Have to say that none of us (4 in all) can honestly say that we had a bad meal in the nearly 4 weeks we spent in the Isle of Smiles.
Yes. some meals were better than others but overall we were all very happy with the different meals we had.
Ok here goes.....
Gateway of India.........Kuta....This is seriously my fave restaurant in Bali. It is basically at Bemo Corner but there are other ones in Sanur, Nusa Dua Etc that are part of the group.
We ate mainly at the one in Kuta at Bemo Corner and had a dinner also at the one in Sanur.
It is nothing fancy to look at but the food is brilliant. Between hubby and I we have had a lot of the different meals such as rotis, chicken kathirolls, butter chicken, naan breads, samosas and that is only a tiny part of the menu. We went here for my birthdy for lunch and we sit at the very front of the restaurnt munching on our meals, sipping our cold bintangs and just sitting back people watching...... With there menus you nominate whether you want it mild, medium or hot so even if you dont like "hot" foods, you an still enjoy it. The way we see it too is if you see an Indian Restaurant and a load of Indians all of a sudden rock up to eat at this restaurant, then it must be good..LOL
Indo National..........Legian...Had lunch here last year and didnt think much of it but OMG, it has improved so much. Had a couple of dinners here and I have rated this one as the second best one this year. I had the Chilli Crab and it was awesome..........hubby had the Chicken Chap Cay and he reckons its the best one he has ever had. Of all the meals we had here, we can honestly say that everything looked and smelled and tasted sooooooooooo good.
Poco Loco..............Legian...We have gone to this restaurant more or less for as long as we have been going to Bali. Hubby and I have always loved Mexican food and look forward to having some Mexican yummies dance around our taste buds. Have to say that it didnt disappoint. From memory we had some dips with corn chips, and I had the chicken tacitos......YUM!!!! So crisp on the outside but moist on the inside and the tomato and other bits and pieces in the salsa/salad was enough to fill my belly and put a smile on my dial. Friend had 3 different entrees, had one as an entree and the other two as his main and he enjoyed that. Hubby had the nachos.......cant go wrong with nachos. So much food and it was all good
Linga Longa Bar.............Sanur.....Hubby and friend needed to get some "Pork on their Fork" and I had heard about the Linga Longa Bar and decided to put the two together. We got there about 7.30pm ,pretty much as they had just gotten the suckling pig off the spit....Then three guys carefully sliced and picked their way through the suckling pig carcass, til there was basically nothing but bones left...
Coleslaw, Pasta Salad, Potato Salad, bread roll and then the suckling pig. There is no other food there BUT it didnt matter as they were in piggy heaven...LOL. So if you love your porky bits, give this a go. Cant go wrong with it being only 40,00rp for all you can eat.
Ratatouille........Sanur....Went here last year and decided to try it again this year and it didnt disappoint. I had the Seafood Stew and its was yummmo and especially love the way it is dished up. The Stew is served in half a coconut with a pillar of rice in a banana leaf cone. Hubby had Chicken Cordon Bleu and he really enjoyed it. Said it wsnt like your normal cordon bleu but was really enjoyable.
Piccadilly..........Sanur.....Another restaurant that we ate at last year and decided to give a go again this year. Have to say that its nice but feel that over the last couple of years something seems to have changed. The staff are all lovely and the food good but something seems to be missing and I still cant put my finger on it. Three years ago it was our fave restaurant but seems to have slid down a bit now with the rest of the eateries. I had the Spaghetti Marinara.Nnice enough but something was missing.....hubby and mate had Hunters Schnitzel and said it was good.
Bennos.............Sanur...A restaurant that is on the beaach with a gentle sea breeze blowing. Doesnt get much better than that. Nothing fancy but definitely enjoyable.
Bonsai.............Sanur...Another restaurant that has been around for years and still serves good food. Location is also great. I had chicken satay and thoroughly enjoyed it. Always love when you get the little burner with the satays on it.....satay sauce not brilliant but definitely good. Had brekkie here one morning also and have to say that the Indonesian Breakfast was a fave of mine. The Nasi was soooooo tasty. I have found that alot of places have pretty boring nasis when it comes to taste not necessarily spiciness but this one was yummmoo.
Luhtus Cafe......Sanur...Lovely way to start the day. Their American breakfast is lovely. Love eating here as if you sit in the right spot you can also watch the squirrels work there way down the trees to where the offerings are and they pick their way over them to get to the biscuit.......sooooooooooooooo cute. Then if they think you arent watching, they sit on a branch munching away happily. Beautiful way to start the day sitting at this little cafe first thing in the morning with an onion omelette, fruit, toast, juice, Bali Kopi and just generally relaxing.
Ducks Nutz..........Sanur.... LOVE the atmosphere at this place. Very relaxed and food was good too. Lasagne, calamari, meat pie chips and gravy, chip butties.....all good. Will definitely be back.
Made Two.....Sanur...Another restaurant that has been around for years. Nothing spectacular but still enjoyable.
Tootsies.........Sanur..This place has also been here for years. Great place to sit back , enjoying a bintang or two, and sit back and have a snack or two......have spent many hours during the day at this place. Right next to the Baruna Beach Markets so there is the shopping here too.....
The only thing I find is that most Indonesian meals now have been toned down when it comes to spices etc mainly so that tourists dont burn up with the chili content. A shame in a way as I have always enoyed the "chilli bits". Can still find the ocassional yummy satay or nasi ..........well worth it when you find one.
One thing we have done over the last few years is have a picnic on the verandah of our hotel room. As we are normally on holidays for around 3-4 weeks, you get to the stage where you just want a roll with salad, meat etc.....We noramlly do a "grocery" shop at Carrefour as we found they have some lovely breads, fresh lettuce, fruit etc as well as a slice of cheesecake or vanilla slice or fruit tarts. They also have different hams, pastramis etc that they can slice for you and then they will vacuum seal it for you too. They also have BBQ chooks that are great to cut up into pieces and have with some salad.
Have to say that I could seriously go a Chicken Kathiroll with some garlic naan right about now.....LOL......I always find that when I do the Restaurant List my mouth is watering by the end of it. Its all good though as it it means that we must have enjoyd our meals. Just such a massive shame that we have to wait til next year to savour all those yummies again. BUT it is definitely worth the wait.
Sorry if I have dragged this on too long but I really enjoy my food and love letting people know of good places to graze.
Next instalment will be the last one and will be about the shopping (of course) LOL