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

Babi Guling Candra - Denpasar, Bali (Lebaran'12)

Babi Guling Candra or better known as just 'Candra' is a famous restaurant especially amongst Chinese living in Jakarta & Surabaya. That is obviously proven when you're there. Only Jakarta & Surabaya people crowds that eatery, even during non peak period of the day. The restaurant is situated on the busy office street of 'Denpasar' and thus parking might be an issue but if you're a fan of pork, I'm sure you would not mind the hassle.

Menu : Sate Babi (Pork Satay)
Price : Rp 20,000 (For 10 sticks)
Score : 7.5 / 10

>> I like this pork satay because it is purely meat, without organs or the belly fat part on the stick. I waited for this for a good 20 minutes because they just ran out when I reached there and they were only starting to grill a new batch. The result of patience was rewarding for this case. Succulent bits of pork meat, smeared with specialty sauce on all over and has a slight burnt charcoal smoked smell infused into the meat. Good Stuff !!

Menu : Nasi Campur Special
Price : Rp 30,000
Score : 6.25 / 10

>> Slightly fall short of my expectation. I thought it would be mind blowing as people always says that this is a 'must go place'. Don't get me wrong, this is good overall but maybe I was hoping too much. The pork was cooked well, loved the pork satay at the side and even though the pork crackling wasn't very crunchy, the vegetables dishes were there to compliment. Overall, a nice dish, suitable for a lunch but again may I remind you, don't go during peak hours or you'll need to wait for seats and that is just painful !!

Menu : Babi Goreng
Price : Rp 60,000
Score : 8.0 / 10

>> Like this !! I think they only include one piece of this 'babi goreng' in the nasi campur and thus you'll need to order another plate of this in addition to your rice. Loooove this slightly crispy, slightly chewy, heavy on the sweet side meat dish. Maybe they used honey and definitely sweet soy sauce (kecap manis) to give the color and the taste. Eat this with steam white rice and chili with a few sticks of pork satay and you'll come back here again the next time you're on your Bali trip !


Babi Guling Candra
Jl. Teuku Umar 140, Denpasar Bali
Phone : +62 (0361) - 221278 / 9940098

Nasi Campur Kaca Mata

I was visiting my good friend of mine in Puri housing estate area and when come to dinner time, we were debating where to have our meal. When all of us stumble across this eatery place, I took the liberty to make an authoritative decision to eat here. Everyone agrees but at the end of my meal, I was a little bit disappointed! What matters to me most about any "Nasi Campur" is  the "Nasi Hainan" itself. The one they served here were not fragrant enough and I definitely felt that the one in Pantai Indah Kapuk branch serves better food.

Menu : Nasi Hainam Campur
Price : Rp 28,000 ++
Score : 5.75 / 10

>> The "Hainam Rice" (not shown in here) is too bland. It weren't fragrant enough and even though it tastes better than normal jasmine white rice, I still expect it to be super duper delicious. Next, the meat dish consists of barbeque pork, crispy pork belly, roast chicken and the obvious half boiled egg. I probably liked the barbeque pork most, roast chicken second and lastly the crispy pork belly. The problem with the pork belly is that it was not crispy at all and thus I can feel all the juicy fat when I bite into it. I  know many people love that part the most but personally I preferred my pork belly to be real crispy and thus the fats were rendered 'naturally' by the process.

Ayam Betutu

Signboard on the main street

A different Saturday brunch. DH tried this same restaurant in Nusa Dua Bali before and he claimed that this was superbly superb! So when "Ayam Betutu" opens a branch very close to my house he wanted to try it very badly. I was a little bit skeptic over his food reviews due to previous disappointing eat outs, but I agree to eat anyways.

Menu : Nasi Campur Bali
Price : Rp 25,000
Score : 6.25 / 10

» There's a lot of things going on the plate. There were steaming hot rice, sate lilit, sayur urap, ayam goreng betutu, ayam suwir, kacang, belut goreng, orek kentang and kuah saus at the side. Overall, I only liked the ayam suwir and sate lilit. But honestly have to say that the taste was some how different from the one in Bali. Nevertheless, this is the closest you can get in Pluit.

Menu : Ayam Betutu Setengah Ekor
Price : Rp 35,000
Score : 6 / 10

» There was an additional side dish for this Ayam Betutu set; "Kankung Pelencing". I'm sorry, I didn't get that inside the picture. To move on, the chicken was well cooked, juicy and moist. But apart from there's too much bones, the gravy was not very tasty. I loveee the "sambal matah" though! It's an oily combination of cut chilies, shallots and garlic! Hmmm, can cause bad breath but worth it!!!

Menu : Sate Lilit
Price : Rp 2,500 / each
Score : 6.5 / 10

» Yummy fresh fish wrapped onto sugar cane stick! The price was reasonable too but there was not enough spices there. Definitely rooms for improvements!

 

And so bottom line, If you ask me whether I'll come back again to here, I might say "yes". Not because of the fact that the food was excellent (it was okay, so - so), but because it is the closest Balinese food I can get in my area. It is only 5 minutes drive from home.

AYAM BETUTU BALI
Address : Jln. Pluit Indah Raya No 25. Jakarta Utara
Phone : 021 - 6660 6388