Let There Be Brunch.
I'm just gonna condense all the brunch food in this section, so naturally, this would include coffee as well haha. The first restaurant we ate in, none of my friends remember the name and it wasn't in my food itinerary either so it must have been a random choice while walking haha.
Roadside Cafe
Fortunately, even if we don't quite remember the name, we had a pretty good experience while dining here. We were supposed to eat in Sisterfields but the line was super long and we didn't wanna waste time waiting in line so we just walked around the area and found a cute cafe by the roadside and just settled there.
I ordered the Poke Bowl, not sure where all the tuna went in the photo but it was there LOL. It's pretty ok, and was pretty filling meal. The vegetables and the tuna were all fresh and from what I remember correctly, it was priced pretty fair too.
Of course, I had my usual Iced Mocha to go with my food. One of the other things I was able to try was this full breakfast set which had sausages, bacon, poached eggs, mushrooms, avocado, grilled tomato, and some toast. The poached eggs were perfectly runny and everything was cooked pretty well. Definitely perfect for someone who is pretty hungry.
Neon Palms
If you're looking for a restaurant with instagrammable food and atmosphere, this is definitely it. It's also in an area with a lot of shops, so it's a good place to eat after you go around shopping, if I'm not mistaken the restaurant is on top of a swimwear shop.
So I think at this point you're already seeing a pattern lol. I ordered an Eggs Benedict, a Poke Toast, and an Iced Mocha. Yes, I did order two meals cause I eat A LOT. Anyway, the pached eggs were perfect and the hollandaise was pretty spot in. For the toast, would have liked more salmon to be honest, but there was a lot of avocado so I can't really complain. The coffee was also pretty good, and the you can taste the chocolate without overpowering the whole thing.
My other friends ordered a Mushroom Toastie, French Toast, and a Chia Bowl. The mushroom toastie was pretty good and paired really well with the scrambled eggs. The french toast was also perfectly made and the berries were a good complement.
Revolver Coffee
Now, this is one of the more popular coffee places in Bali, so as someone who enjoys coffee, this was on top of my list. I really liked the ambiance of the place as it had that understated feel and not overly minimalistic feel that most coffee shops have nowadays.
As a creature of habit, I ordered an Iced Mocha. Lol. It was honestly really good, probably the best coffee I've had the whole trip. The espresso was extracted just right and the chocolate they used for the mocha was of a really good quality. If there's one coffee place you'd want to visit while you're in Bali, let this be it.
Sisterfields
Ahhh Sisterfields, the place where you gotta go early to be able to get a seat. Fortunately, the first time I went to Bali we were able to get in fairly fast, the second time around, we weren't too lucky. It's one of the more popular brunch places so expect a queue during peak hours.
I got the Sisterfields Big Breakfast here, it came with some bacon, mushroom, roasted tomato, arugula, eggs done your way (poached for me), and some sourdough bread. I was pretty hungry that morning and it absolutely shows. Everything was pretty good, the bacon had the right amount of crunch to it and wasn't that salty, the mushrooms were flavorful and seasoned well and the eggs have a perfectly runny yolk when you cut into it. Overall, definitely lived up to the hype.
When in Indonesia
Of course, there's gonna be a section all about Indonesian food! During my two trips to Bali, I was able to try Indonesian food from both a high and low price point. Honestly, they're both pretty good, just that the ones in the higher price point really had such complexity in flavor that you can't deny that it's worth the price.
Kaum
If you've ever been to Potato Head, this restaurant is in the same area. It's a bit on the pricier side but I'd say it's definitely worth it. If I'm not mistaken I think your bill here counts for the minimum needed to get a table in Potato Head, so might as well have lunch here before your afternoon drinks.
We ordered the chicken, beef and lamb satay and they were all so good. The flavors were perfect with the spices and the smokiness from the grill really added that extra complexity. We also ordered the crispy duck, which was also pretty good. It was indeed, very crispy but without sacrificing the flavor. The green mango and chili relish that came with it was also a good way to break the richness of the duck. Of course, we also had the Nasi Goreng to pair with all our food and a sambal selection so we can try them all.
Random Indonesian Food
I feel like you can't really go wrong just picking a random restaurant if it's Indonesian food, or maybe we were just lucky. I think during my two trips, we went to 4-5 restaurants to eat Indonesian food and they were all pretty good. Unfortunately, these were not in my food itinerary so I don't remember the names, but I do remember that they were all pretty good and the prices were definitely much cheaper than Kaum.
What I love about most of the food we ate was it always came with side dishes and other condiments that really added another layer of flavor to what we ordered. I really enjoyed tasting them and seeing how it would go with the main dish.
Dinner is Served.
Cuca
Ok, so this is probably the only negative review I had for my entire stay in Bali. I think my friend said this had really high reviews, but it was honestly so underwhelming when you factor in the price. I remember most of what I ate during my trips but this one I think I blocked from memory. Not sure if it was just an off day for them but everything was just bland. The ambiance was pretty nice though so I'll give them that.
The presentation was pretty decent so I'll give a few points for effort. But honestly, I won't recommend this place, especially for the price.
Da Maria
Unfortunately, the lighting wasn't really conducive for pictures. But I had to add this in my post cause it really was one of the better meals we had in Bali. It's an Italian restaurant that also has a pretty good selection of drinks (plus dancey music). Fair warning, make sure to reserve during the weekend as it gets pretty packed. I ordered the Squid Ink Pasta, which had prawns and calamari. I also ordered the Arancini which had mushroom and parmesan. We also ordered a couple of pizzas to share, the Pesto and Formaggi are pictured below. Everything was absolutely delicious, and really well made. Definitely coming back here the next time we visit!
Mamasan
If you're from the Philippines, I'm sure the name would remind you of something not so wholesome. But yeah, that gave me a bit of a chuckle when I first heard of it. Anyway, Mamasan is one place you should add in your list if you want really good Asian Fusion food.
Most of the things we ordered were AMAZING. Top of mind, the dishes that really stuck with me were the Slow Cooked Beef Cheek Rendang, the Prawn and Chicken Kung Pao and the Roasted Peking Duck. But honestly, all of them were so good I don't think you can go wrong with anything you order here.
I'm Just Here For The Alcohol
Just thought that would be a cute title lol. If you've read this far, you know I'm not just there for the alcohol, but for the yummy food as well. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to take photos of all the food and drinks from all our forays into the bars of Bali cause it was either too dark, or I was too drunk LOL.
Potato Head
So if you're looking for a place to go for afternoon drinks, this is the place. We were also pleasantly surprised to discover that the food that they serve are pretty yummy so you can definitely order those as well. Definitely recommend coming here straight after lunch cause the queue for getting a table can get pretty long especially if you want the ones overlooking the ocean.
For food, we got the Nachos Supreme and the Beer Battered Fish which were both pretty filling, perfect to make sure that there's something in your stomach before all the alcohol pours in. We also got the Indo Sangria to share, although it wasn't really that strong so we just ordered individually after that. I tried the Kookaburra which was a gin-based drink infused with lemongrass, some mint and citrus, and a passion fruit foam. I love citrusy flavors in gin so I thoroughly enjoyed having that. If you want something more familiar, the Nusa Mojito is a pretty standard mojito. If you prefer a stronger drink, the Barong Zombie is mixed with absinthe and rum with a couple of different juices, definitely not for lightweights.
Sake No Hana
This particular restaurant is located in the Uluwatu area, to be more specific, where Omnia Dayclub is. We chose to dine in cause you can gain access to the club itself without paying extra for the entrance so if you're not gonna stay for a long time and take some pictures, you can just do what we did.
For the food, I got the Tuna Sashimi and the Aburi Salmon Crab Maki. The sashimi was pretty fresh although it wasn't a lot for the price. The maki was pretty filling and had a really good flavor profile from the torched salmon and the king crab with some added crunch. their signature cocktails are pretty interesting too, the ones I've tried are the Myuga, which is a ginger-flower infused drink served in a balloon glass; and the Sea Salt Colada which is their take on the Pina Colada but made with coconut water instead of coconut milk for an overall lighter drink. The restaurant is a bit on the pricier side so fair warning.
Unfortunately, those are the only pictures I have of food... which is honestly quite a lot but doesn't cover all the restaurants we were able to visit. Overall, my dining experience in Bali was a good one. Would definitely recommend reading up on the restaurants before visiting just so you won't get overwhelmed with all the choices. For our trip, I just made a list of the must-try places, some of which I've covered here. Most of the restaurants also have their menus available online so you can prepare your budget accordingly. You can honestly never be too prepared when it comes to making your food itinerary. Anyway, if you've read this far, hope you were able to enjoy reading about my food adventures in Bali. Do let me know in the comments what you think and if you've been to Bali, what other restaurants you can recommend! Hope you're all staying safe wherever you are, til next time!