Bali Foods & Drinks

The best place to experience a whole range of authentic Balinese dishes including Sate Lilit made from minced prawns and fish, a delicious grilled marinated fish, and Nasi Kuning, yellow rice often served at celebrations, is the BUMBU BALI Restaurant in Tanjung Benoa adjacent to Nusa Dua. This unique and comfortable restaurant was opened in December 1997 by Heinz von Holzen, the author of "The Food of Bali" – a book which is a must for everybody interested in exotic cuisines. Heinz is the former food guru of the Grand Hyatt Bali and the Ritz Carlton hotel, and his restaurant is a temple devoted to traditional Balinese cuisine.

Inside the nearby RUMAH BALI Heinz opened in March 2006 the BALINESE VILLAGE CENTER – a carefully designed compound to stage cultural shows for up to 340 guests, art exhibitions, theme parties or private dinners. In various traditional pavillions the preparation of rice, vegetable and meat dishes is demonstrated, and you can also watch the destillation of and taste the home-made Arak and Rice Wine. Moreover, during most mornings the VILLAGE CENTER is the venue of Heinz' popular Balinese Cooking School for visitors.

There are a number of rules concerning Bali food, drink and behavior. Cake is always served with coffee or tea, nuts and krupuk with rice wine, and tea, water or tuak with the meal. The host does not usually eat with guests.

Dining in Bali is generally a highlight. You may choose to eat in a five star hotel restaurant, or you may prefer a breezy open sided bamboo cafe. Hotels and restaurants in Bali offer guests a wide variety of excellent dishes to satisfy every budget and taste.

Authentic Balinese food is rarely enjoyed by the island’s thousands of visitors, simply because it is rarely served in hotels and restaurants. True, a wide variety of exotic dishes are available, but the typical fare is Indonesian and Chinese.

Bottled drinking water is available everywhere, and is good value - drink plenty. The most common brand is Aqua, which is practically the synonym for drinking water.

Balinese coffee and hot tea are also excellent drinks to refresh in the hot weather, although a cappuccino machine may be difficult to find outside of a hotel! Why not try tea with ginger for a treat?

Bali has a great range of fruits, some of which you could not have imagined, and some you wish that you only had imagined! The fabled durian is the king of Asian fruit, although most westerners dislike the smell of this football sized monster. Other fruit such as mangoes, mangosteen, bananas, jackfruit, rambutan, makiza, pineapple, papaya, logan, melon, oranges custard-apple and a remarkable variety of others serve as fantastic refreshers at any time of the day.