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

Blu d' aMare, Gili Trawangan, Lombok, Indonesia

Blu d' aMare is a beach front guest house and trattoria on the east-north part of Gili Trawangan. According to Lonely Planet, Blue d'aMare is the best Italian fare on the island. As my Malay friend was craving for pasta I suggested going there for dinner. As it had rained, like every day around 6-7pm, there were quite a few of my blood-thirsty mosquito friends. But I was well-equipped with my 50% DEET insect repellent and could enjoy a fresh Bintang without being annoyed by these little monsters.

We shared a simple salad of cucumber, tomatoes and lettuce to start. It never feels quite right to me to have raw vegetables in Asia, not for fear of getting sick but because crudités do not fit in Asia. However, as my diet of the past few days had been based on curries and nasi goreng, this healthy plate of vegetables was more than welcome.

Tomato and cucumber salad

I had then a generous portion of seafood linguine, prepared with freshly caught seafood. The sauce was rich and with plenty of tomatoes, and would have been perfect with a splash of white wine.

Seafood linguine

Overall Blue d'aMare was a nice experience, and even if food had not been good, it would not have been an issue. As once on Gili T, nothing really matters but enjoying yourself and chilling out.