Bali wedding day 5: Thanks a lot, Tony Bourdain!

Last day in Bali, and I woke up with beautiful views of the greenery in Ubud. I am finally able to look out from my terrace and enjoy the view and the tranquility, but not for long...

We decide to take breakfast at Uma Ubud's restaurant, since we weren't able to on our last visit. It's a nice breakfast that's designed to be healthy. The nasi lemak was so upscale I didn't even recognize it... Guess I'm too used to the ones that come in a banana leaf and costs next to nothing... I did notice that we were the only Asians having breakfast, and that 80% of the patrons were from Australia and knew each other. Maybe these are the guests from the wedding they had just finished hosting.

The focus of the day is on lunch, but first we needed to do a bit of shopping. A friend asked us to buy some vanilla so that she could make vanilla crème brûlée. We of course are only too happy to oblige, as long as we get to taste some of the finished product! After visiting a number of stalls and bargaining the price down, we finally bought about 100g of the longer pods which looked like they were in decent condition.

We head for lunch at Ibu Oka's. This is a famous restaurant which serves only babi guling - roast pig. It has been at the corner of Ubud's main crossroad next to Ubud Palace for a long time, but we found that they had moved. It is now in a larger, more beautiful compound hidden in an alley. The new digs are much, much nicer.

We sat down and ordered a regular portion of the roast suckling pig on rice, as well as an extra portion of the crispy crackling. While it has been a few years since our last visit, the prices have gone sky high during this time. What used to cost IDR 10,000 is now listed as IDR 25,000. And IDR 30,000 buys you just a few pieces of crackling. Whoa! I know that food prices - particularly the price of pork - has gone up worldwide. But I immediately thought of another factor - Tony Bourdain. Since our last visit in 2005, Tony has visited Ibu Oka's and introduced it to the Western world on 'No Reservations'. As a result, there are now only tourists at the new location, whereas we were packed amongst mostly locals in 2005. The complete absence of locals - other than tour guides accompanying tourists - tells me that prices are now so high that locals no longer give Ibu Oka their business.

The food arrived and we dug in. The meat was still tender and the wafer-thin crackling still yummy. But we noticed a reduction in the amount of spicy sauce given. The combination of everything was still tasty, but certainly much less spicy than before. I think this is in response to the changing customer mix, as tourists are less likely to be able to handle the heat. I remember that I found it difficult to take the spices on my last visit, but was completely OK this time around. I did enjoy the couple of pieces of fried pig intestines, although I thought the blood sausage was a bit too dry.

In spite of all this, we ordered a large portion of the suckling pig with rice to take away. This could very well be our dinner on the flight back, if we didn't find the food in cattle class to our liking. The pig was good, but we probably won't be back for a while as we search for another spot with better value for money.

We were dropped off in front of the McDonald's at the airport, and I promptly checked out the menu for anything special that isn't available elsewhere. Unfortunately there weren't any, so I didn't get my overseas Mickey D's fix this time around. On a brighter note, we were upgraded to Business Class for the flight back. This is probably my last upgrade before I lose my current tier status at the end of the month, and we were pretty happy to have a bit more space and a better menu. I guess the box of babi guling would make it back to Hong Kong after all...

French food in Bali

Tonight we finally went back to one of our favorite restaurants in Asia - Mozaic. This French establishment in the middle of beautiful Ubud was introduced to me by a friend some 5 years ago. At the time it was my girlfriend's favorite restaurant in the world. While currently that honor belongs to another restaurant, nevertheless Mozaic holds a special place in our hearts. We have made it a point to visit the restaurant on every subsequent trip to Bali, and have even included a stop-over in Bali just to dine here.

We arrived about 2 hours after the original booking time, thanks to our excursion earlier in the day. We decided to go for the Chef's Surprise Menu to see what they could throw at us, and my girlfriend explained that the only preference she has is to avoid lamb, specifically if it has a very strong taste. Our server promised that the kitchen would not send us identical dishes, so that we may enjoy different experiences.

To welcome us, we were presented with cheese balls made from Parmesan, Gouda and filled with truffle cream. Not a bad start, and the truffle flavor certainly was nice.

The amuse bouche was a French oyster with Japanese seaweed and sake. I didn't ask which type of French oyster it was, but there was a briney finish which was mostly neutralized by the Japanese ponzu and sake. Very nicely done.

The first pair:

Sardine with kaffir lime zest, juice and jelly - nice thin pan-fried fillets, and the flavors of lime was certainly prevalent. This is totally up gf's alley and reminiscent of our first dinner here.

Gindara with red wine sauce, cèpe mushrooms and ginger balsamic soy emulsion - the rich flavors of the mushrooms and the emulsion were wonderful, but the cod itself was a bit disappointing as it was done the Western way. I love cod because it tends to be tender, juicy with a bouncy texture. While the execution tonight was not flawed per se, I wish it had been more juicy and not so firm.

Second pair:

Coral trout fillet with asparagus emulsion, truffle cream and asparagus tip salad – again, love the flavors but wish the texture wasn’t so firm. I’m starting to see a pattern here.

Mixed seafood with pasta sheet and clam juice, garden herbs broth – this was really wonderful. Tender and flavorful cuttlefish, langoustine and fish covered under a sheet of cilantro pasta, along with some scalloped potatoes, baby corn, string beans and cauliflower. Topped with a wafer-thin soft shell crab that was fried to a crisp. Great stuff!

Third pair:

Rabbit pastilla and loin with smoked foie gras, ginger and apple purée, apple gelee and sautéed boudin noir – I am reminded of the bisteeya that I had a couple of weeks ago (they are the same thing). This one, though, had lots of runny juices once you cut the phyllo pastry open. The foie was not bad, and the tiny cubes of boudin noir was really interesting.

Roasted quail with foie gras, chestnut purée and nashi pear – the quail was juicy and tender, perfectly executed. The foie was something else. It was charred on the outside while juicy and runny inside, just the way I like it. Gf thinks it’s the best pan-fried foie gras she’s ever had. I think it’s definitely up there for me, too. Bravo!

Fourth pair:

Javanese baby lamb with plum purée, toasted spices and Guiness Stout emulsion – I was kinda upset when this was brought to the table. Did gf not specifically mention that she doesn’t eat lamb, except when it’s not so “lamby”? Well, apparently the kitchen took on the challenge of wanting to see if gf would like their lamb. It turns out that she did, which I thought was bizarre. The thinly slices pieces had plenty of fat in them, which gave the meat the strong taste that normally makes gf flinch and puts a smile on my face. Amazingly, I didn’t think much of the lamb. Strong spices were used to try to cover up the taste of lamb, and the end result just wasn’t to my liking. It also came with a few pieces of toasted spices on the side, which was made from molasses, Szechuan peppercorns and almonds. I munched on these as candy, letting the mix of sweet and spicy flavors dance on my tongue.

Wagyu with beetroot, horseradish and chocolate ganache – the small cubes of wagyu were OK, and the horseradish gelée was interesting, but somehow I wasn't not a fan of the chocolate ganache. It tasted like it had soy sauce blended in and I thought I was chewing on pieces of Cantonese char siu instead of wagyu.

Potato mash was served with this course. This used to be a favorite of gf’s, and she did happily finish the whole serving. But we both agreed that the texture here was a bit grainy, although less butter and cream was used so it’s a lighter and healthier mash. I’m not a mash or potato fan, but I still think Robuchon’s mash is the best…

Fifth pair:

Coulommier cheese with black olive sauce and orange marjoram gelée – very nice cheese with nutty flavors, but unfortunately it was only big enough for two mouthfuls…actually, probably only one bite for me…

Imperial mandarin sorbet, fresh citrus and bergamot caramel – wonderfully refreshing, with slices of sweet and clean mandarins underneath. Perfect.

Last pair:

Chocolate trio: white chocolate pavé, mandarin chocolate soufflé and cinnamon chocolate mousse with bitter chocolate sorbet – the mandarin chocolate soufflé was very yummy, with candied rind that matched perfectly with the chocolate.

White chocolate mousse with mixed berries phyllo and ginger sorbet – the mousse was interesting since it was stuffed with passion fruit sauce. I didn’t like the mixed berries so much since it was a bit too sour for me.

We left the restaurant well past 11pm, being the last table to ask for the bill. We strolled back to our hotel in the cool evening breeze, satiated after another wonderful meal here. While Mozaic won’t ever feature in my top 10 restaurants around the world, we have always enjoyed our meals here and feel that it’s extremely good value for the quality that is offered. I look forward to returning, but I probably should explore some of the other options first...

Bali wedding day 4: pilgrimage to Besakih

It's the day after the big wedding, and people began to take off. Some of us are sticking around Bali a bit longer, and decided to do some sightseeing. One of us flew on China Airlines and was able to organize a minibus with Dynasty Package (華航精致旅遊) to take us around. We gathered a posse of 10 and took off for the northern parts of the island, setting off just around 1pm.

Our destination was Pura Besakih, the "Mother Temple" on the slopes of Gunung Agung, Bali's highest peak and holiest mountain. I visited this holy temple on my first visit to Bali more than 10 years ago, but it was during rainy season and the mist was all around us. I was pretty excited to have a chance to return, especially on such a beautiful day. After a small detour and a quick stop for lunch along the way, we finally arrived at 5pm.

After making sure that everyone's got a sarong wrapped around their waist and covered up their bare shoulders, we set off on an uphill walk to the entrance. Along the way we hired a "guardian of the temple" - someone who is not an official guide but a local who can lead us inside the temple. Apparently tourists aren't allowed inside by themselves. We are in the middle of the Galungan - the semi-annual festival of victory celebrating the triumph of virtue over vice. This time around, there is a big celebration at Besakih that happens once every 10 years. There are umbul umbuls and penjors erected all over the temple grounds, and Besakih looks a lot more colorful than usual.

Our guardian slowly takes us around the main sights within the temple grounds, starting with the central temple of Pura Penataran Agung. We walked up the long flight of stairs to the entrance, but was only able to go just inside the main gate on the first level for a quick look. We continued uphill to visit a number of other temples, until we have reached the northern end of the complex. As Besakih sits about 1,000m above sea level, the views from here down to the rest of Bali is pretty spectacular. We also got clear views of the top of Gunung Agung, especially after the clouds cleared up in the late afternoon. The sun was beginning to set, and the warm glow basked all the structures - especially the gold paint on the merus - in beautiful light.

We bid our farewells to the guardian, and began our long journey back. It would be an hour and a half for the journey to Ubud, where we were checking into the Uma Ubud for 1 night. I bid farewell to my fellow travelers, and hope to be able to see them again soon. A quick shower after check-in, and I'm walking down Jalan Raya to my dinner appointment...a full two hours late!

Bali wedding days 2 & 3: Black tie in Bali

I spent the last couple of days hanging out at the Ritz-Carlton in Bali, as a big group of us gathered here for a wedding. The weather is beautiful now, and we've got views of Jimbaran Bay out of our balcony. Life could be a lot worse.

I didn't do much on Friday, other than going down to the Kisik Pool to hang out for a couple of hours after breakfast. The long infinity pool is just perched above the private beach, and interestingly is filled with salt water. I'm normally not a pool or beach person, but it was sure nice to hang out and listen to the waves coming in. And watching airplanes land at the airport is always fun.

Dinner was at Menega Cafe on Jimbaran Beach. This is one of those tourist trap places where you sit on the beach and enjoy the standard grilled seafood dinner. The smoke coming out of these kitchens is incredible, and there are a string of these restaurants next to each other on the beach. Funnily enough, I actually ate at the same place when I stayed at the Four Seasons Jimbaran in 2004. The thoughts of the 2005 bombings flickered in the back of my mind...

After dinner a group of us adjourned to Ku De Ta for a drink. Again, it's been more than 4 years since my last visit, and I'm glad to see that it's still the place to be up in Seminyak.

Saturday was wedding day, so we took it easy. I took a short excursion to Impossibles Beach, a destination popular with surfers. I had wanted to take some pictures with my telephoto lens, but there was not a single surfer in sight. The water, though, was beautiful and there were some waves even around mid-day. The only unfortunate thing was that in my eagerness to get into the water, I left my Blackberry and wallet in my swimming trunks. I don't think either of them really enjoyed the dip as much as I did...

The wedding ceremony started late in the afternoon, at Astina Chapel - one of the two wedding chapels on the grounds of the hotel. I've heard long ago that the Ritz-Carlton in Bali is a fantastic place to have a wedding, and now I understand why. The setting is absolutely fabulous! The chapel is near the edge of a cliff and faces the ocean, with a reflecting pool just beyond the altar on the outside. The views are fantastic! There wasn't a single one of us who wasn't awestruck. And the cliffside makes for a magnificent backdrop for a photoshoot.

The only drawback to all this was that the bride wanted a black tie wedding. That meant me and the guys had to dress up like penguins on a tropical island with temperatures of 30° C. Not fun. But it made for a beautiful ceremony when all the guests were dressed up to the nines, including the guys.

Drinks and dinner were served on the vast grounds in front of the Ayana Villa, where the newlyweds were staying for the night. This place was huge! The lawn itself was big, with a Balinese pavilion which served as a DJ station and dance floor during dinner. The views of Jimbaran Bay were awesome. Then there's the two-story villa itself, with 3 bedrooms and adjoining baths. The master bathroom on the ground floor has a beautiful and big bathtub, and an attached shower "stall" that must have been more than 100 sq ft in size! The rain shower head was the biggest I've seen, hanging from an intricately carved wooden ceiling. It was just completely over the top!

We continued to party at the villa after dinner. As I expected, some of the guests decided to take a dip in the big pool in front of the villa - a couple of them against their will while fully dressed - while others soaked in the jacuzzi and were fed sparkling wine by their friends... A decadent but fun party that seemed the perfect way to end a beautiful and fun island wedding.

Bali wedding day 1: Balinese delicacies

I'm in Bali for a few days attending a friend's wedding. For my first meal in town, I went back to Ketupat, the fine Balinese restaurant which is hidden amongst the tourist traps on Jalan Legian in Kuta. I first visited Ketupat in January 1998. The Asian Financial Crisis was full-blown, and IDR went from around 2,400 to 10,000. This made everything extremely cheap as most places hadn’t adjusted their prices in IDR. On that visit, we ordered so much of the mango juice that the restaurant ran out…

It took us a bit of time to figure out where we wanted to sit, and we finally ended up by the pool as the ladies wanted. I’ve always loved coming here, as one can choose to sit in the open courtyard and look up at the stars, or in more traditional ‘cabanas’. The group faced a dizzying array of dishes shown on the menu, and decided to order a few appetizers first to quash the hunger while we took more time to figure out the rest.

Meanwhile, we ordered a round of drinks and tried out arak, the Balinese liquor made from rice (or palm sap). I had mine on the rocks (arak es) so I could get the true taste of it. Actually it tasted like a stronger version of Korean sochu. After a few sips of our drinks, we were ready for the food...

Lumpia langsing – bean sprout salad wrapped in crêpes. Not bad but essentially a veggie spring roll…

Perkedel jagung - these fried corn fritters were disappointing. Kinda soggy and pretty salty, these are nothing like the ones made by my friends' Indonesian helper in Hong Kong.

Rempeyek - these are the delicious peanut crackers I've had before as snacks. Large, thin chips topped with lumps of peanuts and local spices. Yummy!

Nasi goreng petani - not sure why the vegetarian fried rice were served right after the appetizers, but it was pretty delicious.

Sate campur - a mixed selection with chicken, pork, beef and mutton. Served with two types of sauce and some ketupat - the rice dumplings for which the restaurant is named.

Udang batolok - prawns stir-fried with chilli and green tomato. This was actually pretty good.

Ikan bakar colo colo - this grilled snapper was served with a salsa of tomato, shallots, basil and lemongrass. Pretty nice flavor and the salsa was a surprise.

The waiter forgot to take our order of roast duck, and we decided to give it a pass as we were pretty full at this point. We looked around for some Indonesian sweets but wasn't able to find anything really intereting.

I'm glad I came back to an old favorite, and used the opportunity to introduce Balinese cuisine to my friends. Next time I'll make sure to have the duck and a few other classic dishes, maybe I'll finally do the rijsttafel!