't the generous topping but how it was cooked. It has that burn, smoked, wood fire grilled distinctive smell that just infused into the thin dough. Loveee it! A must try if you're there by any chance.

Menu : Bolognaise Lasagne
Price : RP 65,000
Score : 8.0 / 10

>> Hmmmm...yumm!! Look, I'm not a fan of lasagne but this was good, really good. I love the bolognaise sauce spread across, inside and between all the pasta layers. The portion was alright, not to big thus suitable for an appetizer. The only issue for me was the pasta was slightly overcooked but definitely saved by the sauce :)

Menu : Tagliatelle Aglio Olio Pepperoncino
Price : RP 50,000
Score : 6.5 / 10

>> This dish was nearly a 8 pointer for me. The pasta was cooked well, the seasoning was perfect, the portion was generous too. But it was lacking the 'pepperoncino' taste. It was suppose to be strong with garlic and chili but sadly wasn't the case. Nevertheless, a satisfying dish on an average!

Menu : Salame Di Cioccolate
Price : RP 20,000
Score : 6.5 / 10

>> My first time trying on this new dessert. The name itself was difficult to pronounce and thus I'll just concentrate on the eating part :) To begin with, the look was interesting, close to the name itself 'salame' (an Italian meat sausage). This chilled chocolate dessert didn't 'wow' me but certainly a nice way to end the dinner.

Biba Beach Cafe

Gili Air, Lombok Indonesia

Phone : +6281917274648

Email : biba@bibabeach.com

Warung Kampung Gili - Gili Air (Lebaran'12)

 

I wanted to taste what the real 'kampung food' or in a better way of saying 'local food' really taste like. I asked the friendly people at Omah Gili and he recommended us a 'Warung' (A Food Stall) not far from the inn; around 5 minutes walk from the inn. By the way Gili Air is not a big island, pretty tiny actually. You can circle the entire island 360 degree less than 2 hours and that is by normal adult walking pace. Go figure the size, pretty small right ?

The 'Warung' actually exceed my expectation, I thought it was going to be dirty and sloppy, but nothing like that. A handful of local and international tourist were there, blending in with the community trying to communicate with broken bahasa indonesia, english and hand sign language. The Warung was in fact pretty clean, good home cooked food were served here. Nothing fancy or 5 star, but definitely a good portion meal, relatively cheap and using super fresh ingredients.

Menu : Nasi Campur
Price : RP 15,000
Score : 6.0 / 10

>> Size portion is decent here, enough to cover 3/4 of my tummy capacity. I like the peanut satay sauce with steam vegetables on the side; tasty! I'd give this another half point if only the chicken wasn't that dry. I had quite a tough time chewing it. I wouldn't recommend you guys to try this.

Menu : Ayam Pelecing Pedes
Price : RP 20,000
Score : 7.5 / 10

>> The star dish of the day is this beautiful red colored dish over here! I love the generous amount of chili poured across the chicken. Unlike the overcooked chicken above, this one wasn't at all. Crispy on the outside yet tender and juicy still on the inside. By the way, look at the size of the chicken, huge isn't it? Good stuff !!

Menu : Tumpi Tumpi
Price : RP 15,000
Score : 6.5 / 10

>> I was curious when I read it on the menu and asked the owner about it. He explained it was like 'perkedel' but instead of potatoes, they uses finely shredded coconut instead. Combined with spices, herbs and chili then portioned and deep fried before serving. I thought the taste was pretty interesting, it was like eating well seasoned shredded coconut basically :)

Menu : Pelecing Kangkung
Price : RP 10,000
Score : 5.0 / 10

>> I thought I was going to love this dish when I saw it on the menu. All I can think was the amount of chili that this dish will blow my tongue off. In fact, it wasn't the case at all. It was definitely a different 'pelecing' sauce with the 'ayam pelecing' dish above. This sauce was leaning more to tomato base instead of chili and for your information, I'm not a big fan of sweet tomato base chili sauce.

However, I must say the 'kangkung' itself was well cooked.

Menu : Nasi Campur
Price : RP 15,000
Score : 7.0 / 10

>> Nasi Campur here is basically you go to the kitchen and there were a few plates of cooked dishes displayed. Choose anything you want and they'll pick it and serve it for you! What I love most is the 'Tempe Orek' or another similar to 'Tempe Balado'. It was spicy and mind blowing! Yummmehh!!


Warung Gili

Gilir Air, Lombok Indonesia