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Bali Food
By on December 29, 2011 1:19 PM
Food from Bali
Dining in Bali is generally a highlight.
You may choose to eat in a five star hotel restaurant, or you may prefer a
breezy open sided bamboo cafe. Hotels and restaurants in Bali offer guests a
wide variety of excellent dishes to satisfy every budget and taste. When you
feel like venturing outside for a meal, there are dozens of good restaurants to
be found in the main streets of Kuta, Legian, Ubud, Candidasa, Lovina, Sanur
and most of the major tourist areas.
The simple and relaxed restaurants, often
with grass roofs, cane furniture and the latest top 40 singles blasting through
the hi-fi systems are almost everywhere. Even more simple, are the warungs, the
snack bars and the mobile carts that cater mainly to local workers and
adventurous travellers who have discovered that low cost hawker meals really
can be safe to eat.
The night markets are traditional outdoor
eateries that come to life at dusk, and are famous all over Southeast Asia.
Even if you cannot work up the courage to eat in the markets, you must visit
one to experience the thrills, the smells, the sights and the noises that
define this part of the world.
Surprisingly, authentic Balinese food is
rarely enjoyed by the island's thousands of visitors, simply because it is
rarely served in hotels and restaurants. True, a wide variety of exotic dishes
are available, but the typical fare is Indonesian and Chinese.
The true Balinese cuisine is, like all
else in Bali, a matter of contrasts. Just as there are men and women, good and
evil, night and day, there is everyday food, and there is festival food. The
staple of daily fare is rice, accompanied by vegetables, a small amount of fish
or meat, and a range of condiments, usually cooked in the early morning, and
consumed whenever the need arises, often as snacks. Most Balinese meals are
eaten quickly and without fanfare. Dining out and in groups is not a normal
social custom.
Festivals are the major exception. Food
is prepared in an elaborate and decorative manner and is eaten communally,
marking the occasion as something out of the ordinary.
Some tourist restaurants present special
Bali nights, featuring dishes such as suckling pig, a Balinese banquet
favorite. Unless you are invited to dine with a local family, these special
events may be your only way to sample the true Balinese cuisine.
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