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! :)

Bali Day 6, La Lucciola Restaurant

It was our last full day in Bali and we wanted to have a good rest, do some last minute shopping in Kuta, and enjoy one last good dinner at a fine dining establishment. We chose La Lucciola because it was by the sea and came with many good reviews on TripAdvisor.

We took a cab from Kuta to La Lucciola and was greeted by two security officers at the little bridge leading across the stream to La Lucciola. There was a dress code and as usual, I was dressed appropriately in my tube sundress and the boyfriend was not because he was once again wearing a singlet. We solved the issue quick enough by pulling a newly bought shirt out of the bag with the tag still on and he shrugged into it. Once that was settled, we were ushered to La Lucciola.

La Lucciola was housed in a large wooden house by the Seminyak beach which offered an awesome view of the sea and the retreating sun as well as strong gusts of sea breeze. We had a table on the first floor right at the edge of the dining area and it was extremely cooling sitting there with the wind caressing your face. This made La Lucciola much more comfortable than Sardines.

Food wise, I have to say Sardines definitely won more brownie points with their awesome fish dishes. La Lucciola was good and the standard of the food was definitely noteworthy but it lacked the punch which Sardines managed to deliver.

We ordered a Norwegian Salmon and a Seafood Stew. The salmon was juicy, fresh and sweet. Portions were small but that was hardly a surprise. The Seafood Stew was very rich with a generous serving of fresh seafood such as prawns, squid, and fish. I liked the Seafood Stew but the stew definitely became a little too rich towards the end of the bowl and I found it hard to finish everything.

We ordered a bottle of red and spent the rest of the evening lounging in our seats, sipping red wine and enjoying this last transient moment of peace in Bali. It is now about two months since I came back and I can still distinctly remember that awesome moment lounging there, doing nothing, allowing my mind to wander. 

It began to rain in the late evening and the staff definitely went out of their way to ensure that all of us were kept dry. The strong winds meant that rain was lashing in furiously and those sitting at the sides were getting the brunt of the rainy weather. The staff brought down the blinds immediately and that helped a bit. However, the roof began to leak after awhile and there were puddles beginning to gather on the table, floor and everywhere else. It was difficult to stay dry and all the guests realised that it was probably not going to be a terribly comfortable meal. Fortunately, the boyfriend and I had finished our food by then and were simply enjoying our wine and waiting for the rain to stop. The staff offered all ladies a shawl to keep warm and I thought that was an awesome gesture. 

I did hear a Singaporean couple complaining loudly to the staff about the rain and how everything was getting wet and demanding to be moved elsewhere. This was despite the staff telling them very nicely that all the seats on the second floor were occupied. The Singaporean couple continued their tirade until finally the waiter managed to get them another table. To put this in perspective, there was a Japanese family, Caucasian family and us all sitting around the same area at that point in time and all of us were basically subjected to the same amount of rain. But nobody complained loudly and demanded anything. There was no unhappiness, no drama, everybody just did the best they could to make the situation better. But that Singaporean couple was just going on continuously about this and that and how things should be improved. You know, how a person reacts to a sudden event is a good reflection of a lot of things. Apparently some people only know how to complain and wait for somebody else to solve the problem for them.

When the rain was lighter, we left and took a nice long stroll back to the villa. It was apparently really close by!

Read about Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, Day 5!

Bali Day 5, Mount Batur trek, more Potato Head, Balinese massage at Taman Merah Spa

We woke up at 1 am to get ready for our trek up Mount Batur, which is an active volcano in Bali. We arranged with a guide that my friend recommended to do the trek together but he bailed out on us at the last minute so we thought we would simply book the trekking tour through our villa. However, our villa charged us double the price of the market rate so I did a quick search on Tripadvisor and contacted Bali Bliss Tour. They responded really quickly and our trekking tour was arranged less than a day before the actual trek. Very efficient and I liked their prompt responses through out.

The drive to the base of Mount Batur took 1 hr 30 minutes and the driver from Bali Bliss Tour took us there in the dark of the night. I was really sleepy throughout the trip and was dozing off happily. When I woke up and hopped out of the car to fantastic air-conditioned weather. It was pretty cold with strong gusts of cold wind whipping through the darkness in the large parking lot. Our driver introduced us to our guide who was part of the local organisation in charge of bringing tourists up Mount Batur. He looked really young, like maybe 16 or so, but I found out during the nice slow walk down that he was actually 23!

Anyway the trek up was physically manageable. I was actually much more afraid of losing my balance and toppling one side or the other. Some of those trekking managed to make it to the summit, but many others decided to stop at the crater instead. I am sure both locations provide a stunning view of the sunrise but I managed to get to the summit and boy was it breath taking.

I cannot describe in words how awesome it was to sit beside the person you completely enjoy being with, watching the sky turn from dark to light, and looking at the awesome ball of gold creeping up the horizon. I truly loved that moment.

The trek down was a long steep rocky and sandy slope. For some reason I lost my balance twice and fell onto some rocks, receiving a deep gash on my palm. After a while, the path was no longer rocky but merely sandy so we could finally take our focus off the path and start a normal conversation with our guide. The boyfriend started chatting with him about Beckham, Spice Girls and a range of other funny stuff. 

The driver was waiting for us at the parking lot and took us back. The drive back to the villa took us through Ubud where we had a glimpse of the various craft shops. It was very fascinating but not entirely my cup of tea. We reached the villa after a 2 hour ride and went to Biku for lunch. We were really exhausted since we were up the whole night and promptly returned to the villa for a nice afternoon nap.

Woke up for dinner at Potato Head! Potato Head's mojito came highly recommended but I don't find it especially interesting. But it could really be because I am not a fan of mojitos anyway.

I ordered Fusili with Chicken and Goat Cheese. It was really yummy at the start but it soon became too creamy for my liking and I started feeling really queasy.

After dinner, we strolled over to Taman Merah Spa which was the spa attached to Bali Island Villa and Spa. We chose to have the Balinese Massage together and I succumbed to using aromatic oils this time. I chose the Green Tea one because it was the lightest fragrance of all. The massage was really good! And I loved the fact that they had an en suite outdoor shower facility so you could simply walk out of the room and have a quick shower in the garden at the back.

Read about Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4 and Day 6!

Bali Day 4, Biku, Tanah Lot, Ginger Moon

I've read a lot about Biku before going to Bali and was very keen to try it. Biku is famous for their tea snacks  and tarot card reading. We decided to drop by for lunch on our 4th day in Bali and found out to our utmost surprise that it was a short five minute stroll from our villa! In fact, it was so convenient, it was the second most visited location after Potato Head.

Everything was very quaint in Biku. There is one corner dedicated to books and little items for sale and small wooden tables arranged neatly around the cafe. There is an outdoor sitting area if you are interested, but I was much more fond of sitting indoors and away from the crazy heat outside.

It was lunch so I decided to skip the famous teatime snacks and chose a main course instead. I had Ayam Rica Rica which was basically spicy chicken and stir-fried kang kong. A simple dish which was done very well! I love the soft tender chicken marinated with the yummy spicy sauce. The boyfriend had a burger which I did not try because it came with a beef patty so I helped myself to the fries instead. Very crispy fries!

Just in case you were wondering, I did not try the tarot card reading. As much as I am curious about the future and always wonder what the future holds for me, I am terrified as well. I don't suppose a trip to Bali would be a good time for me to confront my fears so there. I chickened out. 

We went back to our villa and lazed around until it was time to go for our Tanah Lot trip. We booked the Tanah Lot trip through our villa and the driver came promptly to pick us up. It was a 40 minutes ride, pretty smooth and we missed the crazy rush hour traffic (thankfully). The price of the Tanah Lot trip did not include the entrance fees so we paid when he drove us up to the counter.

The whole place was amazingly crowded. It was just filled with people everywhere. And I really mean everywhere, like you cannot turn around without bumping right into someone else. The surf was large around here, it was just strong fierce currents hitting the cliff repeatedly with sea spray going everywhere. As you can probably tell from the pictures below, we did not have much luck because it was dark, gloomy, and the clouds were definitely threatening to dump their load down on us (which they did less than an hour after we arrived).

When it began to rain, our driver herded us over to the hilltop cafe and asked us to take a seat because we can see the sunset from there. Unfortunately, the downpour meant that we did not have a glimpse of the spectacular sunset which Tanah Lot is famous for. What we did have was spending some quality time sipping beer, enjoying the strong gusts of wind, watching the waves crash against the cliff and basking in each other's company. Oh and not to mention getting a little wet in the down pour. I thought it was pretty hilarious how we were both trying to keep dry but eventually just giving up and sitting there being semi-soaked in the rain.

When we were done with our beers and the rain became smaller, we decided that it was time for dinner. Our driver on our trip from the airport shared with us about Ginger Moon and told us that they served awesome fusion food. It was either that or Ultimo which sounded really boring so I decided that we should definitely try something new and special.

The fusion food at Ginger Moon basically comprises of a mix of local and western delights. We ordered some fried rice, Babi Guling pizza (suckling pig pizza) and stir fried kangkong. The fried rice and stir-fried kangkong tasted average, exactly like what I expected and there was hardly any surprise. However the Babi Guling pizza was the bomb! I loved it. Crispy thin crust pizza with a generous serving of suckling pig. So delicious and definitely not like anything I have tasted before. The boyfriend was not too fond of the pizza though because he enjoys his pizzas with cheese and this didn't come with any. Oh well.

Read about Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 5 and Day 6!

Bali Day 3, Kuta Square, Kuta Beach, Sardines Restaurant fine dining

We took a cab from our villa to Kuta Square because the complimentary drop-off did not extend to areas outside Seminyak. We were pretty clueless when we got off the cab so we simply walked around and went into random shops. There were many shops selling the usual surfing attire and a large departmental store called Matahari. I enjoyed shopping at Matahari where I grabbed a whole bunch of basic tank tops and the boyfriend picked a couple of tees. I have to say that they were very cheap but my tops kind of expanded after washing whilst his shrank.

Kuta Beach is right behind Kuta Square and is a long stretch of coarse sand and blue waters. The waters aren't clean and clear such that you can see the sea bed and the beach generally is not as clean and pristine as the beaches at Railay either. But it is definitely a crowded beach, full of surfers and people lazing around. We strolled along the beach for awhile until we were both hungry and started wandering back to Kuta Square in search of food.

We had our lunch at Gabah Restaurant and Bar which was an airy restaurant with average food. He had a cheeseburger while I had grilled chicken rice, neither of which was particularly memorable. We both ordered some cocktails which were decent but so forgettable that I cannot remember what we ordered anymore.

We continued walking down the street to the next mall which was Discovery Mall. It was a pretty regular mall with boring stuff that I did not fancy. I think we simply walked around and around, went up to the top floor, came back down, and concluded there was really nothing much here. There was nothing much along that street either so we decided to buy some water and grab a cab back to our villa.

We lazed around watching some movies at the villa and made a reservation for Sardines because I read many good reviews about it and was really keen to have dinner there. We hopped out of the villa and got the driver to give us a ride to Sardines. As it was a fine dining establishment, there was a dress code and the boyfriend obviously did not meet the criteria because he was wearing a singlet. Thankfully we anticipated this and he brought a tee along, so he changed into it and we were ushered into the restaurant.

For all those visiting Bali in a hot month and intending to have dinner at Sardines, I have to say that it was not a very comfortable affair. Granted, the view of the padi field right beside the restaurant was awesome and the food was fantastic, but the heat was really something else altogether. It is an al fresco restaurant and we were seated away from the main area so there wasn't any breeze or wind reaching us. I was wearing a cotton spaghetti strap dress yet I was beginning to sweat by the time I started on my main course, so yes. Food for thought if you are heading there.

We ordered a tuna carpaccio and a smoked salmon salad as appetizers. Our main courses were sauteed kingfish for the boyfriend and pan seared sea bass for me. The tuna carpaccio was great. The tuna was fresh, deliciously sweet, and I love the garnishing.

The smoked salmon salad was good too! Crunchy fresh vegetables and smoked salmon with a tangy salad dressing.

My pan seared sea bass was awesome. It was so awesome that I would go so far to say that it was the best meal I had in Bali (even La Lucciola cannot triumph this). The sea bass was tender, extremely fresh, and so sweet! It was pan seared to perfection, slightly crispy on the outside yet incredibly tender within. Drizzled with the sauce, the combination was heavenly. The mashed potatoes and salad were good too!

The boyfriend's sauteed kingfish. It was not as great as my pan seared sea bass but still good nonetheless. The boyfriend observed that the highlight of this dish was actually the rice because the grains were so chewy and tasty.

Service was impeccable and very attentive. As we opened a bottle of red wine, they moved us to a lower table beside the padi field after we were done with our food so that we could enjoy our drinks with the awesome view.

The food was great, very memorable, and I love everything about Sardines. Might be prudent to wear less if you are a lady and keen on managing the heat. If you are a guy then I suppose you would just have to suffer in slightly more clothes.

We came out of the restaurant in high spirits and were promptly led to a cab which was waiting across the street. The amazing thing was the price of the cab ride which was a shocking 50,000 rupiah for a ride which was less than 5 minutes. In all  honesty, we could have walked but I guess we were too lazy and the red wine was taking its effect. Ah well.

Read about Day 1, Day 2, Day 4, Day 5 and Day 6!