Travel: Trip to Bali (Part 4 - LOVELY Ambiance, COSTLY Food)

We spent almost a full day 2 in Ubud/Tegal Lalang during our trip to Bali that we had quite some time to enjoy the view & some of their famous eateries. In this post, I'll be sharing 2 more eateries that we've experienced & my thoughts about the food & ambiance at each place.

We actually made our reservations for lunch at Teras Padi Café, Tegal Lalang, all for the ambiance (request for gazebo area)! Our cousin, Kris, told us to experience lunch amidst the paddy terrace at this place, something that you'll definitely not find in Peninsular Malaysia.

There are several cafes & restaurants over-looking the paddy terrace here at Tegal Lalang, but I reckon this cafe may be one of the better ones (else my cousin wouldn't have recommended it!). The one thing about such "touristy" area is that you'll have to pay an 'entrance fee' to get into/pass through the area. We had to pay Rp5,000 per vehicle, I think (1 time entry fees).

Paddy Terrace

It's not the season for paddy while we're there, but the load of grass & grenery sure made it look evergreen & lovely!

Panoramic View of the Café + Paddy Terrace

Frankly speaking, the taste of food at this café is nothing to boast. They have a limited menu as well, great for those who are simple, indecisive & plain hungry. You'll know what you want/don't want at a quick glance!

Without much trouble to decide, we quickly ordered our food & drinks before spending some time snapping photos :P

Whole Young Coconut (Rp20,000/ ~RM5.70)

Be Pasih Sambal Matah (Rp50,000/ ~RM14.15/serving)

This is a very simple version of a spicy fish dish. It's like compacted fish flakes into a 'cake', pan-fried & topped with some pickled chilies & onions. We found this 'fish cake' too dry for our liking as we're too used to having dishes with gravy since young, so this certainly was a one-time-off dish that we'll ever order if we come back again.

Nasi Kuning (Rp60,000/ ~RM16.98/serving)

Surprisingly, their nasi kuning is the best among the 3 dishes that we ordered that day. You'll find fluffy coconut-flavored rice dyed with the yellow turmeric & served with fried chicken, prawn crackers, chicken floss & egg rolls. Very simple, but tastes much better than the Be Pasih Sambal Matah. It's also dry (no gravy), so eating the rice with the spicy sambal does help a little.

Sate Lilit (Rp40,000/ ~RM11.30/serving)

Also another dry dish! Aiseh, I think Balinese cuisine is dry & the people here just enjoy the simplicity of food with a heap load of spicy sambal! The sate lilit are actually minced chicken, chillies, herbs & spices on sticks of lemongrass. Nothing very fantastic, really, but the minced chicken is quite fragrant.

Happiness at the paddy terrace!

Some craftwork sold near the restaurant - really pretty!!!

Will I make another trip here the next time? Hmm...maybe not so soon. I need to visit other places in Bali since Bali is actually such a large 'city'/state!


Teras Padi Cafe, Tegal Lalang
Jalan Raya Tegallalang (Tegallalang - Desa Cekingan)
Ubud, Bali
Indonesia.
Tel: (+62) 361 7425789
FB: Teras Padi Cafe (I messaged them to make my reservation


*****
On that same day, we had dinner at the renowned Dirty Duck Diner, Ubud. It's called Bebek Bengil or Dirty Duck in Indonesian because the restaurant's "first guests" were ducks that walked into the place on a rainy day with their muddy webbed feet (if I remember the story correctly). That name became the restaurant's name since it started in 1990, serving the original crispy duck.

One of the many ducky decos

Our gazebo/dining area

The thing about this place is that it's dark (very dark!) at night with minimal lighting & the place can be quite mozzie-filled :S Best to eat earlier & get back to your comfortable hotel room!

Nasi Bebek Bengil (Rp125,000/ ~RM35.37/serving)

Without much consideration, ordering the bebek bengil is a must when you're dining here for the 1st time. It was quite funny as we didn't have a clue on how the crispy duck would look like. My mum had the imagination of a 'peking roast duck', large duck with crispy roasted skin. I had similar imaginations as well, 'til the dish was served & we had to stare at it for a while in surprise! What a small duck!! But it's oh-so-crispy; even the bones are crunchy & edible...hahaha. Once again, it's dryyyyy....yummy duck, but too dry for our liking when we have plain white rice with the crispy fried duck.

Pickled beans: side dish that came with the rice

Assortment of chilies & pickles to go with the rice: SUPER SPICY!

Spaghetti Carbonara (Rp78,000/ ~RM22.07/serving)

Since we've had so many rice/local dishes in Bali already, we decided for a classic favorite of ours, the spaghetti carbonara. Well, not too bad considering it's a place for crispy duck with rice. It's a tad dry yet oily, but I love the pieces of pork bacon served with the pasta. Once again, nothing beats Vary Pasta back in PJ - value for money + tastes good + generous portion!

This side of a salad came with the pasta...nothing special.

I guess overall the food here is alright. The crispy duck is certainly delicious, but I don't think anything else is 'wow'. It's somewhat too pricey for the portion served as well. I need to look for another place with bebek goreng!


Bebek Bengil – Ubud
Jalan Hanoman, Padang Tegal
Ubud, Bali 80571
Indonesia.
Telephone: +62 361 975489 / 977675
Fax: +62 361 975489
Business hours: Mon - Sun 10:00 a.m. - 23:00 p.m.
URL: http://bebekbengil.com
FB: Bebek Bengil - Official
Email: info@bebekbengil.com

Bebek Bengil – Nusa Dua Branch
BTDC Complex, Nusa Dua Beach
Bali, Indonesia.

Bebek Bengil – Jakarta Branch
The Ubud Building – Jalan H. Agus Salim
No: 132 Menteng
Jakarta 10310
Indonesia.
Tel: +62 21 3918016 / 3917965 / 3918091
Fax: +62 21 3917721

Bebek Bengil – The Breeze BSD City
Unit Waterfront L#01
Jl. Grand Boulevard, BSD Green City
BSD City, Tangerang
Tel: 021-50386630


Paying touristy prices for 'tourist-famous' food,