Among Bali local tourists, there's this little hidden secret; if you wan't to eat something good and unique in Kuta, not to mention cheap, try the Nasi Pedas (Hot Rice).

Nasi Pedas is a fiery hot dish of rice and its variety side-dishes. In essence, Nasi Pedas is practically one of the common Balinese goodies known as Nasi Campur (mixed rice dish), but instead of consisting regular Balinese ingredients like Sate Ikan Laut or Ayam Betutu, they focuses on varieties of chicken cooking like the deep fried chicken skin, shredded chicken, chicken floss, and hard boiled egg in Balado style. The hotness is achieved through incorporating "cabai merah", the regular fresh red chili in the cooking; and also inclusion of "cabai rawit" or internationally known as the bird eye chili. While the red chili gives the warm sensation, it is usually the bird eye chili that pack the punch.

On the Scoville scale, bird eye chili measured to have about 50.000 to 100.000 scoville units, and once was listed in Guiness Book of World Records as the hottest chili in the world. Even though the record now is held by Indian Bhut Jolokia, it doesn't loose its potential.

But fear not, as the regular side dishes usually contains only a low to medium heat; comparably weak to local standards, especially those that are dried and don't have the chili eyes; the warm sensation will adds to your appetite instead. The serious pack will comes from the stand-alone sambal, which usually are designed to meet those crazy sharp pungent fetish standard. Now that will gave you a brushed wound sensation, not to mention upset stomach for those who are not familiar to "real" Indonesian food. Watch out for those sambals.

Without the sambal, the dish is suitable for general audience, though you got to have some liking for the hotness.


Places Option

Considered famous among the Nasi Pedas fans, are the Nasi Pedas Bu Andika stall, that located in Jl. Raya Kuta. Now lets not get confused here, as Jl. Raya Kuta is not near the Kuta beaches. It's a road parallel to the beach road, about two blocks away to the east, that stretches North to South and filled with eateries and shops, including the famous Joger shirt store; this is the place to hunt for local foods. Nasi Pedas Bu Andika located not far across from this Joger shop, just ask around and you wont miss it.

Another worth mentioning option, is the Nasi Pedas Bu Anik, located north most of the Jl. Raya Kuta, just befor the Pasar Kuta (Kuta traditional market).

Though smaller in place, the cooking is considerably better here, with considerably cheaper price also. A set of Nasi Pedas here will cost you about 10K, while at Bu Andika, around 15K or more to have the similar choices of variety included.

You may find both of the locations here at the Indonesia Food Map: http://tinyurl.com/petamakanbali

What's also a champion from Nasi Pedas Bu Anik is their kulit ayam goreng, or the deep fried chicken skin; it is crispy, crunchy and melt in your mouth kind, with just mild chicken aroma, unlike others that usually is thick, hard, and has no significant flavor or instead has strong unpleasant odor.

When you're eating in diverse group, then around Nasi Pedas Bu Andika there are little variety of food to choose from, but around Nasi Pedas Bu Anik there are several "warung" (roadside food stalls) available to choose from. But set your timing accordingly, as Bu Andika opens 24 hours, while Bu Anik opens only at night. Selamat menikmati! (bon appetite!) (bay)

Pempek is a chewy glutinous fish cake in a spicy sweet and sour sauce, usually served deep fried

Pempek originated from Palembang region of Sumatera island, Western Indonesia. It is basically a steamed dough consisted of mixed tapioka flour and fish meat. It is eaten deep fried, grilled, or mixed in an omelette as pictured above. The other important ingredients is the cuko or sweet sour hot sauce and the grained ebi (dried shrimp). They usually topped also with dices of cucumber, and so'un (glass noodle). Mixed altogether, the pungent richness of the fish meat taste, danced in rhythm with the dried shrimp aroma, and accompanied in harmony by the serenade of sweet, dark, sour, and spicy hot sauce. A kind of sensation hard to find anywhere else. Be warned though, that inexperienced stomach tend to fall victim to the sharp taste of the sauce. The cucumber dices could help calm down your digestive system, so do not skip them.

For the fish meat, they usually uses Tenggiri (Spanish Mackerel), though some more original version uses Belida (Palembang unique species of fresh water fish). Beside the meat, some pempek variation uses fish skin instead, usually marked by darker color of the dough.

There are several variations of pempek, and most notably are "Kapal Selam" (submarine) which consisted of boiled chicken eggs inside and shaped like a clam, and "Lenjer" which shaped in cylinders. The omelette version, is called "Lenggang" and consist of either Kapal Selam or Lenjer that sliced thin then oil-fried in egg batter.

Less common to be sold by mobile street vendors, Pempek usually available in roadside stalls, warungs, or food courts. Expect to pay about 10K - 20K for a good quality of pempek, and less for economical version with bland taste and less alive cuko. (bay)

Mie Ayam is Indonesian take on Chicken Noodle, there are generally two versions available: Chinese, and localized.

Localized version as pictured above, usually consist of minced chicken meat in heavy brown stock, in contrast to the Chinese version that offers steamed chicken cuts. With the Bangka version, the chicken is first grounded with seasoning before cooked, creating the appearance of tiny coarse meatballs. From street hawkers it is a convention to serve Mie Ayam with the bright orangish sauce that's both notorious and loved. More decent eateries often offers more civilized (and health safe assured), kind of sauces, which more than often serves as the eateries' unique point of selling.

Mie Ayam usually serves with bakso (meatballs), and pangsit goreng (fried wonton). More fancier version includes also pangsit rebus (wonton soup), tahu (soybean cake), and common in Eastern Java: hard boiled egg.

Expect to pay around 6K from the street peddlers, 10K from more established places, and up to 15 or 20K for the restaurant version Chinese style mie ayam. (bay)

Es Goyobod is the Sundanese version of Es Campur; mixed jelly and mashed avocado drink in heavy coconut milk and jackfruit infused brown sugar syrup. The unique ingredients of this drink is the Goyobod itself, which made from tapioca flour to produce its jelly like texture.

Es Goyobod commonly found around city of Garut, Jawa Barat, and seldom found elsewhere. In Garut, the considered most famous Es Goyobod is the Es Goyobod Alun-Alun sold at the central city park. Though by the writer's opinion, Es Goyobod at Rumah Sakit Garut (Garut Hospital) is better. When anywhere else it is sold in mashed form, here they present it in its individual ingredients hence the drinking experience is far from monochromatic.

[Alun-alun is an open field in the heart of the city, often surrounded by governmental buildings, worshipping facility, and the Mayor's residence. It was originated back to the early Indonesian Kingdoms where the King helds ceremonies and public events here]

Price is about 3K, seating are mostly outdoor and by the road.

Common in Sunda (Jawa Barat) and Jawa (Jawa Tengah and Jawa Timur), Kupat Tahu is one of the favourite dish you would most likely finds in street than at home. Though the ingredients are fairly simple; kupat (rice cake), tahu (bean curd), tauge (bean sprouts), and slices of cucumber, the creation of kupat and the peanut sauce is quite laborous for only a small serving portions. Therefore, it's more economical to have them from the food sellers instead.

Upon a crave attack you can create the sauce yourself though, using the dissolved bumbu pecel available at the market, then fine-seasoning the sauce yourself; but they usually already contains strong taste of kencur (galangal roots), unlike the lighter peanut sauce uses in kupat tahu.

From one places to another, there are differences in ingredients used and the thickness of the peanut sauce. Kupat Tahu Magelang style for example, consists also chopped bakwan, sliced kubis (cabbage) instead of cucumber, and with thinner peanut sauce; on the contrary to Sundanese (Bandung, Garut, Tasikmalaya) style of kupat tahu which includes a very thick peanut sauce. Some other versions, also includes egg omelette in the mix, and just like Bubur Ayam, kerupuk (crackers) is mandatory.

A lighter version of Kupat Tahu is called Kupat Tahu Sayur; and this version usually replace the thick peanut sauce with the light watery soup which tastes a bit like curry. For more courageous alternative, there's also this version that called Kupat Tahu Petis, which include a dose of petis (fermented shrimp head pate) that adds the pungent sweet seafood taste to the already sweet peanut sauce.

A version with rice vermicelli common in Jakarta is called Ketoprak. Lets not be confused with other Ketoprak originated from Java which is a form of theatrical drama.

Expect to pay about 5 - 7K for the egg-less version, 10K with the omelette. And as far as I remembered, I have never encountered this particular dish in a fancy restaurant, so you might have to adventure beyond your comfort and save zone to the warungs or roadside food courts. Happy hunting! (bay)

Bubur Ayam is one of the favourite breakfast in Indonesia. Heavily influenced by the chinese, Indonesian Chicken Porridge though is considerably thicker than its chinese counterpart congee. So thick that in Mang Oyo; a famous Bubur Ayam eateries in Bandung, Jawa Barat, mang Oyo himself used to turn the bowl upside down in front of the customers, and the porridge wont drip or drop. Still it's soft and tender to the mouth though, after all it's a porridge.

The way Indonesians have it varied slightly from place to place, but they consist mainly of the rice porridge, which often is lightly seasoned with garam (sea salt), serai (lemongrass), and daun salam (local version of bay leaves). Seldom there is, traces of meat broth which commonly found in chinese congee. Roadside sellers usually includes also monosodium glutamate (MSG) which locals calls "vetsin" to enhance the taste, but usually it's just in trace amount.

As toppings, shredded chicken is a must, accompanied by chopped seledri (celery), cakwe (flour cake), and sometimes kacang kedelai (fried soybeans). Kerupuk (crakers) is a must, and in some places they pair the kerupuk with emping (gnetum crackers), or replace the kerupuk with cheese sticks. And lets not forget the magical combo of kecap manis (sweet soy sauce) and kecap asin (salted soy sauce). Some version (most notably Sukabumi's style) also includes sprays of curry-like liquids on top of the dish to enhance the taste.

Beside chicken, the extra topping you could gets are ati ayam (chicken liver), ampela (gizzard), and sometimes (most common in Jakarta's style) various kinds of sate (satay); sate telor puyuh (quail eggs), sate usus (chicken intestines), jantung (chicken heart), or mix them alltogether. Sometimes they serves boiled chicken eggs too, but the real beauty exist in dropping a raw egg yolk into the hot porridge. Beef, fish, seafood, and, Telur Pitan (century egg) are all uncommon in regular Bubur Ayam vendors, but you might find them in some chinese restaurants.

Last but not least; the fiery sambal. As for myself, this is the ingredients I usually avoid. Eventhough raised by a sambal loving parents, I never get to acquire the joy of eating hot fiery foods. Endure I can, but craving is out of question.

Sold in mornings and sometimes available up into the wee hours, a dish of Bubur Ayam from a street vendor would cost you about 5K, while on a more established warungs or stationed vendor then expect to pay around 10K; usually with significant increase in quality anyway. The fancier the restaurant, expect to pay even more, with not much increase in food's quality. (bay)

Pictured here is Tangerine Pasta's Spaghetti Bolognaise

Another photo shoot for Tangerine Cafe, Jakarta, this time it's their hotdog

A photo set of Cheese Burger which I've done for Tangerine Cafe, Jakarta

A plate of Escargot from Boka Buka, Cipete, Jakarta

My wife Nade and I visited them by chance, it was in the night after we visited nearby shopping centre. Since she was expecting satay for dinner, so on the way home we're looking around curiously for the signature smoke. Not long while, suddenly we spot a place right beside the traffic light that sells Iga Bakar (Ribs BBQ) and my fave staple food the Nasi Gudeg. To Nade, ribs is a welcomed alternative to satay, and there was also a Serabi Bandung stall which she got interested in so we decided to stop by.

Nade settled herself and Zayan in the outdoor table, while I ordered my Nasi Gudeg Complete which already includes gudeg, krecek (gelatinous cow's skin), and a chuck of opor ayam (chicken in white curry). Upon inspecting the Iga Bakar menus, first I was quite turned down by the price; 35K for a BBQed ribs. Not very expensive but with that price they better be as good as Maranu's in Bandung at least.

Will this be an equal? Though was a bit hesitant I was impressed by the good looking grill they're using, and assuming the cost is at least around 3 - 5 million rupiah at Ace Hardware. So if they're serious about the tools then they're serious in the business, why don't I give it a try?


The Iga Bakar came a bit while after my Nasi Gudeg was served, and it almost popped my eyes out! Man, that thing is sure HUGE! I haven't tried Tony Roma's or Sizzler's so could not make an international comparison, but compared to Daeng Tata's in Tebet Jakarta, or Maranu in Kelapa Gading Jakarta, this Iga Bakar easily outrun them! Almost double the size, with lesser annoying fats blanket that's becoming common in Daeng Tata's. It was a thick steak. It looks really tempting. It was beautiful.


Fist cut was appointed to me, and so I eagerly awaits the sensation awaits... And lo and behold, not only looking good, it tasted great also! With taste resembles Q Smokehouse' beef brisket -- half the price -- this is practically one of the best ribs we ever had.

Well there are some concerns though, like the beef is still a bit hard, the seasoning did not penetrates well all the way deep inside, and before we even finish working through the gigantic size, the wax film begun to form, and Nade thinks the default carbo should be french fries instead of steamed rice. But the texture is great, the meaty character is strong in a good way (even Nade likes it), the hardness I think is still acceptable, portion is great, the BBQ sauce they uses is also good, cooking is good, good PTQ (price to quality) ratio, so on overall the pros heavily outcome the cons.

Iga Bakar BaNa (Belum ada Nama)
Jl. Jendral Sudirman No.3
Denpasar
Bali

Recommended? Heavily! (bay)

[Updated Screenshot - July 2010]
Click on the picture to visit the Peta Makan Bali on Google Map

There are lots of good and interesting food here in Bali, but most tourist knows only those that has been exposed in the high profile media, or by their own fellow tourists. It's true that Bali has the breath-taking eateries up in the hills, right by the beach, or in the middle of the rice fields. But there are also local geniuses who are able to create enchanting food, but less known to the tourist albeit has been around for a while.

As my visit to Bali this time is not for holiday, but rather a 365 days of vacation, so I got a chance to explore more of Bali's culinary beauties, from the eye and mouth of a local epicurean. But alas, since my comprehension of Bali's city streets is second to none, hence why being lost is rarely extraordinary. Even though equipped by the up to date addresses, looking for location in a foreign city requires more solid reference. And I see the answer in Google Maps! Equipped with down to the most detailed aerial shoot of most areas in Bali, and reliable accuracy, I think it's a good way to plan my trip to the target place, or to mark those places I have visited.

At the moment this entry is written (Dec 09), the list is not much but it will definitely grow over time, and you are welcome to share your spots too! The map contains short description, budget, addresses, and photos where available, also links to outside resources usually related to reviews. The icon on the map, majorly represents status of the place (normal, on visit agenda, and contradictory).

I have also included some spots from Jakarta and Bandung, but the main focus at this moment is Bali.

The map is available here: http://tinyurl.com/petamakanbali

Feel free to comments, link, share the map, or join in as contributors (bay)