As per my usual travel habit, I got up bright and early and went exploring. There's nothing quite like taking a stroll down the quiet streets of the town to see it 'wake up', before the hustle and bustle set in. Seeing the locals go about their business, having breakfast, setting up shop, preparing for the day...etc. If you really want to get to the heart of a new city, just walk the streets at dawn and look for the nearest market or breakfast joint.
I found this amazing beachside beachfront makan joint. It was literally a little table, set up by a makchik with her family. A couple of tables and some absolutely amazing food. Chilli to die for...
Since our plans had changed and we needed to stay 2 extra nights in Bali, we managed to find a quaint little place right next door to our original Tune Hotel. It was called Nusa Indah, and its a really lovely place. It only has 12 rooms, but the rooms are proper, with baths, fridge and TV, and the place even has a pool. And for 400k a night, cheaper than the Tune. It even had breakfast thrown in. I would stay there again when I return to Bali.
With 2 extra days in Bali, we looked at things to do. I really wanted to try the Babi Guling (roasted suckling pig) that Bourdain had eaten while in Bali, so I suggested we rent a car, go grab some pig, then take a drive around some interesting sites. The drive turned into a food tour of Bali.
I was quite disappointed that we were brought to the 'famous' Babi Guling place... which was nothing but a tourist trap. It was NOT the place Bourdain ate at. Worst, it was a 2 hour drive from town. The food was decent, but did not have the 'wow' I was looking for after watching that episode of 'No Reservations'.
Rugburn suggested a nice dessert place post-lunch, that served the most amazing banana dishes. We heartily agreed, but the driver seemed to have his own agenda. He 'suggested' that we should drop by the Kopi Luat place instead. This was another hour drive from the lunch place, and the place was pretty much another tourist trap. They did offer a variety of teas and coffees (which was gratis), and it only cost 50k rupiah if one wanted a cup of Kopi Luak (Civet Cat Coffee...I've tried it before when I went to Yogjakarta). There was a couple of actual Civet cats caged on display though, and the entire process was shown from bean to cat poo to cup. The coffee did NOT taste as good as the cup I had in Yogya. I'm thinking that most of the Kopi Luak here is 'farmed' from the imprisoned civet cats, rather than harvested from the wild droppings. The main difference being that the wild civet cats would be picking the ripest, sweetest berries from the trees and producing stellar poo. Whilst, the captured cats would be eating whatever they were fed and pooing whatever crap the had previously shovelled.
After coffee, we headed to the dessert place. Kudos to Rugburn for finding and recommending this place. The banana dishes were superb. There was flambe, fritters, pancakes, fried, steamed and even split... All Banana... wonderful. By the time we got to the banana place, it was already 5pm, and even though we finished by 6, we only got back to town by 8. The inlaws meanwhile, had spent the day on motobikes, trailing us in the car.
We left town at 12, got to the lunch place at 2, got to kopi luak at 3, got to banana place at 5, back to town at 8... Just in time for dinner. Dinner was back at Wade's Warung, same as the first night.
Note: Interesting conversations of the day. E-Coli, stool samples, Self-serving dragons, 44 litres and cholera vaccine testing on humans/
Sunrise over Kuta Beach
And there was Macs, KFC, Starbucks, CoffeeBean, Breadtalk... and of course Bubba Gump Shrimp
The breakfast place on Kuta Beach
My breakfast, a little fried noodles, a small piece of chicken, an egg, some beef soup and the insanely good sambal. Eaten while sitting on a stool watching the waves crash on the beach.
The Indonesian govt is actually doing something about all the litter and trash on Kuta Beach. The effort is there after all the bad press the beach have been getting.
Nusa Indah. We stayed here night 2 and 3.
The InLaws on their bikes behind the car.
Horfun on her iPad. Her iPad was extremely useful for the trip. It helped us surf the net, check email and most importantly, keep score in Minimum.
Pre-Lunch
Tribute to Babi
Captive Civet Cats
Coffee beans, roasted and not
The long line of condiments that go with the coffee. There was even some tobacco to roll your own cigarette.
The gratis tea and coffee samples. I don't exactly remember what was served. I do remember there was some lemon tea, hot chocolate and balinese coffee.
I have to admit, it was a great view and wonderful ambience at the place that served the coffee.
Photographing the photographer - InLaw
Photographing the photographer - Rugburn
Rickey spilled the beans.
The Bali Food Missionaries
Photographing the photographer - Rugburn pt II
Overlooking the garden terrace.
I found this amazing beachside beachfront makan joint. It was literally a little table, set up by a makchik with her family. A couple of tables and some absolutely amazing food. Chilli to die for...
Since our plans had changed and we needed to stay 2 extra nights in Bali, we managed to find a quaint little place right next door to our original Tune Hotel. It was called Nusa Indah, and its a really lovely place. It only has 12 rooms, but the rooms are proper, with baths, fridge and TV, and the place even has a pool. And for 400k a night, cheaper than the Tune. It even had breakfast thrown in. I would stay there again when I return to Bali.
With 2 extra days in Bali, we looked at things to do. I really wanted to try the Babi Guling (roasted suckling pig) that Bourdain had eaten while in Bali, so I suggested we rent a car, go grab some pig, then take a drive around some interesting sites. The drive turned into a food tour of Bali.
I was quite disappointed that we were brought to the 'famous' Babi Guling place... which was nothing but a tourist trap. It was NOT the place Bourdain ate at. Worst, it was a 2 hour drive from town. The food was decent, but did not have the 'wow' I was looking for after watching that episode of 'No Reservations'.
Rugburn suggested a nice dessert place post-lunch, that served the most amazing banana dishes. We heartily agreed, but the driver seemed to have his own agenda. He 'suggested' that we should drop by the Kopi Luat place instead. This was another hour drive from the lunch place, and the place was pretty much another tourist trap. They did offer a variety of teas and coffees (which was gratis), and it only cost 50k rupiah if one wanted a cup of Kopi Luak (Civet Cat Coffee...I've tried it before when I went to Yogjakarta). There was a couple of actual Civet cats caged on display though, and the entire process was shown from bean to cat poo to cup. The coffee did NOT taste as good as the cup I had in Yogya. I'm thinking that most of the Kopi Luak here is 'farmed' from the imprisoned civet cats, rather than harvested from the wild droppings. The main difference being that the wild civet cats would be picking the ripest, sweetest berries from the trees and producing stellar poo. Whilst, the captured cats would be eating whatever they were fed and pooing whatever crap the had previously shovelled.
After coffee, we headed to the dessert place. Kudos to Rugburn for finding and recommending this place. The banana dishes were superb. There was flambe, fritters, pancakes, fried, steamed and even split... All Banana... wonderful. By the time we got to the banana place, it was already 5pm, and even though we finished by 6, we only got back to town by 8. The inlaws meanwhile, had spent the day on motobikes, trailing us in the car.
We left town at 12, got to the lunch place at 2, got to kopi luak at 3, got to banana place at 5, back to town at 8... Just in time for dinner. Dinner was back at Wade's Warung, same as the first night.
Note: Interesting conversations of the day. E-Coli, stool samples, Self-serving dragons, 44 litres and cholera vaccine testing on humans/
Sunrise over Kuta Beach
And there was Macs, KFC, Starbucks, CoffeeBean, Breadtalk... and of course Bubba Gump Shrimp
The breakfast place on Kuta Beach
My breakfast, a little fried noodles, a small piece of chicken, an egg, some beef soup and the insanely good sambal. Eaten while sitting on a stool watching the waves crash on the beach.
The Indonesian govt is actually doing something about all the litter and trash on Kuta Beach. The effort is there after all the bad press the beach have been getting.
Nusa Indah. We stayed here night 2 and 3.
The InLaws on their bikes behind the car.
Horfun on her iPad. Her iPad was extremely useful for the trip. It helped us surf the net, check email and most importantly, keep score in Minimum.
Pre-Lunch
Tribute to Babi
Captive Civet Cats
Coffee beans, roasted and not
The long line of condiments that go with the coffee. There was even some tobacco to roll your own cigarette.
The gratis tea and coffee samples. I don't exactly remember what was served. I do remember there was some lemon tea, hot chocolate and balinese coffee.
I have to admit, it was a great view and wonderful ambience at the place that served the coffee.
Photographing the photographer - InLaw
Photographing the photographer - Rugburn
Rickey spilled the beans.
The Bali Food Missionaries
Photographing the photographer - Rugburn pt II
Overlooking the garden terrace.
The InLaws
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