BALINESE CULINARY: Spicy and Full Taste Of Seasoning

Actual Balinese food is common on the island, but it has made few inroads in the rest of the country due to its emphasis on pork, which is anathema to the largely Muslim population in the rest of the country. Notable dishes include:

• Babi Guling — Roast suckling pig, a large ceremonial dish that must usually be ordered several days in advance, but also often available at night market stalls and restaurants. It is served with rice. One of Bali's most well known babi guling outlets is Ibu Oka's in Ubud.
• Bebek Betutu — Literally "darkened duck", topped with a herb paste and roasted in banana leaves. The same method can also be used for chicken, resulting in ayam betutu.
• Lawar — Covers a range of Balinese salads, usually involving thinly chopped vegetables, minced meat, coconut and spices. Traditionally, blood is mixed into this dish, but it's often omitted for tourists' delicate constitutions. Green beans and chicken are a particularly common combination.
• Sate Lilit — Minced seafood satay, served wrapped around a twig of lemongrass.
• Urutan — Balinese spicy sausage, made from pork.

• * Grilled Chicken with Sliced Shallot Chilie and Lime (Ayam Panggang bumbu bawang mentah)
• * Grilled Chicken with Red Chili and Shrimp Paste Sauce (Ayam Panggang bumbu merah)
• * Steam Chicken Cooked with Balinese Herb and Spicy (Ayam Tutu - Ala Kak Man Restaurant)
• * Steam Duck Cooked with Balinese Herb and Spicy (Bebek Tutu - Ala Kak Man Restaurant)
• * Minced Chicken with Shredded Rind combine with Spicy Sauce (Lawar Ayam, Klungah, Buah Kacang)
• * Sliced Chicken mixed with Herbs and Spices Steam in Banana Leaf (Tum Ayam / Ketopot)
• * Grilled Snapper (Ikan Bakar Bumbu Terasi)
• * Special Balinese Salted Dry Fish (Sudang Lepet)
• * Sliced Fish mixed with Herbs and Spices Wrap in Banana Leaf (Pepes Ikan Laut)
• * Special Mixed Vegetables from Klungkung (Serombotan ala Klungkung)
• * Water Convolvus with Shrimp Paste and Lime (Pelecing Kangkung)
• * Fern Tip Vegetables with Shrimp Paste and Lime (Pelecing Paku)

Vegetarian

There are plenty of options for vegetarians in Bali - from indigenous Indonesian fare to international cuisine. A word of caution: the Indonesian spice paste "Sambal" is a hot paste of ground red chillies, spices and shrimp paste. Always check to see if the Sambal being served to you contains shrimp paste. You can even get Sambal without the shrimp paste at a few places. Additionally, kerupuk crackers with a spongy appearance, including those always served with nasi goreng, contain shrimp or fish. (Those that resemble potato chips, on the other hand, are usually fine.)

Budget

A meal in a tourist-oriented restaurant will be around Rp. 20-40k per person. In a local restoran the same meal might be about Rp. 15k or less. On the road,and even in Kuta, simple warungs sell "nasi bungkus", a pyramid shaped parcel of about 400gm of rice with several tasty extras for as little as Rp. 3-5k. One very reliable option is nasi campur ( rice with several options, chosen by the purchaser) for about Rp. 10k or so. Note that rice is often served at ambient temperature.

Drink

Not being Muslim, the Balinese have nothing against a drink and alcohol is widely available.

Indonesia's most popular beer Bintang is ubiquitous, but local brand Bali Hai is nearly as popular. Bintang is a fairly highly regarded classic light Asian beer, but Bal Hai is a rather bland lager. Also available is the Bali-brewed microbrew Storm, available in several different flavors. Beer is, however, relatively expensive, though still cheap by Western standards: at Rp. 10,000 and up, a small bottle costs at least the same as a full meal in a “local” eatery. In tourist centres, happy hours are widely available before and after sunset, with regular bottles of beer going for Rp. 7,000 and the giant sizes for around Rp. 12,000.

Bali produces its own wines, with Hatten being the most popular brand, available in white, red, rose (most popular) and sparkling varieties. Quality can be inconsistent, but the red is usually OK and cheaper than imported wines, which can easily top Rp. 100,000 per bottle. Wine aficionados are better off bringing their own bottle in from Singapore or other countries from which they fly into Indonesia. Imported wines are readily available in Bali, but are very expensive relative to everything else. Nicer restaurants will let you bring your own bottle; some will charge a (very modest) corkage fee. Smaller establishments likely won't mind, but neither will they have a corkscrew!

Bali's traditional drinks are arak, a clear distilled spirit that packs a 40° punch, and brem, a fermented rice wine sold in gift shops in attractive clay bottles that are much nicer than the taste of the stuff inside.

Tap water on Bali is not drinkable, but bottled water is universally available and extremely inexpensive (Rp. 3000 or so per 1.5L bottle) and restaurants usually use purified water for cooking. "Filtered" water shops are also common, providing on-site treatment of the mains water to a potable standard. These shops are much cheaper than retail outlets, selling water for about Rp 5000 per 11-liter reusable container, and avoid the waste created by plastic bottles.

Very cheap (Rp. 10,000) are fresh juices or their mixes (it can be watermelon, melon, papaya, orange, lime, banana or any other possible juice). In Bali, avocado (alpukat) is used as a dessert fruit. Blended with sugar and ice — and sometimes chocolate — this is a beverage you can rarely get in any other locales!

If you do not consume alcohol, Bali's fresh juices and creative combinations of fruits will please you to no end. Almost all restaurant menus have a section devoted to various non alcoholic fruit based beverages.

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Kuta Beach, The Most Famous Beach in Bali

Kuta is a town in southern Bali, Indonesia. A former fishing village, it was one of the first towns on Bali to see substantial tourist development, and as a beach resort remains one of Indonesia's major tourist destinations. It is known internationally for its long sandy beach, varied accommodation, many restaurants and bars, and many renowned surfers who visit from Australia. It is located near Bali's Ngurah Rai Airport.

Kuta is now the center of an extensive tourist-oriented urban area that merges into the neighboring towns. Legian, to the north, is the commercial hub of Kuta and the site of many restaurants and entertainment spots. Most of the area's big beachfront hotels are in the southern section of Tuban.

Legian and Seminyak are northern extensions of Kuta along Jl. Legian and Jl. Basangkasa. They are somewhat quieter suburbs with cottage-style accommodations, where many of the expat crowd live. Also to the north are Petitenget, Berawa, Canggu, and Seseh - new and quieter continuations of Kuta's beach. They are easy to reach through Abian Timbul or Denpasar and Kerobokan. Several large hotels are located in this area: the Oberoi Bali, Hard Rock Hotel Bali, the Intan Bali Village, the Legian in Petitenget, the Dewata Beach and the Bali Sani Suites in Berawa.

To the south, Kuta Beach extends beyond the airport into Jimbaran. Other nearby towns and villages include Seseh (6.4 nm), Denpasar (4.5 nm), Ujung (1.8 nm), Pesanggaran (2.0 nm), Kedunganan (2.9 nm) and Tuban (1.0 nm).

The Balinese Provincial Government have taken the view that the preservation of the Balinese culture, natural resources and wildlife are of primary importance in the development of the island. To this end they have limited tourist development to the peninsula on the extreme southern aspect of the island; Kuta beach is on the western side of this peninsula and Sanur is on the east. To the north of the peninsula no new tourist development is supposedly permitted.

BALI BOMBING MEMORIAL

1st Bali Bombing in 2002 at Kuta: A permanent memorial was built on the site of the destroyed Paddy's Pub on Legian Street. (A new bar, named "Paddy's: Reloaded", was reopened further along Legian Street). The memorial is made of intricately carved stone, set with a large marble plaque, which bears the names and nationalities of each of those killed. It is flanked by the national flags of the victims. The monument is well-maintained and illuminated at night.

The memorial was dedicated on 12 October 2004, the second anniversary of the attack. The dedication included a Balinese Hindu ceremony and the opportunity for mourners to lay flowers and other offerings. The Australian ambassador and Indonesian officials attended the ceremony as most the victims were Australians.

The Balinese mark their commitment in a nine-day long event. After major cleansing ceremonies, establishing a memorial for the lost lives, and paying respect to those who left loved ones behind, the people of Kuta look forward to restoring Bali’s image through an event named "Kuta Karnival - A Celebration of Life”. The community event consists of traditional art performances such as Balinese Sunset Dances, sports on the beach as well as in the water for young and old plus rows and rows of culinary displays along the one kilometre of sandy beach.

In line with the return of tourism to Kuta, Kuta Karnival has grown into a tourism promotional event with major coverage from television and newspapers from across the globe. Companies, embassies, Non-Government Organizations, associations and even individuals come forth to get involved in the various events such as a Balinese dance competition presented by a surf-wear company, an environment exhibition presented by an embassy, a fun cycle presented by a group of individuals, a seminar presented by an association and a parade on the streets presented by an NGO. Tourists and locals alike, more than ninety thousand people participates in the numerous events, year after year.

A repeated tragedy in Bali in 2005 did not reduce the Kuta community’s determination to carry out this annual event. Kuta Karnival is conducted to commemorate and give respect to the victims of human violence and show the world the true spirit of local community survival despite terrorism attacks.

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