For us meat eaters, we love pork. And since babi guling is synonymous to Bali, it ranks right up there as a must go to dish. It is not easy to find one really good though and it was with tempered expectations that we went to Babi Guling Pande Ebi even though it was highly recommended by the bubbly YouTuber Mike Chen of Strictly Dumpling. It is located in the middle of a padi field about half an hour from the Monkey Forest area of Ubud and opens everyday at 8 am. We were advised by our guide Wayan to go early for the crispiest skin.
We liked it. Crisp skin and tender meat. And well marinated. According to the owner they used black pigs which are more succulent.
Our next stop is the Tergunungan Waterfalls, one of the many in Bali that you can explore. Lots of nice spots for photos!
Nearby is another nice spot, a Unesco site – Gunung Kawi Temple which is one of Bali’s oldest and most important monuments, this river-valley complex consists of 10 huge candi (shrines) cut out of rock faces.
We wanted another Balinese special – crispy duck or bebek for lunch and Wayan brought us to one about 15 minites drive away. We liked it though it was a tad underseasoned but that was addressed with a very good sambal.
It was enough activities for the day and we had our coffee at the famous Bar Seniman, rated as one of the top ten places to go to in Ubud and we can see why. The baristas are all very professional ( participants every year in the World Baristas Championship ) and the serious coffee lover will definitely love it here. The 2 desserts we ordered were delicious and it was quite novel to be sitting on rocking chairs!
Most of our dinner reservations were done beforehand via Chope, and we were quite excited over our choice for dinner – Spice by Chris Salans who is also the owner/chef for Mozaic and whose cookbook made such a wonderful read.
The 4 course set menu we ordered was brilliant. The starter was his version of crispy rendang, the beef so tender, it was pulled and shaped into a croquette, rolled in breadcrumbs and fried and served on a spoonful of rice. So good!
The 2nd course of lightly spice salad with mango, avacado and chunks of tempe was clever, as in my main of slow cooked pork belly with crispy skin and turmeric dressing and sprinkled with dukkah spices. Paul thoroughly enjoyed his pan fried barramundi fillet with lemon basil and kenari nut dressing. Dessert too was good, a deconstructed pisang kolak ( bananas stewed in coconut milk ) with a palm sugar biscuit. I highly recommend this place and pricing was most reasonable – 196k IDR ( USD14 ) for the 4 courses with option for alcohol pairing. Do check out their well designed webpage here.
It was a pleasant 20 minute walk back and so far it’s been brilliant. Look out for part 3 for the remaining 2 nights.
Sim - The Wandering Chef 