Street food, Bali, Indonesia

Bali does not fall short of eating options. One of the cheapest way to eat is probably in of the many warungs. Today, many foreign restaurants, including high-end restaurants call themselves "warung" in order to attract western tourists in quest of authenticity. And this leads to absurdities, since an "Italian warung" or a "German warung" would sound as authentic as a "Chinese brasserie" or a "Belgian teppanyaki". But a "typical" warung is a small family-owned shop, selling cold drinks, snacks, and fresh (or not) nasi campur and nasi goreng.

When my driver Eka asked me if I wanted to eat "local" (meaning the same as he eats) or in a "restaurant" I jumped on the opportunity and replied "local", very curious to see where he would bring me. We stopped and I followed Eka inside the glamorous Warung Asri, trying to avoid the chicken which were happily bathing in the mud.

I was not that sure that the food was freshly made. To me, the food in display looked like it had been rotting in the damp hot weather for a while, in a non refrigerated counter. A real food safety regulation nightmare. At this stage, however there was nothing I could do - without offending Eka - except to seat down and wait for the surprise meal I would get.

As I had to keep a vegetarian diet for a week, I had some plain rice with fried tempeh, glass noodles and vegs. And I must admit it tasted quite good. Though, I must also admit that it is quite difficult to eat while moving both hands to chase flies and dogs away.

A meal in this kind of warung costs between IDR 5,000 and IDR 7,500 (£0,35 - £0.53).

For a healthy snack, you can easily buy tropical fruits in any market. However, be aware of the outrageous prices that are asked to tourists. Now that local sales know that tourists would try to bargain for a third of the asking price, they would not hesitate to ask first a price that is 10 to 20 times the "fair" price.

Or for a more indulgent snack, you can try some of these delicious glutinous rice balls with coconut, sold by old ladies in the street.

Another warung on the motorway (a "warung-routier").

To celebrate the end of the vegetarian diet, I had some roasted suckling pig (babi guling).

Sari Organik, Ubud, Bali, Indonesia

 

Ubud has been made famous by the best-seller Eat, Pray, Love and the subsequent movie with Julia Roberts. Still, when walking in the busy streets of central Ubud, or in the surrounding rice paddies, you are more likely to meet dogs, ducks, Balinese women carrying offerings or soccer shirts watching crops than Javier Bardem.

If not Javier Bardem, one thing you are sure to find in Ubud is fresh, organic food, with plenty of vegetarian alternatives. For those who also want to have a nice view while eating, Sari Organik, a popular warung hidden in the rice fields is a good bet.

However, if the twenty-minute walk in the rice paddies to Sari Organic is pleasant by day, at night I preferred to have my dinner delivered (most of local restaurants happen to offer a delivery service in Ubud) rather than taking the chance of being attacked by a rabid dog in the dark. I ordered a vegetarian Nasi Campur and was delighted by my choice. In addition to plain rice and sambal, I had potato cakes, fried marinated firm tofu, soft tofu curry, fried tempeh and stir-fried vegetables. Everything was cooked with fragant spices and had a gorgeous flavor that would convert anyone who considers tofu pointless.

Vegetarian nasi campur

Cost: IDR 40 000

Made's warung, Seminyak, Bali, Indonesia

I have not been very adventurous during my Balinese trip and when it was time (or not) to eat, I followed the recommendations of my Lonely Planet guidebook. In the bling coastal city of Seminyak, Made's Warung is one of LP's top choices. I walked there from my guesthouse, and probably should have taken a taxi, to avoid the "Kuta Cowboys" asking me if I needed the services of a "strong driver". No thank you.

Made's Warung is a large venue with enough space to cater for large groups. I sat at a table next to the inner patio and had a carrot juice and some prawns crackers while waiting for my Nasi Campur special.

A Nasi Campur is not a specific dish. It simply means a meal of plain rice with different "sides". My Nasi Campur special included curried aubergines, green chicken curry, deep-fried tempeh, chili prawns, anchovies, cucumber salad, spinach, fried tofu, chili, curried fish, a sort of ratatouille and sambal. I may have forgotten some of the sides, but I remember how tasty and filling the whole dish was.

Nasi campur special

Cost: IDR 55 000 for the Nasi Campur special (~£4)