Bali eats ~ From here to there

From Canggu - Ubud - Gianyar

Our journey from the villa to Ubud, for some shopping at Sukawati market before finally arriving at Gianyar, where Bali Safari & Marine Park is.

After shopping, it was already past noon so we asked the tour driver to bring us to a restaurant around that area, which serves Halal/Muslim food. He nodded his head furiously and replied that there's one ahead.

We repeated, "Makanan yg Halal, ya?" Again, he nodded his head.

When we finally arrived at the restaurant and saw the numerous dogs at the premise, the Hindu sculptures plus altar... Well, we knew that he either got our request wrong or that he brought us to this tourist-trap on purpose (to earn commission).

Went in anyway and after browsing through the menu, we played it safe and ordered strictly seafood items.

They only got down to preparing our food when we actually made the order so it was a pretty loong wait. Meanwhile, we take in the gorgeous view surrounding the restaurant.

Swimming pool

Customers dining at the restaurant are entitled to utilise the swimming pool. Was very much tempted, seeing how it was so hot, despite us being high on the mountainous region.

With a great view

This is what I love about Ubud. The remarkable views of paddy fields all around. And the endless blue sky.

Tuna pizza

They baked the pizza in a wood-fire clay oven and it took ages! Even our simple order of french fries took some time to arrive.

Seafood pizza

Honestly speaking, these thin-crust pizza barely filled our tummies.


Rapuan Cili - Restoran & Swimming Pool
Jln. Raya Mas - Ubud - Bali (Br Tarakan)

From Gianyar-Kelungkung

After checking out of Mara River Lodge the next day, my BiL brought us to Klungkung to check out the museum since it's close to Gianyar.

The museum in Klungkung

A temple within the museum grounds

Honestly, after the museum visit, we ended up pretty hungry and asked the tour driver to bring us to a Halal or a 'Muslim' eating place (as they're usually labelled). This driver was much more reliable and made the effort to drive through the streets in search of such an eating place.

He told us that most people who came over from the neighbouring Muslim-majority Lombok usually reside in Klungkung and it might be easier to search for Muslim eateries there.

There were quite a handful of Halal ones. However, they're really just small, street-side 'warungs' that may not accommodate us all and the driver was worried that the lack of hygiene may affect us (with kids and all). He finally resorted going to the bus terminal to ask around.

However, we saw a restaurant with a 'Muslim' label in the distance and strode over, disregarding its location or hygiene, whatsoever.

We're hungry and we only want our bellies filled. Halal food, of course.

Simple fare

You can count the number of dishes available, with your ten fingers. Most of the dishes had the familiar reddish tint, indicating the use of chilli.

My MiL was aghast to see the proprietor actually scooping the food WITH HIS HANDS, onto our plate. She, being keen on hygiene and all (maybe this was what got the driver worried). I tried to appease her, saying that this might be the culture here and we can't expect all to be the same everywhere else.

I can see that scene somewhat affected her appetite.

My plate

When I see and finally taste the food, I can only say that it taste somewhat familiar, although the presentation was somewhat different.

The crispy, 'sambal tempe' with peanuts. Spicy, shredded beef. Spicy, shredded chicken. Simple stir-fried mix-veggies. There's also fried chicken quarters. And that dollop of 'sambal terasi' was spicy or what??! I even tried to mix with sweet soy sauce but it didn't alleviate the heat one bit. My tongue was on fire!!

I conclude that this could be an eatery managed by on of those Lombok migrants. People from these region are really keen on their chili in their cooking.

From Klungkung-Kintamani-Ubud-Canggu

Very much affected by the heat at Gianyar & Klungkung, I requested that we make a detour up the mountains to take in the sights and feel a little bit of cool air.

As our (good) luck would have it, it drizzled a bit during our journey to Kintamani. Not only does that make for cooler temperatures, it also help to clear the air so we can have a much clearer view and absorb fully, the grandeur of Mt. Batur (where AQUA bottled water comes from). Thankfully, there were no fog or mist to hinder our view.

Mount Batur

Small warung at Kintamani

Tired from the long journey, we thought of taking a short break and enjoy the views from up there. Since it rained a wee bit, we decide to seek refuge in a roadside' warung', for some snack & coffee.

Coffee with a view

There's Bali coffee (cheaper) and Kintamani coffee (more premium price). The latter is supposedly grounded Arabica beans.

Pisang goreng

We thought of sharing some 'pisang goreng' (banana fritters) for some tea-time snack. Disappointedly so, unlike those in Singapore & Malaysia, the banana fritters here were hardly crispy. Limp, very limp.

We're just glad they came piping hot so we finished these in no time, slurped down our coffee; paid up and continued with our journey through the pristine streets of Ubud before heading back to our much missed villa, Umah Pesisi.