Probably the Best Ribs in the World

I’m just back from a week chilling in my fave place in the world – Bali. We decided to mix things up a bit this time and actually spend a few days in Ubud, instead of just being ‘fabulous’ in Seminyak (of course we saved some time for that too…)

One of the reasons to head to Ubud was, obviously, to check out the renowned eateries in the area – and top of my list was Naughty Nuri’s. This roadside warung has built itself a reputation over the years for serving mean martinis – and succulent barbecue ribs. A strange combination, I agree – but one I wasn’t going to miss out on.

We were lucky to find ourselves a table as soon as we arrived, as within just a few minutes people were bunching around the tables waiting for a space. The first thing we did was order a martini of course – they were out of vodka, so it was two Gin Martinis with an Olive, shaken vigorously at our table and generously poured out into chilled glasses.



Now this was a powerful potion – it took us way longer than it should have done to finish it. But well deserving of its reputation (it has been named ‘Best Martini in Bali’ by Hello Bali mag).



Once we were feeling nicely warmed from our cocktails (don’t you just love the way a martini warms you from the toes up…), we went and checked out the barbecue. Naughty Nuri’s barbecue is set up on the street – as basic as you like.



But there is nothing basic about the flavour of the food coming off it. The ribs had been marinated in a sticky sweet sauce, and the meat was falling off the bones and mouth-meltingly succulent. Oh my goodness – I just know these ribs will be in my dreams years from now.



We also spied a burger on a neighbouring table which looked hugely promising so we ordered one of these to share too. Unfortunately it just didn’t live up to its looks – bland and uninteresting, definitely one to avoid.



The Chicken Satays however were an honourable accompaniment, tender and juicy and beautifully marinaded.

But at the end of the day, it’s all about those ribs. If this were a Carlsberg commercial, it would go something like this: Naughty Nuri’s – probably the best barbecue ribs in the world.

Clifftop Dining

Another evening in Bali, another fine-dining extravaganza. This evening we ventured out of Seminyak and made our way South to Uluwatu, where a winding and pot-holed track brought us out at the Karma Kandara resort. Set high up on the cliff side 150 metres above the Indian Ocean, their Di Mare restaurant surely boasts Bali’s most breathtaking views, perched on the side of the cliff, with panoramic vistas out to sea.



We arrived in time for sunset, to sip cocktails in their Moroccan-themed rooftop bar as the ocean slowly slipped from view, the sky darkening though a spectrum of colours. I kid you not, we even saw dolphins out at sea…





We then braved the ‘inclinator’ – a cable-car/lift contraption that takes you down the rocks to the Nammos beach bar, which allows for pre-dinner drinks in a more relaxed setting.

Back on the cliff top, the semi-circular Di Mare restaurant allows all tables a view out to sea and has a strong bias towards seafood. The winning starter had to be Mr Greedy Glutton’s Pan-fried Scallop with a Creamy Asparagus Risotto:



I unfortunately took the waiter’s advice (he was rather insistent) to order the Prawn Trio (chilled with tomato-horseradish sauce, barbecued and tempura), which was perfectly acceptable but nothing too exciting, and I wished I had stuck to my guns and ordered something different.

We both opted for superbly executed fish main courses however:



before basking in self-congratulations in our choice of desserts – a simply scrumptious Tarragon Panna Cotta, served with a passionfruit juice:



and the Warm Valhrona Chocolate Souffle, served with homemade ice cream – superb!



The road may be winding and bumpy to get there, but this is undoubtedly the most spectacular restaurant in Bali in terms of location, and the food doesn’t disappoint either. I would certainly return again, but perhaps next time for lunch when you can get more out of those staggering views.

Di Mare, Karma Kandara, Bali - http://www.karmakandara.com/

What’s not to love about Bali?

We’re just back from a gorgeous weekend in Bali, one of our favourite places on Earth. What’s not to love about Bali? The people are friendly, the scenery is stunning, the weather is fabulous, the bars are super-stylish, and the food… the food is out of this world. How did a rustic little island like Bali produce so many outstanding fine dining restaurants?

Having already checked out Hu’u Bar, The Restaurant at the Legian Hotel, Ku De Ta and La Lucciola on previous visits, tonight we made our way to Kafe Warisan, which always seems to get fantastic reviews. Well, I can see why as we certainly weren’t disappointed.



This open air restaurant looks out over paddy fields, with fairy lights sprinkled among the trees in the dining area, giving a relaxed and romantic setting. The waiting staff were super friendly and knowledgeable and the food outstanding.

I started my meal in style, with a with the Artichoke Ravioli served with Grilled Scallop and Prawn, and a Lemon Butter Sauce. This was absolutely delicious and left me with mouth-watering flashbacks for days later.



Being in a French restaurant, Mr Greedy Glutton felt it was only right to kick off with the Escargots and so opted for the Roasted Mushroom Stuffed with Snails and Parsley Butter. This also hit the spot, although it was so rich that the serving could have been half the size and he still would’ve thought he’d got a good deal.



I then looked to the ‘From the Sea’ section for my main course, choosing the Pan Fried Lemon Sole “Meuniere”, with Creamy Spinach, Chive Steamed Potatoes, which was so perfectly cooked and delicious I had to stop myself from leaning down and licking the plate at the end.



Mr Greedy Glutton turned to the ‘From the Farm’ section to choose his Grilled Australian Veal Tenderloin, with White Truffle Mashed Potatoes and Basil Juice, which was beautifully succulent and tender.



We were well and truly filled to the brim by this stage, but couldn’t help but sample their "Le Moelleux" – Hot Chocolate Cake Served with Home Made Vanilla Ice Cream and Roasted Nuts, if only to give us something to accompany the bottle of dessert wine we couldn’t resist. The cake was everything we could have hoped for, with the molten chocolate spilling out all over the plate in a truly decadent manner. Unfortunately the aforementioned dessert wine took control of my photography skills, so no accompanying photo… maybe next time.

NB - Kafe Warisan is moving round the corner in September, and as the name belongs to the building in which it resides, it will be changing its name to Metis... so if you plan on going, check you are at the right restaurant!

Kafe Warisan, Bali - http://www.kafewarisan.com/index.htm

Bali Dining in Style

Still in Bali and fine dining seemed to be the order of the day… so this time we took a quiet stroll along the beach and ended up at the luxurious Legian hotel. First stop was the Pool Bar for cocktails. Set right above the beach, this is the perfect venue for a pre-dinner tipple, sipped to the sound of the crashing waves.

Having enjoyed the Frozen Strawberry Daiquiris at next-door’s fabulous Breeze bar the night before, I had to give the Legian’s Pool Bar the opportunity to prove themselves worthy of my cocktail-enjoying presence and so ordered the same. I am happy to report that they were just as fresh, just as alcoholic… just as tasty.




As was the Royal Mandarin, and the Mojito... A successful start to the evening.



Having supped a few of these, we made our way round the infinity pool to not-very-imaginatively-named The Restaurant. Thankfully the name is the only thing lacking pizzazz at this restaurant – the wine list, the food, the service and the ambience were all second to none and we had ourselves an exceedingly enjoyable evening.

Between us we managed to sample most of the menu I think – I kicked off with the Prawn Croquette with Pea Puree, Japanese Bail, Watercress and Sesame Vinaigrette;



Mr Greedy Glutton opted for the Cappellini Pasta with Freshwater Shrimps, Prawn Oil and Konbu;



and the Greedy Guts chose the Truffle Risotto with Seared Scallops and Black Truffle Oil



and the 36 Months Aged Jamon Iberico with Bruschetta respectively.



We also threw in a Carpaccio of Organic Baby Zucchini with Pine Nuts and Parmigiano Reggiano for good measure (because we’re greedy like that).

Onwards and upwards we moved onto the main course – a fantastically crispy Fillet of Sea Bream with Aubergine Caviar, Tomato Confit and Potato Rosti pour moi;

The Oven-Roasted Lamb Loin with Organic Green Beans, Semi-Dried Tomatoes, Braised Shallot and Thyme Jus for Mr Greedy Glutton (and for once it was I who suffered from food envy);

Mrs Greedy Guts chose Grilled Mayura Platinum Full Blood Wagyu Striploin with Watercress and Rosemary Oil (Score 9, if you know your stuff) – I recently wrote bemoaning the over-use of Wagyu on Singaporean menus here, finally I came to understand what the fuss is about… here was a true melt-in-your-mouth, outstanding steak;

And the Braised Wagyu Cheek with Truffle Mashed Potatoes and Tamarind Jus for Mr Greedy Guts, which I believe he proclaimed to be the best dish he had ever eaten, and continued to talk about for days later.

I, of course, tasted all of the above meals and can safely say that they were all superb…

Now I’m sure most people would have been satisfied with the above, and indeed we were all fairly brimming with food, but after the quality of the starters and mains, how could we not opt for dessert? We tried to be sensible by ordering two to share – the Baked Chocolate Molten Cake with Vanilla Ice Cream

And the Selection of Farmhouse Cheese … with a few glasses of dessert wine too…

But you know what? They were so good, we ordered seconds of everything… So the Greedy Gluttons and the Greedy Guts together again… and living up to our names in style…


The Restaurant at the Legian Hotel - http://www.lhw.com/property.aspx?id=507

Straight into the Top Ten

Last time we were in Bali, Hu’u Bar & Restaurant was our favourite place we visited for dinner, so we couldn’t resist a return visit this holiday, especially as we wanted to share our discover with the Greedy Guts.

Thankfully it didn’t disappoint and has now made its way firmly into my Top Ten Restaurants of All Time – it has the whole package: winning ambience, alfresco dining, fantastic cocktails and truly outstanding food. I’m hooked!

Mr Greedy Glutton has never quite got over the fact that I trounced him on my choice of meal last time we were here, and so this time, guess what? He ordered my exact same meal from before – the Crab Cakes with Mango Salsa, followed by the Seared Tuna. Luckily for him it was every bit as good as last time and he was happy diner.

This time I kicked off with the Duck Pancakes and oh my goodness, I fell in love with this restaurant all over again. The blend of Asian-style duck wrapped up in French crepes rendered this dish absolutely sublime – little bundles of Fusion joy.

My follow-up dish was no less impressive – a platter of Tamarind Chilli Prawns – thick, juicy and delicious.

Determined to drag this meal out slightly longer and get absolute maximum enjoyment, we then plumped for dessert – a truly awe-inspiring Caramelized Banana Tart, which quickly had our four spoons fighting for the remaining scrapings on the plate.

Hu’u Bar & Restaurant, I salute you… you’re just another reason to keep me coming back to Bali for long weekends…

Hu’u Bar & Restaurant, Seminyak, Bali - http://www.huubali.com/

Lunch in Bali

We were back in Bali, this time with our good friends the Greedy Guts, who featured in this blog early on when it first started. Our first meal of what turned out to be an excellent culinary holiday was lunch at Café Bali.

On first impressions, this was a great little find – a breezy café/restaurant with high ceilings, open windows, white-washed walls and furniture and cozy sofas in the corners, giving it all the comfort trappings of home. And most importantly for yours truly – free wifi!

Unfortunately the food didn’t quite live up to its promising surroundings. It’s not that it was particularly bad, it just wasn’t very exciting. The Greedy Guts opted for the Tuna Nicoise, which looked okay but certainly didn’t evoke food envy from me.

Mr Greedy Glutton went for the Special – Enchiladas, which were fairly tasty but a rather miserly portion.

I decided to go local and ordered the Mixed Satay, which was good, but nothing to write home about.

Still, all of the above were far more successful than the sides we ordered (well we have to live up to our names, don’t we?) The Har Kau was unlike any I have tasted before (and not in a good way) and the Vietnamese Spring Rolls were unfortunately a bland, greasy mess.

So a bit of a shame all in all – I definitely don’t think I’ll be returning for food here, although I might be persuaded to spend a lazy afternoon sipping wine on one of their sofas…. If I must!

Café Bali, Jl Laksmana, Seminyak, Bali

Seafood on the Beach

It was our last night in Bali and we were on our way back from a Kecak Dance performance at the spectacular setting of the Uluwatu temple, when we stopped off at Jimbaran Bay for a large dose of seafood. This to me epitomizes how seafood restaurants should be – tables right out on the beach so you can tuck into your fresh catch of the day with your toes in the sand, to the sound of the crashing waves (ok, we’ll just forget about the ubiquitous guitar band serenading embarrassed-looking couples with their renditions of Country Roads and Delilah for one second!)

Our driver was obviously on some kind of commission-earning exploit, so we humoured him and found ourselves a seafront table at his ‘recommended’ restaurant – I forget the name of it, but I’m not sure it really matters, a short walk up and down the beach showed them all to be much of a muchness in price and ambience.

We settled ourselves at a table and ordered a round of Bintang beers, and then joined the scrum of our fellow hungry patrons at the seafood counter. Once we had finally managed to elbow our way to the front, we chose ourselves a nice big fat Red Snapper (this came barbecued to perfection and came served slathered with ‘Balinese Spices’ – really very tasty indeed)

An equally large Squid, which they fried into crispy calamari for us

And a whole pile of Prawns, which were fried in Garlic Butter and served with an onion and chilli garnish – truly delicious.

Having thrown in some rice, vegetables and even a side order of Fries, we had ourselves a true feast. Unfortunately the rain chose the moment our food arrived to pay Jimbaran Bay a visit, so we ended up moving our feast indoors to the less-picturesque interior of the restaurant… but by then we were too busy demolishing the goodies to notice our surroundings so much…

Jimbaran Bay, Bali

More Fine Dining in Bali

After a day of the girls hitting the boutiques of Seminyak hard, we all met up for dinner at the famous Ku De Ta bar and restaurant, situated right on the beach. This must be the most popular restaurant in Seminyak and we couldn’t get a table until nearly 10pm, but they make great cocktails and their lounge tables face right out on the crashing ocean waves, so who was clock-watching anyway?

When we were eventually seated, despite our hunger, I still couldn’t order very quickly … and no that wasn’t due to the Watermelon Crush cocktails I’d been drinking beforehand blurring my vision, but rather because everything on the menu looked so good, I just couldn’t make a decision. I eventually just had to pick something when the waiter returned for a third time to take our order – if only to prevent my eating companions from throwing their glasses of Sauvignon Blanc over me. Thankfully it transpired to be a successful random picking.

I started off with some Seared Scallops, served with Hummous and Chorizo. This initially struck me as a strange combination of flavours, but thankfully it worked perfectly – the chorizo was not too overpowering for the scallops, perhaps due to the mellowness of the hummous, which also gave an interesting texture to the combination.

I followed this up with the Lobster Linguine with Tomato, Basil and Chilli. Whilst this was fairly tasty and the pasta was well cooked al dente, I did think that they could have packed some more flavour into this dish, and a few extra pinches of chilli certainly wouldn’t have gone a-miss.

All in all though another fantastic evening of cocktails and fine dining… just how does Seminyak manage to pack in so many fabulous drinking and dining establishments into such a small space?


Ku De Ta, Bali - http://www.kudeta.net/

Beachfront Dining

After polishing off more Strawberry Daiquiris than I’m sure is healthy, we took a hop, skip and a jump along the beach to La Lucciola, the beachfront Italian restaurant next door. This open-air thatched-roofed building with its comfy wicker furniture, tables under the stars and views past the palm trees out to sea was the perfect place to dine following our sunset cocktails next door at Breeze. And the menu didn’t disappoint either.

Our selection of starters included a Buffalo Milk Mozzarella with Vine Ripened Tomatoes,

and a very tasty Seafood Risotto, which although was under the main course selection, they obligingly served a starter-sized portion.

My choice was the Fried Zucchini Flowers with Fior di Latte Bocconcini, Tomato and Basil Leaves. I first came across the idea of Fried Zucchini Flowers on a Jamie Oliver TV programme, but this was the first time I had seen them on a menu, and I was intrigued. Well happily, my inquisitiveness paid off, and Jamie Oliver was right – they were truly delicious – juicy baby zucchinis attached to the flower with a warm gooey filling, all encased in crisp batter. A rare treat indeed, and one I shall look out for in the future.

Next up, the main courses were equally as successful – this time I opted for the Pan Fried Hiramasa Kingfish which came with Artichoke Hearts, Baby Spinach, Preserved Lemon and Citrus Vinaigrette. The fish was perfectly cooked, lovely and crisp on the outside with a soft and juicy centre, and the accompaniments complemented it well, without overpowering.

My friends’ choices however received mixed reviews: Seafood Pie

Open Seafood Lasagne

Vegetarian Risotto

However, I think the winner of best choice of main course for the day went to Mr Greedy Glutton for his Roast Marinated Lamb Rump with Cherry Tomato Peperonata, Soft Polenta and Almond Pesto. Trust me – it tasted every bit as good as it looks:

Good food, good company, good wine… and dining beneath the stars to the sound of the crashing waves… life surely doesn’t come much better than this…


La Lucciola – Seminyak Beach, Bali