Bali Restaurants: Potato Head, Mamasan, KU DE TA, Ibu Oka

My trip to Bali  was a vacation of sheer eating pleasure after another.  Needless to say, I gained a few pounds.  But that is not the subject of this post.  I want to share with you the hip restaurants my high school buddies and I dined in through the course of our stay.

Potato Head, Seminyak, Bali

Ok now this is Chill!  I sooo love Potato Head.  The ambience gives the perfect setting to chill and let loose.  It’s a huge restaurant bar with a fairly large pool that diners can dip in when the sun bathing in the bed bars gets too hot.  We had our perfect lunch here.

Upon entering the compound you will be greeted with rows of old wooden slatted windows of different sizes and colors and ages.  You go into a tunnel walkway where you get more of the old windows.  And then you are welcomed with this ultra hip lounge and house music.  I had to go up to the white DJ to send off my admiration.

I had a hearty Philly Cheese Steak Sandwich with my Bintang Beer. Tip:  book your bed bar upon entering since it easily gets full.  The bed bar is where people order their drinks while sun bathing and look dreamily at the infinity pool and the crashing waves plus did I say the music was divine?   Expect to spend around P1,500 for lunch and one regular drink.

Mamasan, Seminyak, Bali

Not the most glamorous of names.  We were chuckling as we continuously repeated we were off to Mamasan.  The East Asian meets wine cellar interior is a sight to behold.

The food was not to be compromised with the interior as they served us the most delectable foods from the heart of Asia.  Order the whole crispy fish, we finished it down to bone!

Expect to cough up P1,500/person for dinner alone drinks not included.  Cocktails are at P550 per glass.

KU DE TA

Rated as one of the top resto bars in Bali (World’s Best Bars), our resort chic outfits were put to test.

We were tipped by Dreams (Jakarta) magazine managing editor, proud Filipino, Jed Doble to go resort chic.  No shorts, no t-shirts, no tank tops, no flip-flops.  Be prepared and look beautiful!

When I entered I felt a few inches taller, the music was hip, the design cutting edge and everyone looked beautiful!  They have world class food (order their steak! it’s about 2″ thick and cooked to perfection!) and good service but what truly sets them apart is their music.

Their belief that “music creates space” is what solidified it to be the “it” lifestyle destination.  I’m not a true blue music junkie,  but, men,  they have very good stuff!

Expect to spend P2,000/person, drinks not included.

Ibu Oka, Ubud

Anthony Bourdain would not recommend this restaurant for nothing.  And what is great about it is the entire Babi Guling Meal is a measly P150!  Winner!

Babi Guling at Ibu Oka, Ubud

After days in Seminyak restos,  this inexpensive, satisfying, authentic balinese suckling pig is a welcome treat!

The Babi Guling Special provided for a good satisfying taste of a Balinese meal!  It has the crispy pork skin, pork flesh that is a little bit on the tough side, blood sausage which is not as exotic tasting as the name sounds (edible, edible) and long bean salad in coconut chili (spice level: tolerable) dressing served over white steamed rice.  I also like the novelty of sitting Indian style on the low tables.  The place is clean since it is the most popular Babi Guling Restaurant in Bali.

Ibu Oka is in the art center of Bali in Ubud.  If you plan to look into some art stuff in Ubud,  do have lunch at Ibu Oka. The taxi or rental car driver would know where it is.

Cafe Batavia, Jakarta

Cafe Batavia is the “must go to” resto here in Jakarta.  Not for its food but more for its historic value and its ornate colonial interiors.

According to Rodan 44 of Virtual Tourist, “It is a restored 19th-century Dutch colonial building across the old Dutch city hall (now Jakarta Museum).The place is a living reminder of Jakarta’s luxurious (as well as oppressive) colonial past, when Dutch officials would wine and dine their nights away in luxury while the local residents barely scratched out a living.”

I just took a snack here and I could not comment much.  I tried their local version of halu-halo and I was a bit disappointed.  My friend tried the vanilla ice cream with chocolate ganache and the ganache tasted like Hershey chocolate syrup.  Maybe we didn’t order right.  Should have tried the local beer instead.

But the interiors more than made up for the fair snack.  The moment I stepped into the restaurant, I was transported back in time and I could actually feel the extravagance and opulence of those yesteryears.  The music ups the experience further, I wanted to wear a tassel skirt and put a feather on my head.

The walls are filled with pictures of celebrities and anonymous people in avant-garde to ordinary poses which adds charm to the place.   Do drop by the bathroom as it is an eye treat as well with a generous sprinkle of black and white photos of bygone days.

Source: http://www.thegomom.com