IMAGES: CHRISTIAN HORAN PHOTOGRAPHY/FOUR SEASONS RESORT BALI AT SAYAN; MERAH PUTIH
EAT
Ayung Terrace is set on the dramatic Sayan River gorge, near Ubud
Right: Mango meringue dessert, at Merah Putih
A TASTE OF Bali
MERAH PUTIH An unassuming exterior belies the cathedral-inspired masterpiece within, with palm trees, a 30ft-high translucent roof and art deco-style columns that channel rainwater. The fine-dining menu includes ayam taliwang, Lombok spring chicken with water spinach, chives and kaffir lime, and bebek kalio — braised duck with cassava leaves, leek and chilli. Mains from IDR150,000 (£8).
merahputihbali.com
pig’s blood), rice and a dollop of the fl avourful stuffi ng. I tuck in as enthusiastically as my companions. At another warung, I’m served an ominous-looking dark green dessert-like drink called daluman, comprised of grass jelly blended with a swirl of coconut milk and a drizzle of liquid palm sugar. Topped with ice cubes, it’s surprisingly thirst-quenching. We wander through the busy central market, Pasar Badung, which is showcasing a rainbow of fruits and vegetables from long coils of snake bean to shiny purple mangosteen, and the pungent spices that drive the fl avours of Balinese cooking: turmeric, ginger, lemongrass, vanilla, cinnamon, galangal plus 10 diff erent varieties of local chilli. I get the chance to blend some of those spices
at the cooking school of Swiss restauranteur, Heinz von Holzen. He arrived in Bali in 1990 and worked as executive chef at the Grand Hyatt. Then, seven years later, he and his Balinese wife, Puji, opened Bumbu Bali restaurant and cooking school in Tanjung Benoa — a peninsula that juts into the bay north of Nusa Dua. Benoa village, on the tip, was once a bustling trading port for Indonesia’s eastern islands, and many Chinese and Bugis descendants of these traders still live locally. “For me, Balinese cooking is not just about
incredible food, it’s about preserving culture,” says Heinz. A renowned photographer, Heinz has published 12 books exploring local cuisine
and runs a second restaurant, Art Cafe Bumbu Bali, with his son Fabian. Both of his restaurants are named after bumbu Bali, the island’s signature blend of freshly ground spices, which varies from village to village and dish to dish, enlivening and adding depth to food. During Heinz’s cooking class I laboriously
pummel fresh garlic, shallots, chillies, galangal, ginger and turmeric in an ulekan cobek, a traditional pestle and mortar made from volcanic stone. The result is a harmonious-yet-complex blend that’s inimitably Balinese. “I have 16 ingredients in my bumbu Bali,
the ‘mother sauce’ we call it,” says Bali-born chef Wayan Kresna Yasa when we meet at HOME by Chef Wayan, his minimalist modern restaurant decked in warm woods and tropical greens. “Making it can take three hours. You must cook it slowly and caramelise it properly to release all the umami fl avours. Balinese food is not easy food to make, and it all starts with bumbu.” HOME is in the coastal village of Pererenan,
near Canggu, Bali’s hippest spot, but Wayan grew up on Nusa Penida, an island off Bali’s southeast coast framed by spectacular limestone sea-cliff s. Wayan has been a fi sherman, a boat captain and a seaweed farmer but cooking has always been his passion. He studied and worked in the US at fi ne-dining restaurants in Chicago and New York before
WARUNG GLORIA This streetside spot sells more than 40 dishes including west Sumatran beef rendang stew, perkedel potato cakes, sesame-dipped, deep-fried tempeh and myriad rice dishes. Mains from IDR50,000 (£2.60). Jl. Raya Kedampang, Kerobokan Kelod, Badung
AYUNG TERRACE, FOUR SEASONS BALI AT SAYAN In a jungle-fringed river gorge, near Ubud, Ayung Terrace has an a la carte menu showcasing delicacies such as Balinese mixed satay and udang bakar — grilled prawn with raw sambal and morning glory (water spinach). Mains from IDR295,000 (£15).
fourseasons.com
LOCAVORE NXT Before Locavore closed in October 2023, it ranked in Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants list for five consecutive years. The sustainably built, trailblazing reincarnation opened in December 2023 near Ubud, complete with a roof garden and on-site permaculture food-forest growing indigenous fruits and vegetables. 20-course tasting menu IDR 1,800,000 (£93).
locavorenext.com
JAN/FEB 2024 57
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