EAT
Below: Pepes Ikan, from Merah Putih restaurant Right: Cooking over coals at Bali Asli
F IVE FOOD FIND S PEPES IKAN
This fragrant spiced fish is steamed in banana leaf packages and baked
on a fire of coconut husks. The juices inside the parcel explode with a moist smoky flavour.
BABI GULING
Bali’s signature dish of spit-roasted pig is stuffed with aromatic leaves, onion, garlic and bumbu Bali,
brushed with crushed turmeric and served with lawar, spicy chopped meat and vegetables.
GADO-GADO
This warm salad of blanched or steamed vegetables, tofu, rice cake
and hard-boiled egg is served with a sweet and spicy peanut sauce.
KLEPON A small, sweet boiled ball of rice
flour dough, coloured green with pandan leaf extract, filled with palm sugar and rolled in shredded
coconut. The liquid centre bursts in the mouth.
BUBUH INJIN
A sticky black rice pudding, blended with coconut milk, flavoured with
pandan leaves and sweetened with coconut sugar.
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NATIONALGEOGRAPHIC.COM/TRAVEL
returning to Bali to lead the kitchens at beach club, Potato Head. “After seven years I stepped down to do something new with Indonesian cuisine, with a modern presentation yet without jeopardising the character,” he says. About 30% of Wayan’s home-style Balinese
and Indonesian dishes are vegan, some of them hailing from his native island, Nusa Penida. Standouts include ledok nusa, a savoury porridge made from whatever’s in season — corn, cassava, beans and other crops — finished with kemangi (lemon basil) which brings a sweet aroma. His plant-based creation of roasted tempeh with a crunchy baby cabbage known as keciwis is one of the best Indonesian dishes I have ever tasted. Bali’s attracted generations of ex-pats and
creatives since the 1930s. It’s a place people visit — and stay. One such person is Penny Williams, an Australian who came to Bali in 2007 as executive chef of Alila Manggis resort. Four years later she designed and opened Bali Asli Restaurant in the island’s east, under the gaze of Mount Agung, Bali’s highest volcano. “It turned out to be the most amazing
journey, the learning curve was about as steep as Mount Agung,” says Penny. “I realised
that traditional Balinese cuisine is extremely diverse; you can travel less than two hours and the food will be prepared in a completely different way. That inspired me to create Bali Asli, where we do everything traditionally: cook on wood fires, prepare by hand using pestles and mortars, and only serve cuisine from the surrounding eastern region.” Most of Asli’s ingredients are homegrown,
and the menu — on lontar palm-leaf manuscripts — changes almost daily. Lunch includes a foraged speciality, mountain fern tips with grated coconut, and spiced fish steamed in banana leaf parcels. Outside, the sky is blue and I can see Bali Asli is blessed with views of Mount Agung, the rice fields and rainforest that’s laid across the foothills like patchwork. “Every day here makes my heart sing,” Penny says as she follows my gaze.
HOW TO DO IT: Tropical Sky offers itineraries exploring the best of Bali’s beaches, combined with a stay in Ubud. Start at the beach resort, Melia Bali, in Nusa Dua, then stay in Wapa Di Ume, in Ubud and travel to the northeast coast to Spa Village Resort Tembok. A 13-night trip starts from £1,869 per person B&B, including flights.
tropicalsky.co.uk
IMAGES: MERAH PUTIH; MATABOOLAN
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