Pulau Dewata: Babi Guling Candra

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. 

Get your crisps here!

A favorite of mine, Kerupuk Kulit Babi

Kerupuk Babi, originally made in Bali

Babi Guling Candra

Jalan Teuku Umar 140

Denpasar, Bali - Indonesia

Phone: 
(0361) 994 0098
(0361) 225 559

Opening Hours: 
Monday - Sunday: 7 AM - 10 PM

Pulau Dewata: Pantai Jimbaran

Oooo, funky lights!

Pantai Jimbaran is well-known for its' dinning place by the beach. Simple dinning chairs and tables are set on the sand, not far away from the shore but not that close either, and we can dine while enjoying the sound of the pounding wave. It is best to visit Pantai Jimbaran at night as the candle light provided on the dinning table emphasize the movie-like romantic atmosphere surrounding the place.

There are three to four restaurants that provide this funky dinning experience. You get to chose at which restaurant you want to eat and what you want to eat. You have to be able to bargain though, because the staff usually put an inhuman price range to tourists - yes, even to Indonesian tourists. It's a good thing my parents are good at it.

Other than the restaurant, food vendors can also be found strolling around the beach. The one that you will most likely encounter is the grilled corn vendor. The price of one stick of grilled corn was not that expensive. I bought one for Rp10.000,00 and it tasted nice. It also came with some boiled ground nuts.

Them grilled corn and boiled nuts were very old school in a good way

We waited quite a while for our food to come. Dad ordered a plate of grilled prawns and grilled fish. My Mom is allergic to seafood, but she is very lucky to be able to eat squid, so we ordered a plate of grilled ink squirter. 

Our dinner came with lots of side dishes like, salt and lime, watermelon, boiled potatoes, three kinds of chilly sauce, deep fried onions, pan fried water spinach, rice, and hot tea. It was pretty luxurious and everything tasted delicious - even the potatoes!

Selamat makan!

Order for table 18

Salt and lime to go with your seafood

Three portions of rice

Those watermelons looked pale, don't you think?

Various kinds of sambal and a bowl of fried onion

I fell in love with the grilled prawns. They were well-grilled, the meat was soft and sweet, well done! The cook didn't forget to clean the nasty part of the prawn either - yes, that nasty black line on their back, which happen to be their digestive track or intestine, a.k.a. their poo pipe. I'm a big fan of prawn, that is why I'm slightly sensitive when it comes to that particular part of the crustacean. If it still there when its' already cooked, I won't eat it. Well, do you expect me to eat poop?

Grilled prawns for dinner

The fish deserve a two thumbs up. Nicely grilled, well marinated, soft meat, the combination of spicy and sweet worked well, and it was a big fish.. so, yeah, I had fun eating this fish with my Dad. The best part of the fish was its' crispy tail that would make you go "crunch! crisp! crack!" when you dig your teeth into it.

Fried fish for Dad and I

Potatoes!

After we finished dinner, we took some picture by the seaside. What bothered me is that numerous orbs can be found in every single picture we took. Mom said that the ocean is the home of spirits - those who are lost and trapped in this world wondering around and those who are banished. "Maybe it's their way of showing that they exist," she said. Spooky much.

This picture gives me chills

Pulau Dewata: Pantai Kuta

In Bali, you can do water sport pretty much anywhere since the island has numerous beaches. But, the one beach that provides you all kinds of water sports is Pantai Tanjung Benoa. The beach is located in Nusa Dua, 40 kilometers away from the capital city of Bali. 

Unlike any other beaches in Bali, where you can usually spend your money on getting your nails painted and hair braided, you can spend some Rupiah to do sports at Pantai Tanjung Benoa. Banana Boat, Scuba Diving, Surfing, Seawalker - you name it! - are available and the price of each activity varies, starting from Rp100.000,00. 

I went for the parasailing, since it's the only water sport I have been dying to try. Each round consisted of you soaring in a circuit for two minutes, and it was worth a hundred Rupiah. I didn't know parasailing would be this expensive. Dad was very kind for buying me two rounds. I ended up flying for five minutes for Rp200.000,00 because of the crew's generosity. I wonder what made them give us this valuable time discount. 

That's me flying!

The line for parasailing was not that long

Up up and away!

It was eleven in the afternoon when we finished our acitivity, but the scorching sun made it feel like as if it was two o'clock. Lunch time was still an hour away, but we decided to drive casually in search of a nice restaurant to dine in at. We headed to Pantai Kuta, another popular beach in Bali, and it seemed that the people outside our car was heading the same direction with us. 

In just five minutes, we spotted a nice place to eat and parked the car immediately. No, it was not a restaurant, nor it was a cafe, but merely a humble and small warung on the roadside. You see, warung is Indonesian for a small family-owned shop. Here, you will most likely find powder drink sachets, traditional snacks and crackers, and bunch of other knick knacks. But, this particular warung had something that I have never found in any kind of warung before, which is Nasi Campur Bali.

Your choice of instant thirst quencher

The owner of the warung came out and offered us food and drink. We immediately ordered three plates of meal, consisted of rice and every side dishes available that day. There were more than five kinds of side dishes - Hallelujah, praise the Lord! - and all of them were pork. Pork Broth, Satai Ikan, Gorengan Babi, Spicy Pork, Kerupuk Kulit Babi, Urap, Ayam Balado, Sambal Goreng Tahu were the ones that accompanied the rice.

The wife of the warung owner

Scooping side dishes onto the plate

Yum, look at them food calling out, "Eat me. Eat me."

While we wait for our lunch to be served, we chatted with the owner. He built the warung so that he can earn some extra money for his family. His boss own a particular hectares of land and told him to take care of it. "Since it was merely hectares of nothing, I decided to built up this warung and start my own business. That way, I'm doing what my boss told me to do - which is taking care of his property - and I'm earning additional salary for my wife and kids," he said while doing some tricks with his dog. Smart man.

Woof!

The legendary puppy dog pout

After a while, the wife of the warung owner finally served our lunch. My plate was decorated with numerous kinds of side dishes. All I could see was bits of fried pork, chicken, fish, and other unidentified object - I didn't know which was which. So, I just ate it. 

The thing about Nasi Campur Bali is that it is always hot and spicy. Always. As a person who can't handle peppery dish, it tormented me. I love Nasi Campur so much - with all its' combination of flavors; savory, sweet, salty, and peppery - but on the other hand, it will always give me a hard time in the loo. 

My favorite side dish was the Gorengan Babi, or leftover-pork-skin-meat-and-fat fritters. As unhealthy as this food may sound, it tasted beyond delicious and very addictive- savory, slightly oily, porky, and crunchy. 

Nasi Campur Bali

Lunch is served!

Our lunch came with a bowl of soup, consisted of pork meat, fried onions, and some diced carrots. It tasted very delicious, very savory and rich in flavor. At the bottom of the bowl was where you can find them pork meat and diced carrots. Mom and Dad loved it so much. As for me, I sticked with my Gorengan Babi instead. 

The owner's treats!

Dad enjoyed it so much

A glass of Orange Juice to quench your thirst

We finished our lunch and we bid goodbye to the sweet and friendly warung owner. It's a shame I didn't get to know their names and the exact location of their warung. People ought to try eating at their humble shop, as it was very cozy, home-like, and simply enjoyable. 

We continued driving to Pantai Kuta to spend our afternoon at. The blazing sun was excruciating. Tourist were in bikinis, putting on their sunglasses and beach hat to protect them from the cruel ultraviolet that the sun emitted. It was one o'clock sharp when we arrived at the beach. We immediately rent us some seats and ordered cold beverage. And by cold beverage, I meant cold beers.

Beer in the afternoon? No problem.

Your choice of cold beverage

I don't do beers because I think it tasted bitter, fizzy, and absolutely far from being delightful. I got myself a couple bottles of cold tea and simply enjoy the sweet sugary sensation of the drink. While Mom and Dad leisure around with their beers and cigars, I took my camera and went down to the sea and shoot some pictures.

Kuta Beach, Bali

Time to relax 

Got your surf board?

The beach was filled with girls in bikini

Tanned skin 

Another surfer spotted

Panai Kuta will always be filled with people. There will be those who are in their bikinis getting sun-tan, and those surfers with their surfboard and funky wet hair, and those who are being chased by nail artisans and hair braiders who go, "Miss! Braid your hair, Miss! Very beautiful! Paint your nails! Only 80 Ribu, very beautiful!".

Don't mind the crowd, just enjoy the beach.

Look's like I'm not the only one who's taking pictures

Careful there, Miss!

Darkness slowly took over Pantai Kuta 

The beautiful sunset of Bali