What We Ate: Food in Bali

We were mostly working (at a slow pace due to the turtle internet speed) during the week we were there so we didn’t get out and try a ton of food in Bali but we still tried some! Much of what we ate we cooked at our place but we also tried a few different places. If you’re interested in other food we ate in Indonesia, I also wrote posts on restaurants and desserts we tried in Yogyakarta proper. We haven’t written much yet about the food we ate in the countryside of Java but we may get to that as well (that will include a couple more authentic/local dishes which there aren’t a ton of in this post ?)

I do believe all the food in Bali we ate was vegetarian though (except two of Kyle’s meals) and a decent amount of it was vegan as well. While I don’t find it too difficult to be vegetarian most places, Bali is somewhat known for being pretty veg-friendly. Overall nothing we ate here was bad, but nothing we ate out was truly exceptional either (except maybe some of what Kyle made).

Note: exchange rate conversions are based on the time we made these purchases (May 2016).

Desserts

Paleta’s Way

The first bit of food in Bali we ate was actually Mexican ice cream (ice pops called paletas). We got into our Airbnb in the evening and, as per usual, were hungry and ready to get out exploring. We wandered down the road to towards the grocery store and ran into this place on the way. The ice cream sounded appealing to us at the time and it was! The place has some fun decor and they use natural ingredients without artificial flavoring or tons of sugar making it a healthier snack/dessert. We passed it often in the week we were there and the people there were quite friendly to us.

Location:

There are allegedly few different locations on Bali. We were staying in Kuta so we went to the location there though none of these actually appear to be the one we went to! It was right across from the Sunset Point Shopping Centre. Here is their website.

What they offer/what we ate:

There are many different flavors including both creamy and icy options. I chose watermelon and Kyle got dragonfruit. I liked Kyle’s a little better but they were both quite good. In addition to what we ordered, you can get flavors like durian (not us!), avocado, kiwi, and banana Nutella (next time)! Here is their menu.

Cost:

In general, an ice cream bar (palette) ranges from 20,000 – 35,000 Indonesian Rupiah ($1.50-$2.75). It cost us 45,000 Indonesian Rupiah ($3.31) for two ice creams. Here is a photo we took of the menu as well.

BreadTalk Bakery

Just across from Paleta’s Way is the Sunset Point Shopping Centre which contains (or contained depending on how quickly things change here) a grocery store, a few other stores, and this bakery. As has seemingly been the case in many bakeries we’ve visited, they didn’t want us to take pictures inside the bakery so can’t provide anything there. It was a nice place with lots of options (and air-conditioning – lol) and we picked up snacks there a few times.

Location:

There are locations throughout Bali. We went to the Kuta Sunset Point location. And here is their website.

What they offer/what we ate:

Bread, muffins, cakes, donuts, chocolate croissant, etc. I couldn’t find a pic of our chocolate covered croissant, so here’s a link to a pic for you. Those are pretty yummy (we found everything to be good).

Cost

We made three visits here and spent a total of 69,500 Indonesian Rupiah ($5.08). I can’t remember how much the individual items cost but I do have recorded that on one visit we chose three items which totaled to $2.05 (I did not record the number of items we bought on the other two visits).

Gelato Factory

We stopped here after dinner one night and shared a cone. We enjoyed it.

Location:

There are several locations. We went to one in Kuta not far from the beach (since we walked from the beach).

What they offer/what we ate:

I believe we got Biscottino (though it might have been stracciatella)! There are some flavors listed on the website (there is ice cream and sorbet) but if you don’t feel like looking here are some of their more interesting options: cinnamon, raspberry, lemon basil, durian, passionfruit, and meringue (but they also have normal stuff too like oreo and mint chocolate). Learn more on their website.

Cost:

30,000 IR ($2.20)

Extra: Gas Station Boba Tea

Just gonna throw this one in here too because we did get this while out and I’m a big boba fan. I mean it wasn’t a special boba place – but now you know some gas stations carry it!

Location:

Gas station somewhere on the island between Ubud and Kuta (we were lost and looking for a place to charge our dead phones).

What they offer/what we ate:

They had some different flavor options. We can’t remember what we got but something pretty standard.

Cost:

5,700 IR ($0.41)

Restaurants

Zula Vegetarian Paradise

Since we read that food in Bali is more vegetarian-friendly we opted to check out a couple of their specifically vegetarian restaurants. Overall we would not say rate the food as amazing but we did think it was quite good and it had some unique options.

Location:

There is a list of locations on their website. Based on the pics, neither looks like the location we visited, but this one (Jl. Dhyana Pura No.5, Seminyak, Kuta, Kabupaten Badung, Bali 80361, Indonesia) seems like where we would have gone location-wise.

What they offer/what we ate:

I had buckwheat pancakes (which came with raisin applesauce) and a lemonada and Kyle had a falafel sandwich (which came with fries) and a coconut (to drink). The menuf includes many vegetarian options like tofu cheese sandwich, nasi goreng (local), or even avocado toast! Drink options include coffee, various teas, milkshakes, a ginger float, etc. The menu is available online if you’d like to see more.

Cost:

The total cost for both of our meals and drinks was 176,000 IR ($12.93).

Other info:

They had some motorbike parking out front (good, since that’s how we got there).

Earth Cafe

We thought this would be another good vegetarian place to go but it turns out it was basically the exact same place with a different name! Well, pretty much the same menu at least (though it is an extensive menu). We sat upstairs outside on the little balcony area and that was nice, it had a Bali kind of vibe.

Location:

There is a location in Seminyak and one in Ubud (you can find this information on their website.)

What they offer/what we ate:

I got a portobello burger and Kyle got a falafel sandwich again. Both came with fries, sauce, and coleslaw. I think we shared a lemonada for a drink here. It came with a lemongrass straw this time which we thought was neat.

Cost:

165,000 IR ($12.07)

Cafe Bali

We stopped here on our way back to our place after an afternoon at the beach. A lot of the food in the area was slightly more expensive than we preferred so it took looking around a little to find something that looked appetizing and affordable. This was actually kind of a fancy-looking place with nice decor so I felt a tad bit like we didn’t quite belong there but it was all good. At the end, they gave us the check in this box with candy which was neat/different.

Location:

Here is the Google Maps location.

What they offer/what we ate:

I debated a couple things and ultimately got a quesadilla because it’s what I wanted and it was cheaper. It was good but not very filling. Albeit it was an appetizer so I knew I was taking a risk that it could be small or large or anywhere in between but I may have chosen something else had I known. Cue us going to Gelato Factory afterward! We don’t remember what Kyle got but it was some kind of meat kebab, rice puffs, and rice. We did not get any drinks.

Cost:

Our food cost 110,000 ($8.08)

Sun Shoot Food’N Drinks

We called this ‘Shooters’ (as our hosts did I think) and went here one of our first nights in Bali because it was just down the road. We passed by it other times and It appeared to be frequented by our Airbnb hosts who would go and sit out there and drink. Seating was mostly outdoors and was nice. The food was decent. We were also offered a free shot (probably to entice us to order more – we were on quite a budget so it did not work!) The seating is mostly outdoors and it’s in a more quiet area which may appeal to some (but the restaurant itself sometimes has live music).

Unfortunately, we do not have any pics of the area and it does not seem to have much of an internet presence.

Location:

Here is the Google Maps link.

What they offer/what we ate:

I had pesto pasta (I love pesto) and we can’t remember what Kyle ate but I believe it was a local Indonesian dish.

Cost:

Together our meals cost 143,000 IR ($10.52)

Cooking/Eating at our Place

Grocery Store

We tend to enjoy checking out the grocery stores wherever we go. It’s fun to see what unique items any given place will stock. Here we found some of the typical fruits you’ll see in various parts of southeast Asia that we enjoy like passionfruit and dragonfruit. They even had red dragonfruit which we did not realize was a little more expensive until we were at the check out (because we thought the labeled price was for both), but it was all fine because we got to try something new and it was very good!

In our 7 days there, we visited the grocery store 7 times! Though according to my records, one visit was just for laundry detergent, another was solely for tater tots, and another time we just got beer and chocolate. It was also not a far walk and on the way to/from most other things. We spent a total of $70.12 on groceries during that week, including the little bit of dog food we got for a sad stray dog that stayed outside of the store.

Meals

We made some of our standard for meals at the time like noodles or rice with variations of vegetables, sauces, and usually tofu but Kyle is also always trying slightly new creative takes on what we already eat by incorporating what all we have available and what we feel like eating. We had potatoes and pineapple in a couple of our stir-fry meals (we don’t normally) and also incorporated tempeh into our meals as an alternative to tofu sometimes. Tempeh actually originates in Indonesia so it’s a good local addition.

I also had a couple sort of variations of what some might call “Bali bowls”. We intended to get one out (like at a restaurant there) but the place we wanted to go closed early and we didn’t realize that until it was too late. For me, it was just a mix of fruit and oats/granola (though I also added yogurt to one) but other people add things like

Snacks and desserts

We primarily snacked on fresh fruit, fried potatoes and plantains, candy, and baked goods from BreadTalk. We recognized the silver queen brand from Java and thought it was a good local brand so over our time in Indonesia we tried many of their different candy bars.

Alcohol (Beer)

Kyle tried a couple regional beers here (Bintang Pilsner and Bali Hai) which you can read a little more about in his South and Southeast Asian beer review post.