Bali was a dream! The humidity and heat…was not. You know it’s something when even the people who live there say it’s been unbelievably hot. But I will say the mountains and lake region north of Ubud was terrific! 20 degrees cooler than Nusa Dua and super low humidity…our driver needed a fleece pullover, but we were loving it in our summerwear.
Our driver pretty much insisted on procuring most of the things we wanted or were interested in because he said that all vendors would give him the local rate, but if they saw us they’d add their own tourist tax.
Vargas up in the mountains treated us to the best mi goreng I have ever had. Made with instant ramen noodles but with a house made sauce, it was a great mid-morning snack. Lots of great umami flavor.
Babi Guling Sari Dewi is his favorite babi guling in Nusa Dua. And he picked us up an order for a snack. This roasted suckling pig was delicious! Moist and flavorful…it definitely was fresh and I loved the sambal sides that I used the crispy skin as a chip to scoop it up with. Delicious!
New Moon Cafe (Jimbaran) -
Our driver took us to dinner at New Moon Cafe on Jimbaran Beach. Sunset here is magical, and the grilled seafood dinner as the waves crash in was just perfect.
We got a dinner set where it included a whole fish, squid, shrimp, prawns and clams. We added some garlic greens, fries and rice. The meal came with garlic sauce and their house sambal…it’s spicy, but it’s good! It was just a solid meal in paradise with a Radler Bintang. We were having such a good time, photos were not taken.
They had plenty of entertainment on the beach…the restaurant had stage for dancers and singers and various restaurants shoot off fireworks throughout the night.
I wish we had more time to try out @hungryhungryhippos recs, but I will say that we heeded your tips well and avoided Bali belly. Thank you!
We ended up spending quite a bit of time at our resort since we just wanted to slow down after our adventures in Japan. We loved Bali and are excited to return.
Koral Restaurant (Nusa Dua) -
More than a few coworkers suggested we hit up Koral since it’s located at our resort. Am I going to get suckered into an underwater/aquarium restaurant? Yes, I am!
They attempt at fine dining with lots of presentation flourishes and the wine list is pretty decent. But you come for the views. The views:
The menu:
The food (random order):
This one is a one a done for us like the Napa Valley Wine train. Are we glad we did it? Yes. Did we have a good time? Yes. But we wouldn’t do it again. There are my other places to eat in Bali…and at this resort.
kind of grim but also speaks to the freshness, “local”, whole animal, and the nose to tail butchering we Americans all rave about at restaurants in the states. Not every place cooks their Babi guling on site and fresh some do it in the morning and ferry it to restaurant locations, so this place is legit
