Food in Bali
Traveling around Southeast Asia, I have repeatedly noted that the inhabitants of this region eat often and, in principle, quite a lot. They have their own food culture. But traditionally the number of overweight people is not large. This is primarily due to a balanced diet, a small amount or complete absence of consumption of drinks such as: Cola, Pepsi, Fanta, etc., a large amount of consumed vegetables, greens, a lot of protein foods and little high fatty foods, and this is also facilitated by eating pepper in decent quantities.
The inhabitants of the island were no exception. Food occupies a significant part of the life of the local population. Here people love to eat and preferably at least 4-5 times a day. It usually starts with morning tea with a few traditional muffins made from rice flour or bananas. After a while, a full breakfast, which must contain rice.
Next, a small snack with iced tea, followed by lunch, which can consist of one – two dishes, in the evening, closer to five o’clock, another small meal, in the evening a good long dinner is obligatory and even later tea and coffee. All more or less serious meals necessarily include rice. A local resident cannot live even a day without rice.
In view of this attitude to food in Bali, there are many local restaurants and cafes. Small family restaurants – Varungi – have become widespread. Warung is a catering establishment. Varungs are very diverse: from very primitive ones to large ones with a varied menu.
The simplest warungs are a small room, with a small display of several dishes, 3-4 plastic tables and chairs. A distinctive feature of almost all warungs is the presence of a glass or plexiglass display case with displayed options of dishes, and in each warung food is prepared to order; there are no refrigerators with ready-made dishes, which are then heated in the microwave.
Of course, there is a category of successful and well-promoted warungs, popular among tourists, in which waiters hang around and dishes are ordered based on the choice on the menu. In principle, these are already restaurants that have grown out of warungs and have earned a reputation.
Local restaurants – warungs – are divided according to the owner’s community affiliation or what religion he professes. If the owner is a native Balinese Hindu, then such a warung will have dishes with pork, but if the warung belongs to a Muslim, then there can be no talk of any pork, only beef, but chicken and fish are present in any establishment.
The basis of nutrition is rice. And naturally, the main dish in any warung will be Nasi rice, prepared in various ways; detailed recipes and descriptions of dishes are given in the article “Bali Cuisine”. It is also customary here to buy take away food. In traditional warungs you will not find any other drinks other than iced tea, but the reality of today has taught the owners to sell Cola, Sprites, Fanta, etc. Instead of bread, there are only rice chips.
Food prices in Bali in warungs
The average cost of one dish is approximately one dollar. It will be either Nasi Mix Fried Rice or Noodle Noodles. A chicken leg or piece of fish will cost an additional 10 – 15,000 Indonesian Rupiah, which is equal to one dollar or a little more. If this meat, beef or pork, is made in the form of thick goulash.
then the cost will increase by 2-3 dollars. Thus, you can have a pretty good snack for 1-2 dollars. This of course applies to the simplest traditional warungs. These are not often located on the central tourist streets, and their appearance is not the most presentable.
In more developed warungs the number of dishes reaches 15-20 items. There will be several types of soups (vegetable, chicken, or mix), several types of traditional meat dishes from Bali cuisine: sate, bebek, ayam, etc., but the price here is already more expensive.
Tour operators do not favor such local catering establishments, scaring tourists with the possibility of poisoning. Many tourists who came here, not for the first time, appreciated the inexpensive and tasty dishes from such establishments.
We, in turn, on a sightseeing tour introduce our tourists to some decent, high-quality and successful warungs, so that you can appreciate the local cuisine and save a lot on food. Also in our range of restaurants offered, there is a very good local restaurant, with a large selection of seafood.
in which, with the help of our Balinese guides, a menu was compiled in Russian. But the most important thing in this restaurant, which is located a little away from the flow of tourists and therefore the prices here are low, is that here you can try very rare and exotic dishes that are difficult to find on the island and have to be ordered in advance.
In the next article we will introduce you to such a natural phenomenon as the ebb and flow of tides in Bali. You will find out where the ebb tides are stronger, where they are smaller, the nature of this phenomenon, the height of the fluctuations and an approximate calculation.
