Food in Bali is one of the most pressing issues for newcomers to the island. Someone says that the food in Bali is not at all diverse, some, on the contrary, get lost among the unusual names on the menu and order at random, and someone arranged an interrogation with old-timers in advance and thoroughly learned how things are with Indonesian cuisine.
We, in turn, decided to tell you how not to stay hungry on the island, and not get confused when going to warung. For your convenience, the article will consist of two parts. In the first, we will tell you about the main dishes of Indonesian cuisine, from those that are sold here on every corner, and which are a must-try, if only for a general acquaintance with local gastronomic delights. So let’s go:
The most popular product on the island of Bali is rice, it is he who is the main grain crop in Indonesia. The phrase “Nasi Goreng” is translated literally as “fried rice”. Of course, this is the most common food in Bali and it has two undeniable advantages: firstly, it is cheap, and secondly, it is hearty and tasty. This simple dish is prepared as follows: rice is pre-boiled, then fried in a special frying pan, adding various spices and vegetables, and, of your choice, chicken, pork or seafood.
The dish is often served with a fried egg and an impromptu salad (usually a couple of slices of tomatoes and cucumbers). You can spice up all this splendor with the sweet kecap manis sauce, which is in every Indonesian warung, or with chili sauce. Mie Goreng is basically the same story, only rice is replaced with egg noodles. And remember the most important thing: “Whoever has not eaten nasi goreng has never been to Bali.”
This food in Bali is kind of an Indonesian buffet. The base product is white or brown rice, your choice. You can already add various vegetables to rice, it can be eggplant, and green beans, and bean sprouts, and a mix of boiled vegetables, as well as various types of meat – chicken in sweet sauce, or just fried, beef in spicy sauce and whatever your heart desires.
Also, in cafes that specialize in nasi champur, there may be several types of tofu and boiled eggs that are cooked in various sauces (sometimes even in black pepper sauce), shrimp and everything that the chef’s imagination is enough for. Pleasure is not very expensive – how much you get, so much you pay. The author of the article, especially without denying himself anything, has never paid more than $4 for Nasi Camper.
Vegetable joy in walnut sauce. The composition of this dish includes stewed vegetables such as carrots, cauliflower, spinach, baby corn, sometimes zucchini and beans. Tempeh and boiled eggs are also sometimes added to gado-gado. The main feature of gado-gado is the delicious peanut dressing. Often this dish is served with krupuk – these are chips based on starch or protein products (shrimp, fish, etc.).
Sate is another typical food in Bali. Small skewers that can be made with pork, chicken, or beef. Sate is cooked on the coals, and after that it is generously flavored with either peanut sauce (which is very, very tasty) or a spicy sauce. You can buy it right on the street, where a specially trained person will prepare this simple but tasty dish for you.
In what, but in the products that the ocean gives us, there is clearly no shortage in Bali. Shrimp, squid, crabs, octopuses, lobsters, all kinds of shellfish, and the richest selection of fish – such an abundance will satisfy the taste of any gourmet. You can taste all this in good restaurants, or where these seafood are mined – in the village of Jimbaran. Seafood restaurants stretch along the entire coast of Jimbaran, and, by the way, half of them have a menu in Russian.
The average check is difficult to determine, it depends on what exactly you want to eat. But usually $30 per person is enough. There is also a budget option – the fish market at the end of Jimbaran Beach. This is where the real Asia is! The smell, of course, is impressive there, but then you will have the opportunity to buy the same tuna for $ 3 per kilogram, or a shark for $ 5. There is a brazier next to the market, where everything that you bought will be cooked on coals for a reasonable price – $ 1.5 per kg.
