Food in Bali

Note: This is a continuation of our Bali trip.  you can find the full trip itinerary here.

Bebek Bengil

Bebek Bengil is one of our most favorite places to eat when we're in Bali. The restaurant is located in Ubud, which is quite a bit of a drive from Kuta/Seminyak area. But if you happen to be around Ubud, definitely check out this place.

As the name implies on the sign, Bebek Bengil's literal translation is "Dirty Duck". The restaurant is usually very, very crowded, though they do have a pretty big place so typically you won't wait for too long.

We each got an order of the bebek bengil, which was served with white rice. The duck was deep fried perfectly, the skin was very crunchy, and the meat was tasty. I'm not a big fan of duck in general (they have this certain smell I don't like), but the duck here is a different story. Make sure you also ask for the "sambel bawang" (onion chilli condiment) which is spicy but works really well with the duck.

Nasi Babi Ibu Oka

I've heard of the "Ibu Oka" restaurant, which was featured on one of Anthony Bourdain's episodes on Bali a few years ago.  I heard this place could get really, really crowded as well, so we went really early to beat the lunch crowd.

The restaurant was very traditional - an open air restaurant with no air conditioning, and we sat on a matted floor.

We ordered a coconut juice to share. I was a bit disappointed that the coconut juice was not chilled--it was still good but it would have been much better if they serve them chilled. I guess I could have asked for ice but Indonesian ice is not very clean (especially at these warungs/small family owned restaurants) so we didn't want to take the risk of getting sick from the ice. :p

We shared an order of the rice plate with pork - which is their specialty.  There were different pieces of pork, served with pork sausage, veggies, and their sambal (chilli sauce). It was good, but not outstanding. Also, the food was served at room temperature, which is a big pet peeve for me. I like my food warm/hot, otherwise it feels that the food had been sitting there for a while. With these warungs that serve rice plates, a lot of the meats/veggies get cooked in advance, so when a customer comes, they can quickly serve the meal with various already made meats/veggies.

Overall I'm glad I tried, but not sure if I actually would come back here.

Warung Teges

My sister's wedding planner who originated from Bali recommend us to try this place. It's also a warung style restaurant, although we were quite surprised how big the place was.



Our family got their rice plate specialty. Unlike Ibu Oka, the rice here and some of the dishes were actually served warm - which was a big plus for me. The food itself was tasty. There were pork, veggie, sambals, and some fried stuff. All of us preferred this place to Ibu Oka, except for Dan.

Thoughts:

• Balinese food is a bit different from typical Indonesian dish since there's a lot of pork. Most Balinese are Hindhus, and they eat pork, thus you'll see lots of pork but no beef since Hindhus do not eat beef. It's actually the opposite for the rest of the Indonesian population who are (mostly) Muslims who eat beef but not pork.
• A lot of people also recommend Nuri's ribs, which I haven't tried yet. Definitely on our list for next time!
• If you're in Ubud, definitely stop by Bebek Bengil!

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