Wirastani: January 2014

Babi Guling Candra

A ten minute drive around Kuta and you will probably find two to three restaurants that serves Babi Guling. One of them is Babi Guling Candra, or Candra's Suckling Pig - located on the side of the road, you won't miss it because it has this gigantic billboard sign right in front of the restaurant.

Such big billboard sign they have

One time, I had lunch with my family at Babi Guling Candra. We all had the same dish, which was Nasi Campur Bali. The side dishes were pretty much the same like other Nasi Campur Bali, which were pork meat, crispy pork skin, pork satay, Gorengan Babi (deep-fried pork bits), Sate Lilit (or grilled grind fish on a stick), and Sambal. The extra addition to the dish were deep-fried chicken intestine (it doesn't taste as gross as it sounds, seriously), a bowl of broth with boiled pork meat, and Kerupuk Kulit Babi. Usually, you can only find a piece of crispy pork skin in every plate of Nasi Campur Bali, but at Babi Guling Candra they give you two pieces, woot!

Decorating the plate with various selection of food

My plate of Nasi Campur Bali

I really liked the presentation of my lunch - all messy and out of place, yet still organized. They were all well-cooked, judging from the brave colors from the side dishes that really stood out. The pork meat was very savory and it was slightly chewy, while the pork satay was sweet and simply enjoyable. On the other hand, the Kerupuk Kulit Babi and deep-fried chicken intestine were crispy and savory, same as the crispy pork skin.

For those who haven't try eating deep-fried chicken intestine, it tasted savory and slightly salty (depend on what spices you used to marinate it with actually, but it usually tasted that way), it is definitely crunchy, and it has this texture that makes you think like you are chewing a handful of sand.

Unfortunately, the spicy liquid from the chilly drenched up the bottom part of my rice, hence the stinging and painful sensation that I got when I spoon-feed myself the dish, so I had to remove it from my plate. Mom and Dad, on the other hand, enjoyed the sambal so much.

Knowing that a quarter of my rice was drenched in sambal, I pour some of the broth so camouflage the spiciness. The broth was very delicious, savory, porky, and slightly oily. I loved it! But, in the end, I could still taste the hot and bitter (and painful) flavor of the sambal.

Festive as heck!

It came with a bowl of broth that tasted awesome

That chilly hurt my mouth so bad

Iced Orange Juice to soothe my burning mouth with

Located adjacent to the cashier was a chest freezer that was stocked with homemade gelato. It was Rp15.000,00 for a bowl of gelato, which was an okay price for me since the bowl was not that small and it was homemade ice cream after all. Various choices of flavors, Strawberry, Avocado, Chocolate, Durian, Vanilla, and other flavors which I forgot the name of. I chose me the Vanilla gelato with chocolate sprinkles because it was the one that caught my attention.

My gelato looked very festive with all those chocolate sprinkles spread on, and in, the ice cream. The ice cream tasted nice, like how a vanilla ice cream should tasted like, and it was not too sweet. It had this thick texture, and it was slightly frozen, which explain the ice flakes on the edges. The chocolate sprinkles were bitter, which was nice, it blended with the gelato fine.

Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream with Chocolate Sprinkles

Other than the homemade gelato, at Babi Guling Candra you can also find some interesting crisps and traditional snacks. One of the example was the Kerupuk Kulit Babi that I ate with my Nasi Campur Bali, as well as the deep-fried chicken intestine. Other than that, there were many kinds of kerupuk, keripik, sweet rice crisps, cheese sticks, and many more. The price varies form Rp10.000,00 to Rp25.000,00, and it may change from time to time.

A favorite of mine, and highly recommended for you to get, is the Kerupuk Kulit Babi. It tasted savory and salty, crunchy and slightly tough to dig your teeth in, and simply delicious! It's a must have.