Babi Guling @ Warung Pak Malen, Seminyak
What's travelling to Bali without trying their local delicacies. One of such is the widely known Bali Guling, also known as roasted sucking pig. To prepare this dish, the pig is normally infused with a spicy paste mainly made from turmeric, chillies, shallots, lemongrass, coriander and peppercorn, tied with kitchen strings and then roasted till the skin crackles and juices flow. Sounds good?
If you Google 'Babi Guling Bali', you'll find that 8/10 links with reference to Warung Ibu Oka in Ubud. I take that Ibu Oka would be the one of the most commercialised 'warung' for Babi Guling. As we were no where Ubud, we decided to take the 'road less taken' at Warung Pak Malen located on the busy Sunset Road in Seminyak. Parking would be a problem here, but we got our cab driver to wait at the roadside (meter was kept running) while we hop off for a quick bite.
We knew we were in for something good and authentic when we realised that almost all the restaurant patrons were locals. It was lunch time, and many students and workers thronged the restaurant for their lunch break. Shortly after we placed our orders, our food came accompanied by their local vegetable soup. Each serving of babi guling was 25,000 IDR which was a little bit on the steep end judging by the portion.
Each of our plate, or 'basket' to be more exact, bragged a a few pieces of pork meat, a stick of pork satay, one crispy pork skin, urap (a vegetable dish with spiced grated coconut dressing) and alot of chilli padi. The pork crisps were a little too tough for my liking which was a tad bit disappointing as that was my favorite part of pork dishes.
If you have a low tolerance for spiciness, this dish is definitely not for you. Although we had a reasonable tolerance for spicy food by Malaysian standards, we left the restaurant sweaty, had burnt tongues and hot-red, sexy lips. Nonetheless, the spices used to marinade the pork will keep you coming back for more.
Thanks to extremity of the spicyness, we finished our meal in half an hour and was greeted by our cab driver with a loud chuckle when he looked at our red faces. It was a shame we couldn't compare Babi Guling at other 'warungs', but we would definitely be back for more the next time we're in Bali.
Ayam Betutu @ Ayam Betutu Khas Gilimanuk, Nusa Dua
Ayam Betutu, also known as steamed or roasted chicken is another local Balinese delicacy which was recommended by our Askara Villa manager. So during our last day in Bali, we decided to try this dish at Ayam Betutu Khas Gilimanuk. This place was recommended by our cab driver which was conveniently located near to the Nusa Dua airport. This is one of the many branches around Indonesia and is quite commercialised.
We ordered 1/2 a steamed chicken dressed with their locally made 'kuah' which was a blend of coconut oil, red onions, ginger, pepper, turmeric and garlic. This was served up with 'sayur plecing' (water spinach with spicy 'sambal', groundnuts and raw red onions with chilli (for those who needed an extra 'kick' of spicyness). The whole set cost us 40,000 IRP which was really pricey in my honest opinion.
Not a big fan of the sayur plecing and the 'tiny' 1/2 a chicken was definitely not enough for both of us but the sauce accompanying the chicken was so delicious, that although it was really spicy (again!), we licked clean the sauce off the plate.
Overall, there were a lot more local Balinese cuisines we have yet to try due to time constraints but one thing we can summarize from Balinese food. FULL ON SPICY WITH NO MERCY.
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| How I consistently looked like after every Balinese meal |
Nitty-gritty details:
Babi Guling @ Warung Pak Malen
Address: 5, Jalan Sunset Road, Seminyak, Bali.
Ayam Betutu @ Ayam Betutu Khas Gilimanuk, Nusa Dua
Address: 89, Jalan Bypass Ngurah Rai, Nusa Dua, Bali
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