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/

Seafood on Surin Beach

There are few better things in life than eating fresh seafood on the beach, with the sand between your toes – and on our first night of holiday in Phuket, we intended to do just that.

There are several bars and restaurants lining Surin Beach (all responsible for those ghastly sunloungers that mar the view of a beautiful beach). Many are nothing more than shacks with tarpaulin shelters, others are more established restaurants with painted walls, cushy furniture and trendy fixtures and fittings. What they all have in common is sea views, lapping waves, and fresh seafood.

We chose Pla Seafood on the basis that its tables were actually set out on the sand, not lining the road above as most of the others were. Once we were seated at our table and had our toes firmly dug into the sand, we ordered ourselves up a feast – A Red Curry with Prawns:


Stir Fried Squid with Sweet Chilli:


and a Barbecued Fish.


Unfortunately the Barbecued Fish was rather over-salted to finish, but the rest was pretty good. What really made the meal though was the ambience – the cool sand underfoot, the balmy evening air with a sea breeze and the gently crashing waves, all combined to make this a memorable evening and one of the highlights of our stay in Phuket.

Pla Seafood - http://www.plaseafood.com/

Beachfront Thai

My how time flies – after a hectic visit back to the UK for Christmas and New Year I am back in Sunny Singapore and ready to chow down again. Before we headed back to the land of grey skies and sub-zero temperatures, we had a relaxing weekend in Phuket to chill on the beach, paddle round the limestone islands, and of course to indulge in some Thai food.

We chose to stay at the Twin Palms resort on Surin Beach

and as soon as we had checked into our room, we threw on our beach gear and made our way down to the chic and trendy Catch Beachclub for a bite to eat. The Catch Beachclub is just how a beach club should be – comfy seating, uninterrupted sea views of the horizon, palm trees, chill out tunes, cocktails and good food…

Unfortunately it doesn’t have the background soundtrack of crashing waves like Bali’s Ku De Ta – and the sun loungers of Surin Beach are a bit of an eye-sore… but all that aside, this has the makings of a great beach bar.

The lunch menu is a mixture of Western – burgers, steaks, club sandwiches etc, and local favourites. Well who wants to eat a burger on their first day in Thailand? Not us that’s for sure, so we ordered ourselves up a selection of local dishes.

The Spicy Green Papaya Salad with Soft Shell Crab was superb. Mixing the tanginess of the papaya, heat of the chillis and beautifully crisp crab, this was a fantastic (and substantial) salad.

Goong Sarong is a local Phuket speciality of crispy rice noodles encasing fresh juicy prawns. It looks spectactular, with the crispy wispy noodles overflowing and the hidden prawns nestling within. This came served with pickled vegetables and a curry and honey sauce and was simply delicious.

And we finished off with everyone’s favourite – a Pad Thai – and a very good Pad Thai at that.

One of the joys of being in Thailand is definitely its food… and one of the joys of being on holiday is eating what you want, when you want. And so I ask you – what better joy than being on holiday in Thailand?

Catch Beachclub, Surin Beach, Phuket - http://catchbeachclub.com/

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

Pizza on the Beach

It was my birthday (how old you ask? I don’t know, I stopped counting a few years ago now!) so a group of us met up at Trapizza at Siloso Beach, Sentosa to line our stomachs with pizza before commencing an afternoon beach bar crawl.

The menu at Trapizza consists mainly of pizza, pasta and salads. I’ve tried their salads a couple of times and not been overly impressed – too much raw onion, too much dressing and the tuna in the Nicoise is canned and mushy.

Today, however, it was all about the pizza. I chose the Siciliana – Italian Sausage, Pepperoni, Red Onion, Roasted Peppers and Basil. The pizza was a good size (for a greedy person), with a generous sprinkling of toppings (though not too much), the Sausage and Pepperoni were tasty and, most importantly, the pizza had a thin, crispy base, that hadn’t gone soggy in the middle.

One friend ordered the Lasagne, which was particularly disappointing, and as I’ve said the salads aren’t anything to write home about, so take my advice – if you’re on Sentosa and find yourself at Trapizza, go for the pizza.

I’d even go so far as to say that this was actually the best pizza I have had in Singapore… and as if that wasn’t reason enough to return… the beer is pretty cheap too …

Trapizza – http://www.shangri-la.com/en/property/singapore/rasasentosaresort/dining/restaurant/trapizza

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

Sunset Daiquiris

Everyone you meet in Bali wants to know if you have a ‘programme’ for the day, and more importantly whether that programme includes plans for sunset. Well, on this day our programme did include sunset, and I think we may just have found the perfect place to enjoy it.

Breeze is the beachfront bar and restaurant at Samaya Villas and offers unparalleled views of Seminyak’s beach and sun-setting horizon. And what a sunset! No wonder the locals are keen for you to experience it.

Views and sunsets aside, the comfy sofas, mood lighting, contemporary decking and décor and mood lighting all combine to make Breeze one of the sleekest, chicest bars I have ever been lucky enough to step foot in. But the evening’s pleasures didn’t stop with the ambience. Oh no, there was also the cocktail list to enjoy, and more specifically, the Strawberry Daiquiris.

These are surely how God intended Strawberry Daiquiris to be… like drinking a bowl of fresh, ripe, sweet strawberries through a straw… with the added bonus of a slug of Bacardi of course….


Breeze, Bali - http://www.thesamayabali.com/dining/