I am quite adventurous with food and will try anything once. I particularly enjoy hunting down local dishes and uncovering the stories behind them. To me, food, much like music, architecture, and religion, gives you a profound insight into the true culture of the place you are visiting.
During my time on the island, I can honestly say I thoroughly enjoyed all the food I tried. From refreshing morning cleansers to beachside feasts and clever roadside discoveries, my culinary journey across Bali turned out to be an absolute feast for the senses.
If you are heading to the “Island of the Gods”, here are the tastes, drinks, and unexpected discoveries that defined my Balinese food adventure.
The Vibrancy of the Local Markets & Fruit Stalls
Because my visit coincided with the beautiful festivals of Galungan and Kuningan, the local food scene was operating at a heightened, joyous frequency. Walking into the markets and supermarkets in the days leading up to the ceremonies was a visual spectacle. The stalls were stacked incredibly high with mountains of fresh, tropical fruits because fruits are used for the sacred festival offerings instead of flowers.
It was during one of these vibrant market trips that I decided to try fruits I had never encountered in my extensive global travels.
The first standout was the Salak, famously known as Snake Fruit. The skin looks exactly like reddish-brown snake scales—it’s actually a bit intimidating to pick up at first! But once you peel back the scaly shell, the fruit inside looks like large cloves of garlic, with a wonderfully crisp apple-like texture and a uniquely sweet, slightly acidic flavor.
At the same time, I picked up Mangosteen. I had loved the look of it in photos, but tasting it was another level of delight. It was so good that I immediately went hunting for it again at a supermarket later in the trip.
Lest I forget the delicious snacks and I want to mention one in particular because it was another first for me: lightly battered and deep fried spinach! It tasted very similar to Chinese seaweed or crisps- crunchy, savoury and melt in the mouth.
Lest I forget the delicious snacks and I want to mention one in particular because it was another first for me: lightly battered and deep fried spinach! It tasted very similar to Chinese seaweed or crisps- crunchy, savoury and melt in the mouth.
Liquid Bali: Cleanse Juices and Rice Tea
To beat the tropical heat, I quickly adopted the local love for fresh drinks, discovering flavours that were as beautiful to look at as they were to taste:
- Dragon Fruit Juice: Strikingly vibrant magenta in colour, this juice was incredibly refreshing and had just the right amount of sweet. Looking at its gorgeous, bright pink colour in the glass felt like pure sunshine, and I captured some stunning photos of it.
- Caisim Juice: This was another complete first for me. Caisim is a local green vegetable, and when cold-pressed, it makes an incredibly refreshing and healthy juice. The version I drank and loved was simple—blended with fresh lime and a touch of sugar as a sweetener. My hotel actually served it, so I practically drank it every single morning with my breakfast instead of orange juice. It felt like the ultimate fruit cleanser.
- Local Rice Drink: While having lunch at a restaurant overlooking the spectacular, sweeping green landscape of the Jatiluwih rice valley, I tried a traditional rice tea. Sipping a cool rice drink while staring directly out at the fields where that very rice is grown felt incredibly appropriate and grounding.
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Getting Adventurous at the Local Warungs
While Bali has a world-class restaurant scene, my absolute favorite meals came from the warungs—the small, often family-run local eateries.
One day, I spotted Warung Bidari, a tiny local spot near my hotel that I hadn’t even noticed was there before. I walked in specifically yearning to try their Soto Ayam (a famous Indonesian chicken noodle soup). Unfortunately, because it was just after the holiday ceremonies, the owner and chef didn’t have the fresh ingredients left to make it. Instead, she recommended the Ayam Goreng Lalapan—fried chicken served with fried tempeh. Admittedly, I didn’t particularly enjoy the tempeh, but the experience was still a massive win. The decor was brilliant; the tables were recycled from old Singer sewing machines, meaning my feet rested right on the vintage iron foot pedals while I ate. So cool!
Throughout my warung hopping, I sampled an array of spectacular local dishes: Babi Guling (famous Balinese roast suckling pig), Ayam Betutu (slow-cooked spiced chicken), Nasi Campur (a scoop of rice surrounded by small portions of various meats and vegetables), Nasi Goreng, Cap Cap (pronounced chap chai—a delicious stir-fried vegetable dish), and the fiery Ayam Bakar Taliwang (grilled chicken).
But my absolute favourite discovery? Sate Lilit. Unlike standard satay meat chunks, Sate Lilit is made of minced pork or fish skilfully moulded around thick, fragrant lemongrass stalks. They are absolutely delicious, and I honestly could not get enough of them.
The Seafood Feast I Was Yearning For
No food adventure on an island is complete without seafood, and I finally treated myself to the ocean feast I had been craving at a restaurant right along the beachfront.
I ordered a Grilled Mixed Seafood Platter done in the famous Jimbaran spicy style. It was an absolute mountain of food: grilled baby lobster, fish fillet, king prawns, squid, and local clams, all marinated in a rich, homemade Balinese sambal. It came accompanied by plecing kangkung (a wonderful local water spinach), crispy lettuce, fried potatoes, and fresh slices of watermelon, pineapple, broccoli, and carrots.
Oh my goodness—what a feast! Sitting by the ocean, eating fresh seafood marinated in local spices, was the perfect culmination of my culinary journey. It proved to me, once again, that when you open your palate to a destination, you find its true heart.
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Temples, Sunsets & Unexpected Moments and coming soon.
Bali’s Sacred Temples — The Spiritual Heart of Bali
