Spicy, but nice

Breakfast this morning was a real surprise. As I have mentioned before, I have told the kitchen that I am happy to eat anything they feel like preparing. Variations on eggs, including plump, vegetable-filled omelettes, nasi goreng, pancakes - every day is different.

But this morning, presented on a banana leaf, was a proper Balinese breakfast of burbur sayur, or vegetable rice porridge. I didn't have the camera, and I can't find an image that even gets close to how it appeared when unwrapped, so you will have to trust me that it looked wonderful.

Wayan had stopped at a roadside stall on her way to work to purchase this very typical Balinese breakfast for us. Glutinous rice, mixed with green vegetables and garnished with a delicious, but on-the-hot-side spicy paste, it tasted as good as it looked. The banana leaf was parcelled into a triangle fastened with a toothpick*, and the texture of the dish was such that it could easily be eaten with the hands, as Balinese people do.

Roadside stall holders can be seen everywhere throughout the day and night. They seem to specialise: some sell sweet cakes, others bakso** and tofu dishes, still others cool drinks made from fresh young coconuts. Prices are so cheap that almost everyone can afford to buy and so the wheels of the economy keep turning.

Bumbu, or the particular spice mixes, are what distinguish Balinese food from the rest of Indonesia. Everyday food is as simple as our breakfast this morning. Families will do their cooking in the morning and eat throughout the day as needed. The food will not necessarily be served warm, but it is likely to be spicy. Ceremonial food is a different story and preparation is usually done by the men, starting before dawn, for big occasions. No expense is spared. Typical Balinese dishes include

• lawar
• babi guling
• sate lilit
• betutu
• sayur urab
• burbur injin

There are many cooking schools that offer morning or afternoon cooking classes that usually involve a trip to the market as well. Janet deNeefe's book, The Food of My Island Home is an excellent kitchen companion.

When eating out, you soon learn which places have your favourite version of any dish. In my experience, it's usually the first one you try that sets the benchmark for any others.

So thanks to Wayan for her breakfast gift this morning, which has served as the inspiration for today's post.

*The image has come from flickr, the food cart on a rainy day is mine, taken from the car.
**Indonesian, rather than specifically Balinese food

Routines, or not...

In the week since we arrived the rhythms of our day have shifted. It's early to bed, early to rise and two meals a day - our usual Bali pattern and we slip into it almost without realising. An early coffee, a swim, then reading an ebook and checking the online newspapers, followed by a latish breakfast around ten. We don't eat again until somewhere between four and five, when we have a fairly substantial meal.

This morning our American neighbours told us about a restaurant that has sprung up in Jl Goutama since we were last here. The couple are permanents who are building their dream home on one of the ridges. It's taken over two years so far and probably won't be finished any time soon, but that's OK by them.

One of the benefits of eating when we do is that we have the full attention of the kitchen and excellent service. Another is that we can walk the meal off on the way home while its still light, thereby avoiding the traps of falling into a deep hole on a dimly lit footpath or being attacked by a rogue frangipani.

Dolce Arancia proved to be as good as we had been told. A bit more expensive (at around $26) each than we usually pay for an evening meal but for three delicious courses and coffee, worth it. After a vegie day yesterday, we felt a need for meat, and the steak (and home-made Pringly crisped potatoes) filled the gap.

Goutama (sometimes Gootama) is a charming, tree-lined narrow street that runs parallel to Jl Monkey Forest. As well as the usual spas, clothing and gift shops, there are a number of lokal warungs, and as well as this new restaurant, other excellent eating places such as Nomad, Bar Luna, Pignou di Penyu and a favorite of ours, The Melting Wok. It is the street chosen by the Ubud Writers and Readers Festival for its annual street party. There are plenty of reasons to visit often.

Walking past the Palace on the way home it was obvious that everyone had been working hard. The tower is up and the bamboo litters that the men will use to carry the body to the cemetery have been constructed. Tomorrow will be a big day but it might be a good idea to stay well clear - we have seen a large Ogoh-ogoh monster topple and it was nowhere as big as this.

Sayur urab

This probably won't be the last time I mention this utterly delicious and super healthy dish of snake beans, coconut and secret herbs and spices. It can also be spelled sayur urap.

If ever I get the choice of a last meal, this is one dish that would be on the menu. I have found a recipe here that seems close to the taste sensation I enjoy. Do try this at home.