Eat Like Ushi

I'm not quite sure what time the Ubud market is open. Websites list different things, from opening at 5am or sunrise to closing at 9am or 6pm. Most seem to say that the locals shop in the morning and this is the best time to attend.

Breakfast was the agenda as well as curiosity that led us to walk through at the unholy time of 7:30am. There was a nice amount of activity without being crowded, with all types of fruits, vegetables, some meat and fish and even trinkets and flowers being sold. Luckily toward the end I found a couple of nice stalls with a lady combining a wet rice, vegetables, peanuts, beans and sauce. The persistent surrounding 4 or 5 people making orders was reassuring that this was a good place to order from.

The level below street also brought us to someone cutting up fresh jackfruit and a couple of chicken sate grillers (both of which were a little dry but tasted nice).

I also tried the local specialty of snakefruit. It looks like an acorn surrounded by snake skin and really tastes quite unappealing. I think bitter sweet is the closest I can describe.

Enjoy the sights, smells and foods.

The two food places in this post aren't actually at Rumah Adi (which is a guesthouse and convenience store in Amed) but are stalls located a short two minute walk down the road. There's also a restaurant front that is known for babi guling, but on this occasion they had sold out already and the meats in their stall were happily attracting flies.

Luckily these two other places were around as options. One shop makes gadogado to order with rice pyramids cut up from freshly de-twined packages and the ingredients are assembled on top. It was the most authentic gadogado tried throughout Bali (of around 12 altogether) and was tremendously satisfying. Additionally their deepfried jackfruit or ladyfinger banana fritters were sensational taking advantage of the natural sweetness of these tropical fruits. Throughout all times of day people would walk or motorbike (to/from work) and load up.

Around the corner, a man served chicken noodle soup with a very strong soy-flavoured (possibly MSG) broth.

As cheap and as local as it gets.

Anantara is simply one of the most luxurious hotels I've ever seen. The prices reflect this, but luckily the Mr. & Mrs. Smith website allowed a cheaper booking (approx. $250-350 per night) to enjoy the luxury. Considering the reputation of Seminyak for being nothing but beaches and Australians, choosing a nice place where the option of staying there and not moving seemed reasonable.

There are very good restaurants and massages nearby, the beach is directly in front and the view isn't bad either. On the contrary the infinity pool (or more private pool) is lovely, those decks include table service for drinks and cocktails, there is an ice-cream cart (!!), the gym and spa have lovely views from the top floor and luckily the Anantara restaurant also serves excellent food.

The buffet breakfast is one that my buffet-obsessed brother had told me about for months as he recalled the different stations as well as the all-you-can-order menu. All guests staying at the hotel have breakfast included or for outsiders the cost is Rp. 25000 ($25). It's a high price for Bali so ensure you intend to spend enough time there moving from breakfast onto brunch.

Firstly there are several stations with which to pick up things and decorate your plate. The variety changes each day but starts from small dishes of fresh salads (such as rojak), martabak, chicken soup and moves onto the bakery section (including cronuts which I'm happy to have tried but never again), multiple cereals and yoghurts, fresh juices and a large bread section. You can also finish off with a colourful decorative selection of kue (desserts).

However there's more. The breakfast menu has a multitude of Western and local dishes cooked to order. The hash browns were the only Western ingredient I craved and they were delicious - crispy, hot, well seasoned with soft pieces of potato within - just perfect. Kway teow, chicken congee, mie goreng, nasi goreng were all upmarket local renditions. One of the most exciting was the 'Bacon & Eggs' which was braised pork belly & potato curry, crispy paratha, fried egg and chaat masala salad. It reminded me of the well-known breakfast roti at Tom Phat in Melbourne.

Overall one of the most relaxing and varied breakfasts I've had, filled with Western and Indonesian options. If I ever stay in Seminyak again, it will be at Anantara.

Deep amongst the stalls and bustle of Seminyak likes Warung Murah. It wouldn't ordinarily have appealed to me except that my brother insists it is his favourite warung from previous trips to Bali, and once he finds a place he likes to eat at on holiday, he goes there 2-3 times per day. He had been waiting the entire trip to take me there. Apparently the place is well reputed amongst expats and surfers.

The concept is slightly different to your typical warung. Essentially it's a display buffet and you ask the staff to pile up your plate with as much as whatever you want. They determine (assumably by sight and experience) what you to charge you.

The food is cheap, good and there's a great variety of vegetables, fish and chicken. The biggest benefit is you get a bit of everything rather than having to stick to one meal. Can't argue with that!

Going through the Entertainment Book, the 64% rated Belluci's in Manuka wouldn't have been my first choice but I'm slowly running out of closeby options. I've often found I don't necessarily agree with low ratings that are often given for service and the 25% discount offered here seemed like as good a reason to try this place.

- Insalata Panzanella (fried sour dough, heirloom tomatoes, buffalo mozzarella, green olives & roast peppers) - conveniently only a few days before, Jamie's 15min meals had shown me this salad for the first time. It tasted every bit as good as I had imagined whilst waiting Jamie;
- Tortellini all' Anatra (hand made duck parcels with mushrooms, asparagus, pistachio & smoked ricotta) - $30
- Galleto alla Diavola (grilled spatchcock with Calabrian spices, buttermilk slaw & hand cut potatoes) - $36

I must admit from the delicious fresh-tasting salad, to the rich heavy duck pasta and the spiced bird (which needed a little more salt/seasoning for my liking but was still good), that I actually like the food here. I do appreciate that the prices are extremely high for Italian - $30 pasta and $36 poultry. The most expensive Italian places I've eaten are Caffe E Cucina (Melbourne) which is a small step up in price and big in atmosphere, and The River Cafe (London) which is an enormous step up in price and reputation. Given this, it is difficult to justify Belluci's without the Entertainment Book discount.

Maybe it's just me, but I find it difficult to pay high prices for Italian generally (eg. never going to Grossi Fiorentino) unless they have decidedly high world reputation (eg. nearly ended up at Combal.Zero in Turin if it wasn't for the drenching rain).

Finding somewhere open and available to eat near Flemington on Boxing Day dinner was proving to be a last minute debacle. There's the standard (however good quality) options of Chef Lagenda, Laksa King and I Love Dumplings but the day needed a slight change to the cheap heavy Asian flavours in the area. A search on Urbanspoon uncovered Little Africa with its ridiculous 96% rating. A quick phone call confirmed they somehow still had dining vacancy and it was set.

The menu makes it easy to order - individual stew or the vegetarian or meat/seafood combinations of the day. Chai with kamman tasted like a tea with heavy cardamom infusion. I had to add half tsp of sugar for my own palate.

Of the vegetable dishes, my particular favourites were the tumtummo (split lentils stewed in a thick but mild sauce with seasoning) and exceptional fool (fava beans, cooked until tender mashed then mixed with ghee butter and seasoning, lemon juice & cumin topped with green chilli, onions and tomato). The meat and fish curries were also good, particularly the lamb zighini (cubes of lamb slowly cooked in a rich berbere sauce with mixed spices and clarified butter).

Injera had the right mild amount of sour tang which to me is essential in this cuisine. Although I was a little disappointed that an extra injera was listed at $1 each both online and inhouse (which is the retail price in Melbourne - visit Racecourse Road) whereas in the end they told me it was now $2. Not a big deal but unexpected in the end.

It has been a while since I had Ethiopian food last in either Footscray, Flemington, Collingwood or Nairobi. Although slightly more expensive I'd happily come back.

Next time I would order the combination of the day again. Even though I have my favourites, it's the variety of 6 that keeps the meal more interesting.

One of the things I enjoyed about living in Abbotsford was that after a string of night shifts, I could walk home down Gertrude Street and reward myself with an excellent breakfast at any one of the brilliant cafes - De Clieu, Arcadia, Birdman, takeaway bread from Fatto a Mano, Proud Mary (a short detour) or as close to home as it got at Three Bags Full.

Three Bags Full in particular won me over as all the places serve similarly good and priced food, but they particularly have the gingery chai latte (from Phoenix chai syrup) that slightly burns the throat and makes me feel alive. I haven't had that flavour anywhere else in the world in a chai. I recently discovered a reasonably close cafe along the Kingston foreshore that may soon replace my Melbourne equivalents. Local Press isn't close enough to be overly convenient, but I think it's better than the closer local option of Penny University.

Let's start with the chai - served in a teapot with a warmer jumper, steeped with whole spices and easily avoiding the sweet syrup crap taste that most places have. My only preference would be if it was served with a strainer to prevent floaties in the cup. But I can work around that if the drink is good. Local Press is (probably) alluding to the refreshing juices in jars and there are also smoothies with chia seeds and other super ingredients.

The food is beautifully presented and complements the waterside view (not the best but I'll take it) and general people watching:

- Green Breaky Plate (za'tar coated hard boiled eggs with kale & almonds, avo, asparagus, quinoa tabouleh, fetta & dill yoghurt with smoked salmon) - healthy combination of textures (various seeds & nuts, feta, quinoa, salmon, asparagus, yoghurt...) and flavours including an excellent kale which I don't normally think highly of.

I went back the next month for lunch (woke up too late for breakfast). The dishes are still vibrant and flavoursome and only mildly more expensive:

- Smoked Trout & Quinoa Patty (with green apple, fennel & radish slaw, coriander, candied walnuts, kiwi-yoghurt dressing & sriracha chilli sauce);
- Grasslands' Free-Range Rare Pesto Beef (on Italian-style salad with marinated bocconcini, basil & heirloom tomatoes).

There's plenty of options to try for next time.

03-2015

A late Sunday lunch on a sunny afternoon was as pleasant as can be. The people types ranged from young families with energetic kids, a small mob of Chinese uni students, some early-20s attractive females in tight gym gear and some older couples wearing sunnies.

- Kingfish Sashimi (with pickled ginger, wasabi peas, wasabi mayo, avocado, roasted black sesame, nori sheets & grapefruit) - as usual the vibrant presentation mixing colours and ingredients was matched by the flavours and 6-or-so textures. I have to admit for $24, 5 slices of kingfish seemed a little thrifty but they were excellent quality and complemented best by the small Hershey's shaped wasabi mayo (Kewpie perhaps?). Rocket and firm rice salad added additional elements and made the dish more filling.

This was washed down lovingly with the usual berry & chia seed smoothie. Then it was off to the the gym.

04-2015

Easter Sunday - busy considering it was a Sunday at the best cafe around Kingston and similarly quiet given it was Easter and many were out of town. There was luckily no wait for seats at the communal table, nor were there any shortage of bike shorts and lycra. The beards were less frequent than usual which was great.

Round 2 of chai was served in another cosy teapot with warmer. There are 2.5 cups for the $4.50 (+50c for soy) which makes it an incredible bargain, especially given it's the only drinkable chai I've come across in Canberra. There is a mild sweetness (which can be enhanced at the table by sugar, including coconut sugar ie. palm sugar), a touch of ginger (I'd prefer more but it's acceptable) and is satisfying.

Juice of the day was a pineapple, beetroot, ginger concoction.

- Green Breaky Plate (za'tar coated hard boiled eggs with kale & almonds, avo, asparagus, quinoa tabouleh, fetta & dill yoghurt with ocean trout);
- Green Pea Pancake (with poached eggs, macerated avo, corn salsa, fetta, chilli jam & mint garnish) - another presentation spectacle matched by textures (pea pancake with very mild intrinsic flavour, tomato/peas/corn, smoked salmon, fine feta) and an occasional unexpected chilli after-burn mixed with poached eggs and avocado.

Still my favourite local cafe.

The first time I went to Cupping Room the wait ended up being too long for my stomach to handle. It was an impromptu visit after arriving at the airport that resulted in the second visit in the early afternoon and an immediate seat. Our waitress was a lovely lady whose accent I'm still trying to place - an unusual European or South American perhaps? Maybe I'll ask next time.

The coffee is proudly Ona's and I'm told it's good. I like how the menu espouses the quality of their "local real chai infused with Bonsoy" and I intend to try it one day, as few places make chai lattes with soy which certainly complements the flavour much more than cow's milk. However the barrier to this on both occasions has been this - Dark Chocolate, Cherry & Coconut King Shake. Imagine a cherry ripe blended, chilled and topped with additional desiccated coconut. It is as brilliant as it sounds and a sure fire menu item on my future imaginary cafe.

- Ham Hock, Corn & Potato Fritters (with two poached eggs, 'cuppers hot sauce' & a cress & alfalfa salad);
- Cascara Cured Salmon (with horseradish cream, cress, rye & curroway crutons, pickled fennel, beetroot jelly & a poached egg);
- Asian Honey-Glazed Pork Ribs (with purple slaw & lime) - meaty chewy ribs (rather than bone-slipping) with a reasonable glaze;
- special I can't quite remember with crumbed fish, potatoes and vibrant pickled vegetables.

The food is good, the drinks are great. I'll be back for the King Shake and a side serving of food.

There was a short 2 hour slot before having to go to the airport. This was just enough time for one more meal. Luckily taxis around Seminyak don't take too long and don't cost too much to get to most places of interest. Anantara to Potato Head only took 10mins which left plenty of time to enjoy the surroundings in an otherwise unexpected visit.

It initially feels like an odd place - taxis drive through a security area and dropoff outside some fancy looking shops. You go past more security into what looks like an enormous speckled Colosseum and wind around the impressive corridors. A series of young females greet you and ask where you'd like to go - eat side 1(Lilin - Balinese), eat side 2 (Potato Head Bistro) or fancy eating (Tappingshoes - French). I think there are additional options of the lounge areas but I'm sure you pay more for those.

Being in Bali, the choice was always going to be Lilin, and I'd read briefly about it online somewhere so the name was familiar. As you are led towards the eating area, you can't help but notice the grassy central grazing area, the umbrellas, infinity pool, ocean and horizon. It's a beautiful setting and explains the popularity, nearly all tourist crowd (Western and Asian), beach bodies and high prices. What's also surprising is the number of older patrons and families including young children.

The drinks menu has dreamy cocktails. The Mango Jerry (vanilla tequila, spice sugar, honey, lime juice, mango, orange liquer) was selected for both the picture of it in the Potato Head mug (of which I was tempted to take one away like those delinquents at Oktoberfest) and the fruity sweet elements that I like. Others enjoyed on the day were Mai Tai (light & dark rum, lime, orange curacao, almond syrup, pineapple), and a non-alcoholic Mango Lassy.

- complimentary Shrimp, grapefruit, fish sauce and coriander was a nice tangy spoonful to commence.

Entree Set of Four:
- Crispy Roasted Pork Belly (with honey chilli reduction) - tasty pieces reminiscent of Chinese style;
- Golden Prawn Ball (crispy minced prawns marinated with a selection of fresh herbs, served with sweet chilli & plum sauce)
- Catfish with Red Chilli Sambal (fried fillet of catfish served with homemade red chilli paste) - a little crumbly and not as crispy as I would have liked;
- Baby Squid in Yellow Curry (stuffed with minced pork & fresh herbs) - only a few small squid morsels, but an absolutely delicious curry sauce that I could drink or eat alone with rice.

Mains:
- Grilled Prawn (live sea prawns grilled with garlic, lemon & chilli sambal) - expected larger prawns rather than the bite-sized snack versions. In any case quite nice but could've used more seasoning and chilli;
- Asian Chilli Crab (served with fried buns) - small crab in chilli sauce. As usual I feel the effort for crab meat isn't always worth the reward. What I did like was my second experience with fried mantou buns (which I've had trouble finding since Melbourne's Mao Restaurant);
- Wok-Fried Clams (with chilli paste, kaffir lime leaf, spring onions) - potent heavy flavoured sauce with only very small (other than a few) clam meat. I like my clams big and meaty (a la Borough Market Richard Hawards);
- Kangkung Belacan
- Coconut Rice and Red Rice

The food is fine, the drinks are great, the prices are high considering the quality you can get in Bali for low costs. The setting makes it a worthwhile visit though - you're enjoying more here than just tastes. Give yourself more time than 1.5 hours and enjoy the sunset and basking warmth.

The final dinner of the trip was initially booked at Sarong - a modern pan-Asian upmarket experience rated currently at #47 in San Pellegrino Asian restaurants. Unfortunately someone had a few belly problems meaning the consensus was to cancel the booking on the day and wait until the evening to see how far from the hotel this belly would let us venture.

As mentioned in the Bo & Buns post, Fat Gajah was another place I had only read up the afternoon before, and the menu of dumpling variety interested me. I can say that in all my travels and food places thusfar, I haven't experienced anywhere that has gourmet modern dumplings. As much as I appreciate the standard yum cha, Din Tai Fung and other Asian dumpling varieties, this was on another level of cool and creative. Funnily enough I didn't even realise how impressive the noodle menu was also until looking at the menu once we sat down.

The cocktail menu is equally enchanting. Red Dragon Sangria (red wine, brandy, dragon fruit, mango, strawberries, raspberries, lime, vanilla bean) is a tropical version that tastes as good as it sounds. The excellent local fruit made it particularly special. The other Fat Cocktails were nearly all designed with me in mind, and if only I had enough time and alcoholic penchant I would've gone through several.

It was a quiet time in Bali (which is great) meaning there was noone else there when we arrived. The army of chefs standing across from us waited to see what orders would get them kicking into gear.

Snacks:
- Braised Beef Short Ribs in Steamed Chinese Bun (Pickled Cucumber, Cilantro, Lettuce, Roasted Red Pepper) - not quite what I was expecting. I thought either an open gua bao or even a closed classic bao (less likely). Actually turned out to be a bao base topped with shredded beef. This made it surprisingly difficult to eat/share. I didn't feel the flavours or textures here were that good. The only dish tonight I probably wouldn't order again;
- Amazing Fat Gajah Tofu Chips (Peanut Pecel Dressing and Pickled Cucumber) - mildly seasoned tofu skins deepfried into a light thin chip, most reminiscent of a flaky corn chip. In the grand scheme of things I probably prefer potato/sweet potato chips but this is certainly different.

Dumplings:
- Spicy Beef Rendang Pot Stickers (Bird’s Eye Chili, Lemon Yogurt, Cilantro, Yellow Bell Pepper, Egg, Scallion) - a very different kind of fried dumpling, with mild chilli and yogurt sauce making it feel almost Mediterranean. The rendang flavour wasn't very strong;
- Seared Lamb Shank Lemongrass Dumplings (Grilled White Onion, Jicama and a light Lemongrass Curry) - my favourite dumplings of those tried. The meat texture was silky smooth like a blended mince and the lamb flavour stood out strong. The delicious curry sauce was a drinkable bonus;
- Steamed Black Pepper Crab Dumplings (Soy Cardamon, Green Peas)
- Steamed Beef Short Ribs Dumpling (Orange Peel, Chinese Broccoli in Soy Ginger Honey)
- Sesame Grilled Yellow Fin Tuna Squares (Lemongrass, Kaffir Lime, Chilli, Fish Sauce)

Noodles:
- Crisp Salty Egg Oyster Mushroom in Ramen Noodles (Scallion, Green Pepper, Chili Pepper, Pikled Cucumber, Chives) - surprising winner dish of the evening. I wouldn't ordinary order this, but my dad wanted it. The salted egg flavour was only very mildly coating the mushrooms, but extremely heavy stuck to the noodles. This was sensational and delicious;
- Red Snapper Bakso Balls in Squid Ink Noodles (Bok Choy, Celery, Dill, in a light Soy Fish Broth, Crisp Egg noodles) - the only soupy noodle dish with sweet savoury broth and black noodles (very very mild squid ink flavour);
- Beef Tenderloin Curried Noodles (Crisp Beef Jerky, Beef Floss, Red Chilies, Bok Choy, Chinese Cabbage, Sauteed Flat Rice) - combination of different textured and degree of flavoured beefs (the jerky being as expected the most potent);
- Spicy Soft Shell Crab Noodle (Egg Noodle, Onion, Caisin, Fennel, Scallion, Sesame Seeds)

This was a fantastic meal. With the exception of the Chinese Bun, I would order any of these again and given the success of the dishes try anything on their menu. For me the Lamb Shank dumplings and particularly Salty Egg Noodles would be what I'd have again every time. Coupled with a wonderful drink menu, this is one place I am delighted to have tried.