After hours of contemplating on whether or not I should go out, I decided to treat myself to a beautiful and refreshing smoothie bowl. Got myself a ride from Go-Jek, put on my helmet, and off I go to Kuta. Despite the super hot breeze, Bali is far more enjoyable to roam around by foot compared to Surabaya. The streets, even though it’s only a couple hours past noon, are packed with tourists and local vendors selling overpriced weaved bracelets.
It goes by the name Nom, located on the corner of Poppies Street and Legian Street. I do not recommend those of you who are interested to visit this place to bring your own vehicles, other than motorcycle that is, for the little hut does not provide any parking facility. Motorcycle is somewhat okay, but you still got to park it at an empty alley adjacent to Nom.
A small friendly hut with smiley staff Nom is. The mbok welcomed me with a usual greeting that she may have practiced to welcome foreign tourists. “Welcome to, Nom,” she said, which I replied with a, “Iya, mbok, terima kasih. Mau makan di sini.”. If you love to eat your smoothie bowl while having a cigarette break in between, then this is the place for you.
I got me the Coco Loco which consisted of a cocoa and banana smoothie base, then topped with a generous amount of shredded coconut, granola, cocoa nibs, and diced mangoes. It was a sight for sore eyes, especially when you’ve been busting your ass flying from cities to cities these past week and not having any beautiful food other than a bowl of warmed up home cooking from Mom. I usually prefer my smoothie bowl to be either berry based, or pitaya based, but I feel like changing up my routine this morning.
The smoothie had a nice smooth texture instead of the usual icy frozen blob like the ones at Nalu Bowls. There were bits of red substance here and there, which I couldn’t recognize, that gave this sour and refreshing berry hint when you chew on it. I’m guessing that it’s probably goji berry? The banana was dominating the whole flavor wheel, which I am not complaining about because I love banana and banana can never go wrong in smoothie bowl. I’m not a big fan of the shredded coconut, but the refreshing mango was very sweet and mildly sour in a good way. The cacao nibs, on the one hand, was very enjoyable and delicious despite its’ bitterness and the granola was just as nice.
The mbok at Nom took a picture of me, with my consent of course, with my Coco Loco. “It’s for Instagram,” she said. I took the liberty to ask her for a copy because, bitch, I’m feelin’ pretty today!
In between my late late breakfast, I made a rather long video call with Davie and we exchanged stories about what happened last night when we decided to sleep while leaving the phone call continuously running through out the night. “Kamu ngorok ancur banget tadi malem,” he said. Boy, I warned you before about how ugly I can be when I sleep. There’s no turning back now.
Once, during those hectic time of my line training with Air Asia, a good friend of mine visited me at my working place. He goes by the name Dito, a former classmate who is currently working with Air Asia as well and based at Denpasar, Bali. I was busy preparing the flight data for my next sector when I heard this familiar Javanese accent lingering at the cockpit door. Could it be, I thought to myself. I was damned sure that it was him - because my auditory system excels most compared to my other functioning system, so I can recognize and memorize sounds well. And, just when I finished setting up my FMGC, I turned my gaze around and found him smiling and waving at me. I couldn't help but to scream with joy because it felt so good to reunite with an old friend.
After the breakup, I've developed this new habit of turning my cellphone off every time I fly, including that day. Turns out, Bli Dito knew in advanced that I was coming to Denpasar from his duty schedule, which has my aircraft registration and my name in it. He took the liberty to notify me before hand through LINE that we were going to meet. "See you on board," he said, which I noticed later on when I turned my cellphone on to snap pictures of us inside the cockpit. We ended up exchanging quick updates about our lives despite the super short ground time.
Like the usual caring and generous Bli Dito, he gave me a bag of souvenir just before the door closes. "For you to enjoy, Ket," he said, "send my regards to your parents.". He bid his goodbye and I bid mine. In a snap of a finger, the flight attendant closed the door and the aircraft was being pushed back. He stood there under of the aircraft nose, waving his hands whilst smiling, which I replied with an overly excited waves despite the fact that I was flying with an instructor. Couldn't care less, tho. I was dead happy to meet a familiar face in a such strange environment.
During the next few hours of my flight, I was content. Didn't do the flight as stressful as my previous flights as I was in a good mood. Despite the fact that my landings were still not center lined, I managed to do well on my flight and did a proper calculation of my descend profile. Then, I went home to my Mom and we opened the souvenir together. Well, what do you know, it's a banana cake!
Unlike any other banana cake I've had before, Bali Banana's banana cake was slightly different as it was sprinkled with toasted pastry flakes on the surface of the cake. Garnished with chocolate streaks, Bali Banana made sure that its' cake was eye-catching and appealing to the eyes of its' consumer. As Mom was slicing the cake, I notice a green paper lying on the bottom of the plastic bag. I took it out, and it was a note from Bli Dito.
This banana cake from Bali Banana is very soft, with a slight hint of chewiness here and there. The chocolate accent blended nicely with the banana flavor, and the toasted pastry flakes give a nice subtle change to the monotonous texture. They were slightly savory and buttery, adding a more variant flavor to the whole being of the cake.
Now, I believe I had told you in some of my blog posts about how I like to eat my chocolate, or ice cream, with something to chew on, like chocolate sprinkles, or crushed peanuts, or biscuits chunks, or shredded orange peel; the same goes with this cake. It's already delicious the way it is, but the pastry flakes and the chocolate streaks made it more enjoyable to eat.
P.S. Thanks for the cake, Bli Dito! Stay safe, and I hope we'll meet again when I have the chance to fly to Denpasar.
Pas kemarin di Bali, ada satu hari di mana gue dan Ibu gue jalan-jalan ke kota untuk belanja dan nonton film di bioskop. Karena rumah kami memang letaknya di desa, kanan kiri sawah semua dan kalau malam-malam gelapnya kayak lagi program Live In di pedalaman kampung, kami memang benar-benar harus ke kota kalau mau mencari hiburan. Perkebunan padi seketika berubah menjadi jalan raya yang diramaikan kendaraan berplat nomor DK. Gue pun menjadi semangat saat sampai tujuan karena udah lama nggak ngeliat papan reklame bulat berwarna hijau tua dengan tulisan Starbucks. "Bener-bener kayak orang desa main ke kota, ya," ucap Ibu gue.
Perjalanan dari Desa Pejeng ke Denpasar kurang lebih dua jam. Destinasi pertama kami adalah Mal Bali Galeria yang terletak di sisi Jalan By Pass. Dengan desain gedung yang sepertinya mengikuti gedung tradisional di Bali, Mal itu tampak beda dengan mall-mall lainnya yang pernah gue kunjungi. Hanya dua lantai, bangunannya luas dan tidak dihias dengan Air Conditioner di setiap sudutnya, dan dilengkapi dengan area berjalan yang hijau di tengah-tengahnya. Ibarat donat tapi dalam bentuk kotak dan adalah sebuah bangunan.
Siang itu, kami mampir ke bioskop yang ada di Mal Bali Galeria dan menikmatti indahnya nonton film keluaran terbaru dalam keadaan sepi. Belum pernah, seumur hidup gue, gue nonton film dengan keadaan sesepi dan sekosong itu. Cuma ada lima orang doang dalam satu studio!
Kami nonton Alien: Covenant. Gue penggemar berat seri film Alien karena itu adalah makanan sehari-hari gue saat gue masih berumur 4 tahun. Iya, sekecil itu gue udah nonton film garapan Ridley Scott dari yang pertama sampai yang keempat. Gue bahkan inget banget di suatu siang, saat gue masih TK dan sedang disuapin sama Ibu gue, gue lebih memilih nonton Alien ketimbang film Robin Hood karya Disney.
Tapi film itu pun yang menyebabkan gue takut setengah mati berenang di kolam, dan di laut. Pokoknya aktivitas apapun yang mengharuskan gue untuk berinteraksi dengan air, gue ogah, dan ketakutan ini berlangsung sampai gue kelas 3 SD. Akhirnya, setelah gue dipaksa ikut kursus dan berhasil berenang dari tepi kolam ke tepi seberangnya, dalam keadaan hujan badai yang membuat air kolamnya butek nggak karuan, atas dorongan Bapak gue, gue pun berhasil menghilangkan rasa takut dikejar-kejar Xenomorph di dalam air.
Selesai nonton film, gue kepingin makan yang berkuah karena, ternyata gue baru sadar bahwa makanan berkuah adalah comfort food buat gue, gue mendapat kabar yang nggak enakin. Jadi, ketimbang seharian mecucu dan menyebarkan hawa negatif ke seluruh penjuru Denpasar, gue memutuskan untuk makan Soto Betawi di Kafe Betawi.
Ditemani kerupuk oren yang rasanya terlalu bagus kalau dibandingin dengan kerupuk oren ala tukang ketoprak gerobakan, gue melahap Soto Betawi gue yang dihias dengan remahan emping dan bawang goreng. Rasanya nggak kayak Soto Betawi sama sekali, lebih kayak sayur lodeh. Terlalu banyak santan, terlalu manis, dan nggak ada gurih-gurihnya blas. Agak mengecewakan, tapi cukup untuk menghibur hati yang lagi gundah. Ditambahin sambel pun nggak ngaruh apa-apa karena rasanya tetap kayak sayur lodeh dan bukan rasa soto.
Sebelum meninggalkan Mal Bali Galieria, untuk ketemuan dengan Tante gue di daerah Seminyak, gue sempet mampir ke gerai Starbucks yang membuka cabangnya di mal tersebut dan membeli tumbler yang gue kepingin dari kapan tau. Sayangnya, desain tumbler yang gue mau udah nggak ada, karena udah lewat musimnya, jadinya gue pilih yang paling murah aja. Tadinya gue mau bayar pakai Starbucks Card, karena bisa dikasih diskon 10% untuk tumbler-nya dan dapat minuman gratis seukuran Tall, sayangnya mesin pengoperasian kartunya sedang error. Batal dapat diskon, deh. But I got me this tall-sized Iced Shaken Lemonade, with Passion Fruit Tea and less ice, so yay!
Yang tadinya mau ketemuan di Nalu Bowls harus diganti karena, saat itu, Nalu Bowls akan tutup dalam waktu satu jam. Akhirnya kami pindah haluan dan memutuskan untuk ketemuan di Earth Cafe yang terletak di sisi Jalan Kayu Aya.
Nggak susah kok untuk menemukan Earth Cafe ini karena terbantu dengan papan reklame warna hijau yang kemungkinannya kecil untuk kelewatan. Awalnya sempat bingung mau parkir di mana karena cafe ini mungil banget, tapi ternyata ada parkiran khusus di dalamnya yang bisa memuat mobil dalam hitungan jari dan beberapa motor.
Karena saat itu gue lagi sok-sokan mau menerapkan hidup hits dengan diet sehat, jadilah gue pesan chia pudding parfait ini yang nama aslinya gue lupa. Parfait ini terbuat dari chia seeds yang dicampur dengan almond milk hingga mengembang, yang kemudian dihias dengan potongan stroberi, potongan mangga, taburan kuaci dan goji berry, tumpahan pemanis alami yang terbuat dari kurma, sedikit yogurt, dan parutan kelapa kering. Wow, Kinan jadi vegan! Hidup vegan!
Gue nggak nyangka makanan sekecil ini ternyata semengenyangkan itu. Asli, gue kenyang banget makan beginian doang! Beberapa suap terakhir itu rasanya menyiksa, entah kenapa. Sebenarnya enak kok, meskipun kalau chia puddingnya dimakan sendiri aja akan terasa sangat hambar maka dari itu dikasih segala hiasan biar ada rasa sedikit, tapi lama-lama lidah gue bosen juga dengan makanan vegan dan organik ini. Gue sangat merekomendasikan parfait ini untuk kalian yang asli vegan dan yang sedang diet sehat.
Sementara itu, Ibu gue tengah sibuk dengan jamur goreng kriuk dan jus C4-nya yang terdiri dari wortel, timun, dan apel. Kenapa ya, rumput tetangga selalu kelihatan lebih hijau? Kayaknya enak banget Ibu gue ngunyah potongan-potongan jamur yang dibalut tepung garing nan gurih. Makannya pakai kecap asin pula, tambah enak kan jadinya!
Sudah, deh, setelah kenyang menyantap biji ngembang yang rasanya hambar itu, gue dan Ibu gue memutuskan untuk kembali ke Desa Pejeng. Sudah cukup jalan-jalannya di kota, besok-besok lagi kalau udah suntuk dengan sawah dan segala hutan belantaranya. Dan gue pun harus menyetir dalam posisi kekenyangan yang membuat gue agak mengantuk. Sip.
Kafe Betawi
Mal Bali Galeria
Jl. By Pass I Gusti Ngurah Rai
Opening Hours:
Monday - Sunday: 10AM - 10PM
Starbucks
Mal Bali Galeria
Jl. By Pass I Gusti Ngurah Rai
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.
Warung Made, or Made's Warung, is one of the dinning places that you should visit whenever you travel to Bali. Unlike a typical warung, or small family-owned shop, Warung Made is actually a restaurant that serves a wide selection of food. From traditional Baliness cuisine, such as Nasi Campur Bali, to Western dishes like Pork Ribs, they have it here at Made's Warung.
It has become one of the most popular tourist destination, Made's Warung is. Lots of people, from different part of the globes, eat here. American, Thai people, Japanese, Chinese, Europeans, Indonesian, Arab people, you name it, gather at Made's Warung to dine.
Made's Warung
There are numerous branches of Made's Warung decorating the streets of Denpasar. The Made's Warung that I visited was located near Kuta beach, the number one beach in Denpasar. Only a short walk away from the beach and you can have yourself a nice cold beer and deep-fried calamari.
I love the furniture and decorations used at this particular Made's Warung. The tables and the chairs are made from wood. There were traditional masks and vintage photos decorating the broken-white walls. Simple hanging lamps were available above each tables to light up the dining area. Souvenirs, such Warung Made's signature crocodile T-shirt, were available for selling. There were numerous staff at Warung Made who were very friendly and talkative, yet lacking of alacrity and interest when they were serving the customers.
The staff were friendly, but unfortunately not that agile
The sight of Warung Made from the inside
Souvenir T-shirts from Warung Made
It was during Tea Time when Mom, Dad, Tante Tami and her newborn son, and I paid a visit to Warung Made. Instead of ordering something small to nibble, such as cakes and french fries, we ended up ordering a big plate of Pork Steak and a thick slice of Tiramisu. Plus, a couple glass of cold Beer Bintang, an Orange Juice, and a hot glass of tea. I didn't mind at all!
TOAST!
Left to Right: Bintang Beer, Orange Juice, Hot Tea
Man, were those ribs tender and juicy! There were two stacks of them on the plate, complete with a bunch of french fries and salad on the side. My parents and I shared this manna and we managed to finish it in minutes.
The meat was well-seasoned, very sweet and savory, and was very tender. Cooked well-done, it was rather easy to detached the meat from the bones. They were very juicy, a mix of oil and soy sauce would just spurt out with every bite. Crispy burnt fat were there to taunt you, but I ended up enjoying it unlike any other days where I would just discard them form the meat and cast them to the side of the plate. This Pork Ribs were ridiculously sweet and delicious, and I command you to get some for yourself when you visit Warung Made!
Pork Ribs
Look at them juicy ribs ready to tantalize your taste buds
Bon appetit ~
People, don't forget to try Warung Made's Tiramisu as well! It costed Rp35.000,00 for this dessert, which is pretty expensive for a slice of cake. But this is not merely a cake, it's a genuine melt-in-your-mouth give-you-chills-when-you-eat-it tasted-like-rainbows-and-unicorn Tiramisu!
Creamy. Milky. Melt-in-your-mouth. Bitter. Sweet. Orgasmic. Addicting. They didn't name the cake "pick me up" for nothing, indeed!
The cake was E•P•I•C! Every spoonful of it that entered your mouth would just melt in a snap as you move your tongue to savor the fantastically milky mascarpone cheese and the bitter-sweet coffee-dipped cake. The bitter cocoa powder garnishing the top of the cake gave that small bitter kick that enhance the sweet flavor and creamy texture of the Italian dessert. The cake was rather heavy and glutting, but not sickening, and slightly making you drowsy. One bite and you will definitely go, "CAK CAK KECAK KECAK CAK!"
That sinful Tiramisu that costed Rp35.000,00
Oh my God Tiramisu you bad bad bad dessert you
Is this post convincing enough for you to book a plane ticket, fly to Pulau Dewata and book a table at Warung Made? If not, you might want to scroll up and re-read the above paragraph about how orgasmic the Tiramisu was.
Made's Warung
Jalan Pantai Kuta
Kuta, Bali - Indonesia
Whenever I go to Bali, I always visit this restaurant named Centre Point. It's a restaurant owned by my Mom's best buddy back in the old days, I call her Tante Tami. The restaurant is very cozy and is the perfect place for you to lounge around with your buddies after spending the whole day at the beach. The food here is diverse, starting from waffles to deep-fried calamari, from juice to traditional cold beverage named Es Campur. Plus, they have this special live music show every Wednesday where they play Kroncong music!
My favorite dish is still the Waffle with Ice Cream. The waffle is Mickey Mouse in shape and served with a scoop of ice cream, which come in three different flavors: Strawberry, Chocolate, and Vanilla. You can find a drizzle of honey glazing the surface of the waffle - and although the baked batter is not crispy and slightly burnt like how I like my waffles to be, it still tasted so good!
My all-time favorite: Mickey Mouse Waffle with Strawberry Ice Cream
One afternoon, my parents and I decided to have lunch at Tante Tami's restaurant. Dad had a plate of Stir-fried Veggie and some Deep-fried Calamari. I took a bite of each dishes and they tasted great!
It was a hot day and I was not in the mood to eat something heavy, so I ordered myself a glass of Es Campur instead. Literary translated Es Campur means Mixed Ice. It is a popular traditional cold beverage in Indonesia that commonly consists of grass jelly, Nata de coco, avocado, jackfruit, and canned milk. The ingredients used to make Es Campur may varies, as there is no wrong way to make the cold beverage. You can even add some Rambutan and chocolate sprinkles in it and you can still refer it as Es Campur.
Dad's Sayur Tumis, or Stir-fried Veggie
Deep-fried Calamari
A cup of cold and delightful Es Campur
One night, after spending the day traveling around Denpasar, the three of us made our way back to Centre Point. I ordered myself a plate of Batagor to munch on, then followed by requesting other dishes which name escaped me. Batagor, short for Bakso Tahu Goreng,is another example of a popular dish in Indonesia. It is actually a deep-fried dumpling, usually made out of fish and is similar to Shumai, topped with peanut sauce. The outer shell of Batagor is very crunchy and savory, while the fish-based inside part is gooey and elastic.
The Batagor that they sell in Centre Point was crunchy and very delicious! I love how they top the deep-fried dumpling with some onion crackers, it doubled the crunchiness. I love the peanut sauce the most because it was flavorful and not sickeningly creamy. The only flaw came from the food is that the inner filling was a bit too sour for me.
A plate of Batagor for snack
For some reason, I always have this urge to eat at Centre Point. I could order three different dishes in one night and still having the need to eat more! No wonder I gained a few kilos when I got back to Jakarta.
Centre Point
Jl. Puputan Niti Mandala Raya
Renon, Denpasar
Bali 80235
