10 Things To Do and Eat in Bali

I received a number of requests about my Bali posts, asking me about things to do and eat in Bali. Some readers reflected that my day-to-day posts had too many things to do and food to eat but they did not have enough time. So one reader suggested that I condense the top places that I would recommend into a list for all my readers.

After much thought, I managed to condense the essence of my Bali trip into these 10 places. They are not in any order of preference, I'm just listing them down as I remember them.

NUMBER ONE: POTATO HEAD

Go to Potato Head in the day to soak up the sun, watch waves crashing against the shore, have a bite, and people-watch. There's nothing better than sitting around, thinking about nothing at all, and simply lazing on one of their daybeds. The architecture of the place obstructed the sea breeze though, so it might get quite warm some time.

NUMBER TWO: KU DE TA

I love Ku De Ta as much as I love Potato Head but for a different reason . Potato Head was, in a word, happening. Everybody who wanted to see and be seen was there, sun bathing on the grass, sipping cocktails delicately, and generally looking polished. Everybody at Potato Head was dressed to impress except those who were too old to care (me). Ku De Ta was different. They attracted a more mature crowd, people who were comfortable with who they were, and it was evident in the vibe of the place. The sea breeze was very strong in Ku De Ta, much stronger than it was in Potato Head, so it was always naturally cool. The choice of music was marvelous too, you could never go wrong with tunes from the 80s.

NUMBER THREE: PAK MALEN

Just for the suckling pig and to experience local food in a local environment. The shop was dark, stuffy, and hot but the suckling pig more than made up for it.

NUMBER FOUR: SARDINES

Awesome fine-dining beside the padi field. The food was marvelous, service was impeccable, but the al-fresco restaurant could get a bit warm after awhile. Wise to wear less if you are heading there, but head there all the same because the food is definitely worth your time.

NUMBER FIVE: TANAH LOT

If you are lucky, you could catch a marvelous sunset at Tanah Lot. If you aren't (like us), you will find that sitting on the small hill, drinking a bottle of beer, and watching large rolling waves hitting the cliff to be very enjoyable as well. 

NUMBER SIX: MOUNT BATUR

Just for this incredible sunrise.

NUMBER SEVEN: LA LUCCIOLA

Fine dining along the beach, with strong gusts of wind sweeping your hair around, and awesome food in your mouth. It was definitely delightful to have dinner at La Lucciola.

NUMBER EIGHT: BIKU

Head to Biku in the afternoon for tea. It's an extremely quaint cafe with awesome decoration and lovely items for tea.

NUMBER NINE AND TEN: KUTA BEACH AND SEMINYAK BEACH

There is no reason you miss the beaches if you are in Bali. Just to see the clear blue sea and enjoy the warmth of the sun on your skin, Kuta Beach and Seminyak Beach are ideal, even though they are quite touristy and crowded. 

Enjoy Bali! :)

Penny University, Katong: Cheap and good brunch

Haven't had time to write here for awhile. Spent my past two weekends completely swamped with work and I miss the quiet times sitting in front of my computer writing about food and all sorts of stuff. 

One week before the work trip, I had an incredible craving for scrambled eggs and brunch in general. So I called Stef out and we headed over to Penny University for brunch. We both live in the East so Penny University was convenient for us. We reached bright and not-so-early on a Sunday morning and were greeted by a queue inside Penny University. 

The cafe was quite small and narrow, packed full of small tables everywhere, a large counter by the door, and a long queue that snaked from the counter all the way to the door. However, the turnover rate was quick, and people were leaving rapidly, so we managed to snag a table within 15 minutes.

I ordered the Eggs Benedict with Smoked Salmon, my favourite brunch item. There was nothing more heart than that for a lazy Sunday brunch. It was only $12! Definitely one of the most value for money brunch I've ever tasted in awhile. Portions like these usually set me back by about $16 to even $20 at some places. So I was pleasantly surprised that the Eggs Ben here was only $12!

The Eggs Benedict was fantastic. Extremely well done, with a runny egg yolk that oozed out readily when I cut into it. The hollandaise sauce was perfect as well. I love the generous slices of smoked salmon stacked beneath the eggs. Together with my usual orange juice, this meal was just perfect.

Stef ordered Croque Monsieur which is turkey ham topped with gruyere and parmesan on toasted bread. We decided to share our food thus my half of the Croque Monsieur can be seen in the picture below. This was the first time I've tried it and it was delicious! It was pretty much ham and cheese on toast but the melted cheese on top of the slices of ham was just so fragrant! Parmesan always tasted awesome once melted and this was no exception. It was just delightfully salty and extremely fragrant. 

Penny University is definitely a fantastic place for cheap brunch on Sunday. However, because the crowd is amazing and the queue usually loiters around the counter, you will feel this ominous pressure to finish quickly and let somebody else have the seat. Thus it is not a brunch place where you could sit around enjoying some toast and juice, chat, and let time slip by. We left after we finished our food and took a nice long stroll along East Coast beach to Parkway where we walked around a bit before leaving.

It was a nice way to spend Sunday morning and afternoon!

I took Bus 12 from Kallang MRT and alighted in front of the petrol station, a few stops after I12 Katong. After alighting, cross the road and continuing walking down. Penny University is on the same side as the famous (and ever so crowded) Prawn Noodle. 

402 East Coast Road

Where to eat in Hong Kong: Day 3 Tim Ho Wan at IFC, Lan Fong Yuen, Tai Cheong Egg tart. Tsim Chai Kee Noodles, Heng Kee Claypot Rice

Slept late the previous night after Lan Kwai Fong and only managed to crawl awake close to 10am on Day 3. We wanted to check out Tim Ho Wan's Mongkok outlet on Day 1, but realised that it was no longer there when we reached Mongkok. To satisfy our Tim Ho Wan craving, we decided to visit the Tim Ho Wan IFC outlet on Day 3. The IFC Outlet is linked to the Hong Kong MTR station and is easily accessible.

We woke up late and reached Tim Ho Wan even later so we totally deserved being stuck in a large crowd. The process of getting a table was slightly different from what I remembered about the Mongkok outlet. At the IFC outlet, we simply pushed our way through the crowd, approached the lady behind the counter, requested a table for two, and were handed the order chit with our queue number scribbled in the corner.

We were told that the waiting time was approximately 30 minutes. We were incredibly famished and really needed some food in our stomach whilst waiting. There was not much in the area near Tim Ho Wan so we succumbed to Itacho sushi which was located beside Tim Ho Wan. We ordered about 4 or 5 pieces of sushi each and indulged in yummy scallop sashimi, perfectly seared salmon, and delicious soy sauce salmon belly.

We left Itacho Sushi after 30 minutes when our table at Tim Ho Wan was ready. When our table was ready, we handed our order chit to the lady before settling down in a corner table. We were very hungry when we made our dimsum orders and happily forgot to review our selection after eating some considerable amount of sushi at Itacho. The result of this oversight was ordering way way way too much.

The barbecued char siew buns were definitely the very best! This is the one thing which brings me back to Tim Ho Wan every single time. The crust was thin and soft, the char siew within was chunky and well-barbecued, and everything together was just amazing.

We couldn't finish the osmanthus jelly and decided to take them away instead. However, the smart me packed the osmanthus jelly in my bag throughout the whole afternoon without realising that osmanthus jelly had to be kept chilled! So when I took the osmanthus jelly out of my bag in the middle of the day, I found a puddle of liquefied osmanthus tea in the container instead.

The pan-fried carrot cake was pretty good. Nicely fried with a generous portion of lap cheong (chinese sausage) and radish inside.

I did not like the beancurd skin roll at Tim Ho Wan. I've definitely tried better beancurd skin rolls in Singapore with more delicious ingredients. The beancurd skin rolls at Tim Ho Wan did not have the usual mix of fresh crunchy prawns and nicely minced meat. They were filled with bland fish paste and soaked in some gravy.

The cheong fun was not bad! Soft, silky and very thin. I liked the prawn dumplings and siew mai too. Both were filled with fresh juicy prawns. The siew mai was exceptionally good because the minced meat mixed with prawns and mushrooms were delicious!

Shop 12A, Hong Kong Station (Podium Level 1, IFC Mall), Central

中環香港站12A鋪(ifc地庫一層)

We went to the Midlevel escalator after that and explored Central. It's interesting to take such a long flight of escalator and check out the rows of cafes, bars, and shops along the street. We spent the whole afternoon walking around, or rather trudging along on our tired legs (which were aching badly after the hike up Lantau Peak because we forgot to stretch), eventually settling down for a drink at Peak Cafe and Bar. We ordered Sangria as that was the happy hour drink but the Sangria was pretty disappointing. The fruits were not fresh and tasted really stale. The bar was decorated in a quaint Victorian style, dark and cool, and it was very comfortable to sit in the bar and chill in the late afternoon.

Visited the famous Lan Fong Yuen which was rumored to be the first cha chan teng to introduce the concept of stocking milk tea. We ordered a cup to try and it was really thick, fragrant and yummy! Would recommend those in Central to come by and grab a cup.

2 Gage Street, Central

We continued to explore Central and found the Tai Cheong Bakery. Tai Cheong Bakery is famous for its egg tarts and we decided to buy one each to try. The egg tart was indeed good! The egg tart was served hot, with a thin soft crust, and a thick dollop of egg in the center. We stood along the street, with a egg tart in hand and a cup of hot Lan Fong Yuen milk tea, stuffing our faces happily with food.

G/F, 35 Lyndhurst Terrace, Central

We were really full by then but as we walked down the slopes back to Central MTR we stumbled upon Tsim Chai Kee Noodles. Tsim Chai Kee Noodles is a Michelin-starred cafe serving wanton noodles and we heard that their wantons were huge! We loitered in front of the shop for a really long time, trying to decide whether we can stomach another food item in our burgeoning bellies. We eventually decided that we could and ordered a bowl of wanton noodles to share. Oh my, it was super awesome! The noodles were so springy and the huge wantons were filled with large crunchy prawns. I tried a few more famous wanton noodles in the next few days, but Tsim Chai Kee Noodles is definitely the best.

98 Wellington Street 

We wandered around a little more, and proceeded to watch the Avenue of Stars at Tsim Sha Tsui. It was close to 9pm by then and we decided that we could have a little supper so we took the MTR to Yau Ma Tei for Hing Kee Clay Pot Rice. It is touted as the best clay pot rice in Hong Kong according to reviews so we came over excitedly. They have many stores along Yau Ma Tei so we found seats quickly despite the crowd. We ordered the chicken clay pot rice. Clay pot rice in Hong Kong uses light soya sauce as a condiment instead of the dark soya sauce used in Singapore. Maybe it is for that reason that I prefer the Singapore version. In any case, I find Hing Kee Clay Pot Rice nice but not spectacular.

G/F, 14, 19, 21 Temple Street & 48 Arthur Street, Yau Ma Tei 

Check out Day 1, Day 2, Day 4 and Day 5!

Where to eat in Hong Kong: Day 2, Australian Dairy Co, Lantau Peak, Nathan Congee and Noodles, Lan Kwai Fong

We woke up bright and early on the second day to have breakfast before making our way to hike up Lantau Peak. We decided to have breakfast at Australia Dairy Co as it was strongly recommended. Furthermore, it was near our apartment and a short 10 minute walk would take us there, thus we decided to check it out before making our way to Lantau island.

When we arrived at Australian Dairy Co, we were so surprised to be greeted by an extremely long queue in front of the door. We expected a long queue so we came earlier before 8am hoping that the queue would be shorter. Yet there it was, a queue of 20 people when it was only 8am in the morning! However, we were lucky that day. The cafe had two empty seats and nobody ahead of us was in a pair so we were allowed in within 5 minutes.

Australian Dairy Co situated on Parkes Street does not actually sell any Australian breakfast. Instead it sells comfort breakfast items like toast, macaroni and ham, and either scrambled eggs or sunny-side up. The breakfast set also came with a tea.  The breakfast set is big and definitely more than enough for one person. We watched as most people ordered one breakfast set to share between two. However, we decided to take one breakfast set each since we needed the energy to hike up Lantau Peak.

I have to say the scrambled eggs were awesome. They were the best scrambled eggs I've ever tried. The macaroni and ham soup and toast were pretty average. I did not actually queue very long for breakfast at Australian Dairy Co so I cannot really comment as to whether it was worth the wait. However, I have to say that the best item in the breakfast set was definitely the scrambled eggs.

Also, this is not a place where you can sit around leisurely having a nice chat over breakfast. The turnover is extremely quick, the waiters speak faster Cantonese than I can comprehend (and my Cantonese is honestly not too bad, if I could say so myself), and they literally just dump your food items on the table seconds after you placed your order. There is not much of a service here so don't expect to be treated like a treasured customer. You aren't and they do not make any effort to pretend that you are.

47-49 Parkes Street, Jordan

Lantau Peak is the second highest peak in Hong Kong. We took bus E23 from Jordan to Tung Chung and alighted near Citygate Mall. We walked over to Citygate Mall, grabbed some extra bottles of water, and walked over to the bus interchange to take bus 3M. We alighted at Pak Gong Au to start our hike. If you are not familiar with the area and unsure of where to alight, you could ask the bus driver to announce the Pak Gong Au stop for you. That was what we did and thankfully the kind uncle did the announcement. From the bus stop, simply cross the road and you would see this big rock with the words Pak Gong Au inscribed on it. You would see the yellow trail marker next so simply follow the trail marker and you are good to go.

The trail was wide at certain points but really narrow at others. It was not as steep as Mount Batur but the Lantau Peak hike was tiring in its own ways. Particularly so because we were hiking in the late morning and have to weather the scorching sun and high temperature. It took us close to 2 hours to reach the peak and we reached the top around mid day when the sun was the hottest. There is a small shed at the top which was surprisingly cool and comfortable so we sat around and took a bunch of pictures before heading down.

This is the view from Lantau Peak.

The hike down was relatively shorter so it took us slightly more than an hour to reach the Wisdom Path. The hike down eventually led us to the Wisdom Path at Ngong Ping and from there we could reach Ngong Ping village easily. At Ngong Ping village, we saw the Bronze Buddha and a few shops selling souvenirs and drinks. We bought more drinks to replenish fluids in our body and decided to take a cable car back to Tung Chung.

There are two types of cable cars back to Tung Chung, the normal cable cars and the crystal cabin cable cars. I decided to take the crystal cabin cable car because that was what Running Man took and the view through the clear bottom was amazing. It was so exciting to be able to see the view beneath your feet through the clear bottom and I thoroughly enjoyed the 25 minute ride.

We took a quick stroll around Citygate Mall at Tung Chung to check out a few outlet stores. We also tried the new black sesame McFlurry and sundae at Macs. The black sesame McFlurry and sundae were yummy! I hope the black sesame flavour would come to Singapore soon. After which we went back to our apartment where Stef prepared to meet her friends and I decided to take a nap before going out for dinner.

After I woke up, I decided to flip through the Lonely Planet guidebook for some nice eatery around the Jordan area. Nathan Congee and Noodles caught my eye so I decided to take the short walk over and have my dinner there.

It was easy to locate Nathan Congee and Noodles which was situated on a quiet street. The doors of Nathan Congee and Noodles were firmly shut when I arrived and I almost thought it was closed. I decided to try my luck anyway and entered to find the store half empty. There were a few patrons sitting around but it was quite quiet inside. I took a booth seat and ordered Century Egg Porridge and a plate of vegetables. The bowl of Century Egg Porridge was good. The porridge was sweet and smooth, and they were generous with the lean meat and century egg. The plate of vegetables was quite horrible though. The vegetables were terribly overcooked and I could only finish half the plate.

11 Sai Kung Street, Jordan

I took the MTR to Central after dinner and met Stef for drinks at Lan Kwai Fong. It was a Friday evening and Lan Kwai Fong was crazily crowded. We started our night at Common Room which turned out to be an extremely crowded and noisy bar. We left after one drink each and headed to Yamanae Bar. Yamanae Bar turned out to be much less crowded and quieter so we managed to have a nice long chat over drinks. We spotted 7th Heaven across the street from Yamanae Bar and decided to check it out. The music at 7th Heaven was awesome and I would strongly recommend it to other party goers! We also checked out Beijing Club and Billion. All clubs did not have a cover charge for girls. Or rather,  I don't remember paying cover for any club. What I do remember was being asked to pay a fee for bag storage at every club we went and that amounted to about SGD 5 per club ber bag.

Check out Day 1, Day 3, Day 4 and Day 5!