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PRICES

Eating out in Bali is exciting and can be exotic depending upon your taste. Culinary delights you expect in the great ethnic restaurants of the world can also be found in Bali.

Prices, style, food presentation, decoration and service vary and range from very basic to luxurious and from extremely cheap to expensive. You can have a tasty meal at one of the many food stalls (warungs) for 8,000 Rupiah or you can spend US$100 and more per person in some of Bali's top restaurants. Regular culinary events mixed with music, art and celebration are common on Bali. Balinese dance performances presented during a buffet dinner in some hotels cost about US$50 per person and are memorable events.

In restaurants outside the large hotels, expect to pay from 20,000 to about 200,000 Rupiah for a main course. A beer adds 8,000 to 30,000 Rupiah to your bill. If you order a bottle of imported wine or champagne this will set you back at least another 160,000 Rupiah. Usually 10% service charge is included in your bill. If not, a tip of 5% or a maximum of 10% is appreciated but not expected. Hotels always add 21% (11% tax & 10% service) to your bill.

HOURS

Most restaurants in Bali are open until 10:00 or 11:00 p.m., and a few eateries in tourist areas keep their kitchens open until 1:00 a.m., and some are open around the clock. There are many simple Padang (Sumatran) Restaurants in Kuta, Sanur, and Denpasar which serve food around the clock.

BALI OFFERS A WIDE VARIETY OF CUISINES

Whether you long for Western, Asian or Indonesian dishes you can get it in Bali. Based on traditional recipes, the preparation of the dishes is often adapted to the local taste and the availability of certain ingredients creating an exciting unpredictability. If you don't compare the Balinese version of international delicacies with those prepared in the country they originate from you can expect an enjoyable meal. There are also the typical US/European fast food franchises.

INDONESIAN FOOD

Indonesian cooking can be excellent. Some tiny food stalls and "Warungs" offer one or two excellently prepared local specialties but in primitive surroundings. Indonesian food served in well-decorated and comfortable Western-style restaurants is often specially prepared for visitors with minor alterations.

Steamed or boiled rice is the centerpiece of all Indonesian meals. Accompanying dishes include various preparations of chicken, duck, beef, pork, goat, all kinds of seafood and vegetables, steamed, boiled, braised, stir or deep fried, roasted or grilled over coconut husks. Other ingredients used to give Indonesian food its unique flavor are chilies, coconut, peanuts, garlic, ginger, saffron, basil, cardamon, lemon grass, lime, nutmeg, pepper, shallots, soy sauce, tamarind, turmeric and several kinds of shrimp paste. You may chose to avoid the small green chilies and different kinds of 'Sambal' which are often served together with your meal.

Indonesian delicacies served in many restaurants and hotels include 'Sate' (charcoal-grilled skewers with small pieces of chicken, beef, pork, prawns or minced seafood) served with a peanut sauce, 'Gado-Gado' (a half-boiled combination of various vegetables with peanut sauce) and 'Nasi Goring', tasty fried rice with either meat or shrimps.

NASI PADANG FROM SUMATRA

In every Balinese town you will see a number of very simple restaurants which display 10 or 15 different plates and bowls with cooked food in a glass box next to the entrance. Chicken, beef, fish, liver, eggs and different vegetables are prepared in the style of Padang, a major city in Sumatra. When you sit down at a table, the waiter brings a plate of rice and one plate of every single dish to your table. You eat whatever you like, and you will be charged when you leave only for the food you've eaten. Usually a meal with many different dishes is two or three US dollars. Many Nasi Padang Restaurants in South Bali i.e. Sanur, Jimbaran, or the Kuta area are open 24 hours a day.

TRADITIONAL BALINESE FOOD

There are two traditional Balinese dishes you should not miss: Babi Guling, the crispy skin and pieces of grilled suckling pig which is a specialty of the town of Gianyar, and Bebek Betutu, a delicious duck specialty, slowly baked in banana leaves together with many different herbs and spices. To try "Babi Guling" watch out for signboards at small restaurants which specialize in this dish.

Many activities, including cooking schools are found inside the Balinese Village Center – a carefully designed compound to stage cultural shows for up to 340 guests, art exhibitions, theme parties or private dinners. In various traditional pavilions the preparation of rice, vegetable and meat dishes is demonstrated, and you can also watch the distillation of and taste the home-made Arak and Rice Wine.

BEER, WINE, AND LOCAL ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES

Restaurants charge between 12,000 and 80,000 Rupiah (plus 21% tax and service charge in hotels) for a large bottle of local beer. Australian table wine costs 20,000 to 60,000 Rupiah per glass. Prices for a bottle of better wine start between 160,000 and 500,000 Rupiah.

Wines are available from Australia, California, Chile, France, Italy, New Zealand, Portugal and South Africa. If you think the prices of imports are too high, you should try the HATTEN wines, one rosé wine and two types of white wine made from grapes grown in North Bali and sold in restaurants for 70,000 to 130,000 Rupiah and in hotels for 450,000 Rupiah or more per bottle. "Wine of the Gods" is a company which produces wines in Bali from grape juice imported from the Margaret River region in Western Australia. Their "Premium Chardonnay" and "Shiraz" are very drinkable.

Local Bintang beer is easily available. Other locally produced beers are Anker, Carlsberg, San Miguel and Bali Hai. In hotels and supermarkets you can also find well-known brands imported from Australia, Germany, Japan, and China.
 

Balinese enjoy drinking locally produced Arak, Tuak, and Brem. Tuak (about 5% alcohol) is a sweet palm wine made from the juice of the coconut palm flower which is stored for about one month for fermentation. Brem is made from black glutinous rice and coconut milk; the alcohol content is about 7% to 9% after three days fermentation. Most popular with foreigners is Arak: a colorless, sugarless spirit distilled from either Brem or Tuak with 20% to 50% alcohol content. A whole bottle costs about Rupiah 8,000, and it is usually served 'on the rocks' as "Arak Attack" or "Arak Madu" (Arak, lemon or orange juice, and honey).

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