A Foodie in Bali

Bali was...sigh...Bali. What can be said about this island that hasn't already been said? It's beautiful, spiritual, the people are some of the loveliest you will ever meet...and to me it is the ultimate paradise with something for everyone...

There are the beaches with giant waves perfect for surfing...beaches perfect for swimming and snorkeling...areas where you can swim with dolphins...cliffs with amazing views of the sunset...intricate temples...statues that tell a tale...cascading views of rice paddies...volcanoes to trek...cultural dances to marvel in...gorgeous architecture and interiors...and this is only the tip of the iceberg!

And as far as the food scene here goes...it does not disappoint...this too is a melange of all sorts...uber fresh seafood barbecues on the beach...tiny warungs(stalls) with local dishes...world class dining....Italian, Japanese, Fusion, Indian, Chinese, Greek...you name it...they've got it...and it tastes great!

Here are just some of the places I enjoyed...I couldn't always take photos due to terrible lighting and for some meals I had forgotten to bring along my camera...so this is what I did capture!

First I'll start you off with a little snack...

We do not get these Pringles flavours in Malaysia and so I just had to try them out. The Basil & Garlic is really good...the ingredients are prominent. The salt and pepper disappointed a little only because it wasn't peppery enough. I would add a lot more pepper before I call these salt and pepper chips.


Daddy's Cafe
Kartika Plaza Street ( Kuta Terrace)
Opposite The Bali Dynasty Hotel
Tel: +62 361 762 037

My breakfasts were always at the same cafe because this place serves amazing value for money. Just take a wild guess at how much this set costs...(Juice, 2 slices of toast, coffee/tea, bacon, eggs, sausages, hash brown, baked tomato, fruit platter and pancake):




So what did you guess? I bet it doesn't even come close! Because when we saw the menu we thought it must have been too good to be true...it was only RP35,000 -> RM 10 -> USD 2.85. Has your jaw dropped yet? I absolutely loved the pancake which was thick and fluffy with a tiny hint of banana (I'm guessing some might have been mashed into the batter)...The hash brown was good too...very crisp with some spices added in. This breakfast was worth waking up for!



Made's Warung
Kuta, Bali
Tel: +62 361 753039

No trip to Bali would be complete without visiting the popular Made's Warung. This is one of the oldest restaurants in Kuta serving up a plethora of dishes both Western and Local. This laid back restaurant is packed with people at all hours of the day and getting a table has us waiting for a few minutes. Once seated I decide to try a local dish known as nasi campur (mixed rice). I go for the vegetarian option with brown rice.

This whole mixed rice platter consists of Tempeh cooked 3 ways...fried crisp like a fritter...boiled in a yellow coconut curry....and chopped up and sauteed with chillies and spices...Green beans cooked in a coconut curry as well...Stewed eggplant...Chopped cucumber...Sambal (chili paste)...and Toasted coconut...

All the flavours in this dish are fragrant and complex...it was so good that I finished every last bite. The brown rice tasted as though it had been cooked in chicken stock...it was savoury and chewy...I adore tempeh and having it cooked 3 different ways was a major treat! This whole plate of goodness only cost me RP27,000 -> RM7.71 -> USD 2.20.


Nammos Beach Club
Karma Kandara
Uluwatu
http://www.karmakandara.com/

If you're looking to splurge a bit and enjoy a meal at a pristine beach with a killer view that can only accessed by cable car then I would suggest you make your way over to Karma Kandara and dine at Nammos Beach Club. This area is still relatively new and not many people know about it yet. The food is out of this world and the setting makes it even better. Our group got there a little after lunch time and we decided to get a few little bites to snack on.

A tuna sashimi pizza with wasabi cream...


This was certainly different! The pizza crust was crisp and the tuna sashimi was generous with a sprinkling of salt and a squeeze of lemon. It was topped off with pieces of rocket. I enjoyed the crisp pizza base with the soft tuna and the peppery rocket...but to tell you the truth I couldn't taste the wasabi cream...that could have been stronger. All in all I give this a thumbs up...especially because I've never had a pizza like this before!

We also went for some hummus and pita..


The hummus was very creamy, lemony, and garlicky! Just the way I like it. This was devoured pretty quickly. Along with some roasted portobello mushrooms...these were thick and juicy...very enjoyable!


We also ordered the grilled chicken skewers with cous cous...


The chicken is tender with a smoky hint of the grill. It had been rubbed in Mediterranean spices and goes beautifully with the saffron couscous with chopped cranberries.

The food at Nammos Beach Club is simple but done well. You couldn't ask for more when glancing out at the sparkling blue ocean and enjoying a bite to eat.


Kunyit Bali
Jalan Kartika Plaza
Tuban

About halfway through our trip we were craving a full fledged authentic Balinese meal. Kunyit Bali is one of the restaurants that serves an authentic rijsttafel. This is actually a Dutch word that meals 'rice table'. It is an elaborate meal consisting of many side dishes served in small portions, accompanied by rice.

The starters consisted of chicken, lamb, beef, and fish satay...the famous sup buntut (oxtail soup)...and fried tofu...

The soup is very light, the meat is melt in your mouth tender, and the garlic chips and fried onions sprinkled on top gives it a wonderful fragrance. Garlic lovers like me can delight in scooping up as many garlic chips as possible...when combined with the clean tasting soup it's worthy of the campbell's motto...mmm mmm good! Out of the different types of satay I would say that the fish one was my favourite...the lightness of the fish allowed the marinade to shine and it was lovely dipped in the accompanying fiery chili padi coconut sambal. The fried tofu was nice dipped in the chili padi sauce as well as the peanut sauce.

The next round offered grilled fish, chicken stewed in coconut curry, a lamb stew, sauteed green beans, and gado gado (a traditional Indonesian vegetable salad with a peanut sauce dressing).

The fish was once again my favourite in this lineup...topped with red onions and chopped chillies and spices it made for a wonderful taste sensation. I could eat grilled fish anytime...there is just something so wonderful about it! The stewed chicken was a little dry...so I didn't particularly enjoy the texture...but it tasted good...the lamb stew was tasty and the meat was extremely tender...if you like lamb I'm sure this dish would win you over!

Dessert is an assortment of fruits and Indonesian cakes...

I love love love the oranges you can get in Indonesia...they're not the same as anywhere else...there's a different taste to them altogether...the skin is green so you would think they're unripe...but that isn't the case! And they're a little harder in their segments...but just as juicy on the inside...and so easy to peel...it's so hard to explain...but I would eat these over normal oranges anyday! The bananas wrapped in crepes are also very nice...and the steamed green cake with coconut is lovely...but we all did not like the onde onde (little dough balls filled with brown sugar and rolled in coconut)...usually we would adore these...but at Kunyit Bali they didn't taste right...but after a great meal like that one little glitch isn't enough to ruin it.

All this for only RP113,000 -> RM32 -> USD 11.30.


Garis Garis
Jalan Kartika Plaza
Tuban

Eachday as we walked from our hotel to different parts of the town we always walked past Garis Garis and the decor was what attracted us. It was nicely lit...beautiful interiors...and an overall welcoming ambience. We knew we just HAD to try them out. So one dinner we treated ourselves to a little wine and dine.

We tried out the Bali Hatten Wine which was not bad! Very light, crisp and refreshing...our group had 2 bottles to go along with the wonderful dinner.

I chose the steak as I was missing my red meat...

It was tender and cooked medium...just the way I like it! I enjoyed mopping up the sauce with my crispy fries...

R went for the whole fried fish topped with a fiery sambal...looks sooo good!

He finished every last bit of it...I got a tiny bit to taste and I must say this was sublime! The fish was tender and flaky with a slight crispy fried exterior...and the sambal topped it off with a great bite!

Once done with our mains we decided to split 2 desserts between the 4 of us...An ice cream filled profiterole drizzled in chocolate... And the crepes suzette...unfortunately the crepes were not lit tableside...which would have added to the fun...the profiteroles were as light as air with a creamy vanilla ice cream middle...this was the perfect end to a wonderful meal that was only RP100,000 -> RM28 -> USD10 per person...and this was WITH the wines.

Cafe Bagus
Next to Intercontinental Hotel
Jimbaran

And I've saved the best for last! This is one of my favourite places to eat in Bali and my family and I have been coming here for years and years...I don't have any photos to document the experience though as the dinner is on the beach eaten by candlelight...you can barely see what you're eating let alone photograph it...but let me tell you...if you can have only 1 food experience in Bali this should be it.

Picture yourself sitting at a table on the beach...your feet touching the cool sand...waves crashing just a few steps away from you...and a menu filled with the freshest just caught a few hours ago seafood. All of it is just waiting to be thrown on the grill and enjoyed in all it's bare unmarinated glory. We ordered three types of fish, king prawns, cuttlefish, and a lobster...all of it is charred perfectly on the grill and served with limes and a sambal...all you need to do is squeeze a bit of lime...dip it in sambal and you're in heaven. The sweetness and freshness of the seafood cannot be beaten...your toes digging in the sand makes it even better...and the harmonious sounds of the acoustic traveling band in the distance make this the ultimate Bali must have experience!

I have only just scratched the surface and there are many many more places that are worthy of trying out in Bali...but I'm sure you can see the overall trend here...it's usually very good value for money! Hmm...now to plan my next eating trip there...hehe...

A Gastronomical Adventure: nibbleish.com

Last night I was fortunate enough to be invited to experience a new concept here in KL...a sort of mini food tour consisting of starters in one restaurant, mains in another, and desserts at the last one. Nibbleish has found a way to promote great restaurants in the city...while also giving foodies a sense of adventure.

When you log on to the site you just need a few clicks to choose your date, the sequence of restaurants you would like to dine at, select the dishes you would like for each course and voila! You pay online and you're all set to go. Currently the two locations are Changkat Bukit Bintang and Jalan Bangkung, each with five restaurants participating in this adventure...in the future there will be new locations added into the mix. Keep on reading and find out how you stand a chance to win a free nibbleish privilege card!

This was my sequence for the night at Changkat Bukit Bintang:

Pre-dinner Drinks & Canapes @ Le Bouchon

This little cottage-like French restaurant with it's cosy and rustic interior was the perfect kick off for the evening. It was almost as though we were enjoying a drink at home before heading off on the tour. Here we enjoyed a blackberry port with mini cheese puffs and creamy fois gras served on a sesame crispbread.

Starters @ Flam's

This elegant and romantic Italian restaurant was the perfect setting to enjoy the first part of the meal. I decided to go for the beef tenderloin carpaccio...

I don't normally have beef carpaccio and yet with the 7atenine event on Monday and Flam's on Tuesday I think I've more than made up for my weekly quota of pure protein! This carpaccio was very good...paper thin and extremely tender...it was lovely paired with the salty Parmesan and peppery rocket and just a touch of the mustard dressing. The portion was generous...so much so that I was wondering if I had space for my main dish...luckily the walk to the next restaurant took care of that.

Mains @ Delucca

This sleek and chic new addition to the Changkat scene serves up Italian delights. Here you feel as though you might be in an Italian cafe in the heart of Manhattan. My order here was the saffron risotto with porcini mushrooms.

I had high expectations for this dish and sadly it was the only disappointment of the night...while the saffron was strong the rest of the flavours were very bland...It felt like I was eating watery rice with a strong saffron flavour...however do not let my experience with this dish deter you from enjoying Delucca as I think I merely picked the wrong item on the menu...the other two options were the fish ravioli with a prawn sauce or the homemade fettucini with spicy seafood...both of which I saw everyone at my table slurping up with delight.


Dessert @ Palate Palette

We ended the night at this funky cafe with a fun quirky interior design concept...a faux grass wall in the patio area...mismatched tables...designs on the walls...little gems here and there. To go with the fun theme I ordered the ginger creme brulee...

this was deliciously smooth and creamy with a faint tingling of ginger and the perfect sugar crack. We also had after dinner drinks and the chef recommended the chilli padi passion fruit martini...this was amazing! Super spicy but sweet and sour at the same time.

The night was wonderful...filled with superb food and great company! A big thanks to Nigel of Nibbleish for inviting me along...ohh and I almost forgot to mention there was a celebrity sighting...I finally met the famous Malaysian food blogger Fat Boy Bakes!

And the Giveaway!

***The folks at Nibbleish were also kind enough to give me a few of their Nibbleish Privilege Cards which entitles you to discounts and special offers at the participating restaurants year round. I have 3 to give out...so leave me a comment below and I will pick 3 names at random and mail these off to you! Unfortunately this only applies to my Malaysian readers...

3 Day Food Tour - Last Stop: Melaka

Melaka, being a port city, has a huge variety of food and most of it is a fusion of different styles such as Nyonya cuisine which is a mix of Malay and Chinese. There is also a version of Portuguese food and the usual Chinese, Malay and Indian specialties as well.

Breakfast – Pooh Keon

Nyonya Pineapple Tarts are a delicacy in Melaka and seeing as I had a huge day filled with eating I thought I would start the day off with something light and fruity.

Melaka’s pineapple tarts are normally homemade with the finest pineapple and quality ingredients. Everywhere you go, you will stalls selling these famous tarts, especially at the Jonker Street area. Before buying this aromatic pineapple tarts, you must make sure you get the original tarts baked with fresh pineapple.

Pooh Keon is one of the favourite shops that bake their tarts fresh on the spot. The tarts are packed warm in the container and the pastry is soft and rich with a butter-milk taste that is simply irresistible. Enjoy them warm on the spot and you won’t regret it.

Pooh Keon
Jalan Tukang Emas
Hours: Open daily 10am – 6pm

Lunch – Chung Wah Restaurant

Chung Wah restaurant is one of the first and one of the best chicken rice ball restaurants in Melaka. The place is always packed during weekends, and almost impossible to get in during festive seasons. Expect to wait in a line just to be seated and once you have your table to be rushed through your meal so the restaurant can accommodate more guests.

Chicken Rice ball is a typical Hainanese Chicken Rice where the rice is formed into sticky balls. This gives them additional flavour and it’s an innovative way to eat this traditional dish.

Since this is a pure Hainanese restaurant the chicken is served white and there is no roasted or barbecue variety. The meat is juicy and tasty, with sufficient flavour in all departments. The chilli that is important in any chicken rice dish had the right combination of a savory pepper aroma and a tinge of sourness. The main attraction, the rice balls themselves, were scrumptious especially when eaten with a bit of chilli and chicken.

Chung Wah Restaurant
Jonker Walk
Hours: Open daily 11am – 10pm

Dinner – Capitol Satay Celup

Satay Celup is something that can only be found in Melaka. It is a dish that many Malaysians have yet to try and some may have never heard about it.

It is served and eaten like steamboat, but instead of a boiling pot of soup, the Satay Celup is cooked by dipping or dunking sticks of raw food into a boiling pot of aromatically rich and spicy peanut sauce.

There are a wide variety of raw foods available for selection, such as prawns, vegetables, pork, chicken, beef, fish balls, quail’s eggs, cockles, squids, braised pig’s ears and more.

The boss and his staff at Capitol Satay Celup are very customer oriented. Realising the importance of the peanut sauce, the crew will go to each table to blend the sauce to make sure it doesn’t lose its consistency.

Try this version of a steamboat meal and you may never want to go back to the original.

Capitol Satay Celup
41 Lorong Bukit Cina
Hours: 5.30pm – Midnight (Closed Monday)

3 Day Food Tour - Second Stop: Ipoh

Ipoh is one of the cities in Malaysia that has a high percentage of Chinese residents which is why you would find a lot of good Chinese food such as kway teow noodle soup, dim sum and more. However, true to Malaysia’s rich culture there are Malay and Indian gems to be found as well.

I was lucky enough to stay overnight at Indulgence Restaurant and Living, a top notch restaurant and unique boutique hotel where the owner Julie Song treated me to a wonderful gourmet feast in addition to the food crawl I was there for. Needless to say I left Ipoh stuffed and satisfied.

Breakfast – Funny Mountain Soybean & Sin Yin Loong

If you ask any Ipoh local where you can enjoy a great Tau Foo Fah (Soy Bean Custard) you’re likely to be pointed in the direction of Funny Mountain. This favourite has appeared in newspapers, travel magazines, food guides, TV and has been operating for the past 50 years.

Funny Mountain originated from a little pushcart and is now a store that even offers drive through. You can often see cars lined up, filled with passengers eager for a taste of the soybean delicacies.

The Tau Foo Fah here is made fresh everyday and is scooped into bowls and doused with syrupy sugar right in front of your eyes. It is a silken smooth treat to be had. They’re also known for their soybean milk which is thick and fragrant.

For a great coffee fix, Ipoh’s White Coffee is a pleasure. Sin Yoon Loong, a store that opened in 1937, is a popular destination for this local delight. The coffee is aromatic and is served ‘pulled’ in teh tarik style giving it a lovely foamy head. This old style coffee shop with wooden chairs and marble top tables has a certain Ipoh charm that can’t be matched.

Funny Mountain Soybean

Jalan Dato’ Tahwil Azhar

Hours: Open daily 10.30am - 7.30pm

Sin Yoon Loong
Jalan Bandar Timah
Hours: 7am – 6pm (Closed on Sundays)


Lunch – Tasik Raban Restaurant
Tasik Raban is a popular natural lake in Perak consisting of several connected water bodies surrounded by pristine greenery. The original branch of the Tasik Raban Restaurant is perched on the banks of the lake, but by popular demand a branch was recently opened up in Ipoh.

This restaurant serves good traditional kampung style Malay food such as ikan bakar (grilled fish), gulai tempoyak (fermented durian gravy), siput sedut (a type of mollusk), and a huge variety of sambal (chilli paste).

The ikan bakar counter often draws a huge crowd as it filled with all sorts of fish that are marinated in turmeric and spices and ready for the grill. These are then charred to perfection and are paired with a sambal. The fish goes fast so I would recommend that you get there early to get first dibs.

Everyday Tasik Raban offers more than 80 dishes to choose from buffet style. There are endless possibilities from vegetables to meat to seafood. There is sure to be something for everyone to enjoy.

Tasik Raban
Jln Kompleks Sukan
Hours: Open daily 10am – 5pm

Dinner – Kalai Curry House

Kalai Curry House is one of the favourite Indian eateries in the city. It is a great place to go for a nice banana leaf meal or to enjoy a hot thosai but I’m told that this is a favourite stop for those looking to have Roti Romali and a fresh Masala tea.

The Roti Romali is a capati-like bread served with an onion chutney. I was unlucky the night I arrived as they had run out of these so I settled for a thosai instead.

A thin savoury crepe that is served on a banana leaf and eaten with different curries and chutneys. I will be sure to make a trip back to try the Roti Romali though!

The fresh steaming hot Masala tea however is wonderful. It is served in a tin cup and is ‘pulled’ teh tarik style right at the table. It is fragrant with spices such as cardamom and rich in flavour.

Kalai Curry House
No. 38, Jalan Sultan Yussuf
Hours: 10am – 10pm

3 Day Food Tour - First Stop: Penang

Food in Malaysia is synonymous to breathing; it is an important part of the culture and way of life. Food here can be found in the usual places, restaurants, cafes, and the not so common such as car parks, obscure alleyways and the side of a busy street. It can often be daunting when faced with a decision on where to eat with so many places to choose from. How do you weed out the stalls claiming to have the best dishes to find the actual best?

With only three days and nine meals in three foodie towns (Penang, Ipoh, Melaka) I was determined to do my research to find some of the top places to indulge in.

PENANG
Penang has some of the tastiest dishes throughout Malaysia which is why it has become a popular spot for weekend ‘makan’ outings. Makan in Malay means to eat and this is precisely what I was looking to do on my day out in Penang.

Breakfast – Lam Heng Café
Although most people go to Lam Heng Café to eat the famous Sister’s Char Kway Teow, I was lucky to arrive early enough to sample the Chee Cheong Fan which is a lesser known delight. Chee Cheong Fan is a smooth type of kway teow served with a combination of two sauces; ha kou which is a prawn paste and dim cheong a sweet paste. It’s a very simple yet tasty dish that is often eaten for breakfast. This was my first time trying this dish made by the popular Sister’s stall and I must say it was executed perfectly. There was just enough sauce to ensure that the kway teow had a delicious tang with each bite.

If you get a chance you must also try the Char Kway Teow here as the Sister’s have a legion of die hard fans. While I personally have not tried it, many claim that their version has just the right amount of chilli, soy sauce, bean sprouts and a whiff of wok hei, a Cantonese term referring to the flavour, taste, and ‘essence’ transferred to the food by a hot wok.

Lam Heng Café
Sister’s Char Kway Teow
Mc Allister Road
Open daily

Lunch – Hameediyah

If you’re looking for good traditional Indian Muslim food, Hameediyah is a household name in Penang. Established in the early 1900s, this restaurant just celebrated its 101st anniversary last September, making it one of the island’s oldest restaurants. As Penangites, this is a restaurant that my grandfather, my father and I have been going to for years; we swear by their fried chicken and briyani. The fried chicken has the ideal combination of savoury tasty crunch on the outside and tender juicy meat on the inside. The briyani is packed with spice and is pleasantly fragrant. Other specialties at Hameediyah include the Murtabak (A roti canai filled with chicken, beef, or mutton), Beef Rendang, and the fried Mee Mamak.

Apart from acquiring the shop next door to expand, Hameediyah has not changed since my childhood days. The lure here is the consistently delicious food, after all not many restaurants can claim to be over 100 years old.

Hameediyah
164-A Campbell Street
Hours: 10am – Midnight (closed on Friday)

Dinner – Swatow Lane

Swatow Lane used to be exactly as the name suggests, a tiny lane scattered with hawker stalls serving some of the best food Penang has to offer. In recent years the hawker stalls have been moved into a hawker centre (New World Park) to maintain hygiene standards. The food is still as delicious as ever, but many believe that the cluttered lane with tiny stools and plastic tables was what made it a charming glutton square.

This is one of the last remaining areas where you can enjoy authentic Penang hawker food. Some of the stalls have been around for years and recipes are passed down from generation to generation. There used to be an 80 year old man who would stand in the hot sun daily making Chinese pancakes, unfortunately when they were moved into the hawker centre he was not happy with the ventilation and moved out shortly.

Swatow Lane’s specialties include the Ais Kacang, Rojak and a variety of noodle dishes my pick being the Curry Mee. The Ais Kacang here is served with syrup, evaporated milk, red beans, assorted jellies and fresh fruit; wonderfully refreshing on a typically hot Malaysian afternoon.

The Rojak is the made in typical Penang style, cut up fruits with cuttlefish, taupok (puffed soya bean cake) and youtiao (fried dough fritters) tossed with a dressing made up of sugar, chili, lime juice and the pungent Hae Ko (dark prawn paste). This dish is an acquired taste but if you do enjoy it no one does it as well as the stall in Swatow Lane.

New World Park Hawker Centre
Swatow Lane
Hours: Depends on each stall but most are open daily from 10am – 10pm