A Bali bellyful ... Beduur Restaurant at the Ubud Hanging Gardens hotel offers cuisine in a stunning setting.
Be it a flash restaurant or budget eatery, the menu delights, writes Ute Junker.
Favourite flavours
Chances are you've already enjoyed Balinese food without realising where it originated: dishes such as satay sticks with peanut sauce, nasi goreng (fried rice with egg on top), mie goreng (fried noodles with egg on top), gado gado salad and lumpia (fried spring rolls) have all become popular dishes around the world.
The local drop
Bintang beer is something close to a national drink but Bali also has a great range of fresh fruit juices at dirt-cheap prices. If you're feeling adventurous, then try avocado (alpukat) juice — something completely different!
Top tables
With languidly swirling ceiling fans and wicker chairs, Kafe Batan Waru (Jalan Dewi Sita, Ubud, +62 361 977 528, www.baligoodfood.com) is the perfect place to enjoy Balinese cuisine. Try lemper ayam (grilled parcels of sticky rice and shredded chicken wrapped in banana leaf) and ikan woku belanga (Buginese red snapper stew scented with turmeric and kemangi leaves). For fussy eaters, there's also an extensive range of Western dishes, from pasta to salads. For chic seaside dining, you can't beat the renowned Ku de Ta (9 Jalan Laksmana, Seminyak +62 361 736 969, www.kudeta.net). For 10 years, this vast beachfront complex — which includes a funky bar, a waterside deck and terraces - has pulled the most glamorous crowd on the island with its delicious sashimi, yabbies and lamb. Beduur Restaurant at Ubud Hanging Gardens hotel (Desa Buahan, Desa Payangan, +62 361 982 700, www.ubudhanginggardens.com) is a little way out of town but for lovers of creative cuisine, it's well worth the trek. The stunning setting is quickly overshadowed by the meals themselves, designed for both maximum flavour and maximum visual impact. Dishes such as a lobster caviar maki roll — improbably served with a large glass containing a vividly green miniature rice paddy — look so good it feels wrong to eat them.
Budget bite
It's cheap and it's delicious, so it's no wonder that queues start forming early at Ibu Oka (Jalan Suweta, Ubud), the place to sample suckling pig, or babi guling, a Balinese classic. It's the only thing on the menu at this no-frills favourite, which opens at 9am and closes when it runs out of food — usually about 2pm. Patrons have to sit cross-legged on cushions but portions are generous and the succulent spiced meat and crispy crackling are sensational and well worth any physical discomfort.
Special night
Dinner at Mozaic (Jalan Raya Sanggingan, Ubud, +62 361 975 768, www.mozaic-bali.com) - picked for Restaurant magazine's prestigious list of the best 100 restaurants in the world - is not an experience you want to rush. Start with a drink in the glamorous red, black and white bar, then move to the leafy courtyard to savour one of chef Chris Salans' degustation menus. The Discovery Menu, designed to showcase the best local flavours, is built around indigenous ingredients, many of which you won't come across anywhere else.
Locals love
It's spelt "sate" rather than "satay" here but the delicious skewers of charcoal-grilled meat served with peanut sauce are instantly recognisable. This is a true taste of Bali.
Don't leave without trying
If you're anywhere near Jimbaran, you must enjoy at least one meal at one of the open restaurants on Jimbaran beach. Our favourite is Lia Cafe. (Jimbaran beach, +62 81 2390 7411). The set-up is basic but the seafood is super-fresh.
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