Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
fried aubergine, curried eggs, fried fish, meat curry, fish curry, potato cakes, beef brain curry
and fried cow's lung.
Balinese food
The everyday
Balinese
diet consists of a couple of rice-based meals, essentially
nasi campur
,
eaten whenever people feel hungry, supplemented with snacks such as
krupuk
. The full mag-
nificence of Balinese cooking is reserved for ceremonies. One of the best dishes is
babi gul-
ing
, spit-roasted pig, served with
lawar
, a spicy blood mash. Another speciality is
betutu be-
bek
, smoked duck, cooked very slowly - this has to be ordered in advance from restaurants.
The Balinese rarely eat desserts but
bubuh injin
, black rice pudding, named after the colour
of the rice husk, is available in tourist spots. The rice is served with a sweet coconut-milk
sauce, fruit and grated coconut. Rice cakes (
jaja
) play a major part in ceremonial offerings
but are also a daily food.
Sasak food
According to some sources, the name “Lombok” translates as “chilli pepper” - highly ap-
propriate considering the savage heat of traditional
Sasak food
. It's not easy to track down,
however, and you'll find Indonesian and Chinese food far more widely available on Lom-
bok. Traditional Sasak food uses rice as the staple, together with a wide variety of vegetables,
a little meat (although no pork), and some fish, served in various sauces, often with a dish
of
chilli sauce
on the side in case it isn't hot enough already. Anything with
pelecing
in the
name is served with chilli sauce. Taliwang dishes, originally from Sumbawa, are also avail-
able on Lombok, consisting of grilled or fried food with, you've guessed it, a chilli sauce. All
parts of the animals are eaten, and you'll find plenty of offal on the menu.
Fine dining
Just as it's possible to get by spending a dollar or less for a meal in Bali or Lombok, you can
also enjoy some superb
fine dining
experiences on the islands. Plenty of innovative chefs,
some Western, some Asian, have imported and adapted modern international gourmet cook-
ing. They offer menus that are creative and imaginative and, best of all, taste great. Restaur-
ants serving this food are invariably stylish, with excellent service, charging $50 or more per
head. This can seem a lot in the context of Indonesian prices, but when compared with res-
taurants of a similar standard in London or New York, it's decidedly good value.
Fresh fruit
The range of
fresh fruit
available on Bali and Lombok is startling. You'll see
bananas
,
coconuts
and
papaya
growing all year round, and
pine-apples
and
watermelons
are always
in the markets. Of the citrus fruits, the giant
pomelo
is the most unusual to visitors - larger
than a grapefruit and sweeter.
Guavas
,
avocados
(served as a sweet fruit juice with con-
densed milk),
passion fruit
,
mangoes
,
soursops
and their close relative, the
custard apple
,
