Bali is one of many, many islands in Indonesia, all of which have different culture and different foods. As a sort of melting pot of the aforementioned cuisines, Bali is a place for the average foodie to expand their horizons and test the waters. Bali day tours with Travezl have some great options as far as trying out different foods go, and if you’re getting stuck head-first into the meals on offer, look no further than this, our handy Bali Food Guide, to help you along your spice and flavor-ridden path.
Sate
Similar to the more well-known “Satay”, Sate is marinated, skewered, or grilled meat, often served with a spicy sauce. Bali’s specific version of this delicious dish is Sate Lilit, made from chicken, pork, or even turtle meat, and then mixed with coconut milk and spices, before being grilled.
Babi Guling
Babi Guling is a delicious, succulent, spit-roast pork dish that is stuffed with traditional spices and rolled over a coal fire. Originally, Babi Guling was only served at special occasions or as a ceremonial mean, however nowadays many restaurants serve this dish, and it is so popular in Bali with the tourists (and the locals) that there are now many restaurants that specialize in different kinds of Babi Guling.
Betutu
Take a chicken (or a duck), stuff it with traditional spices, wrap it in banana leaves, wrap that in banana tree bark, then bury it in a coal fire for 7 hours. That is Betutu, and that is an amazing sounding meal that can be considered the Babi Guling for anyone who doesn’t eat pork. It’s juicy, tender meat that basically falls off the bone and tastes unbelievably good.
BuBur Sum-Sum
Heading over to the sweeter side of things now, we have BuBur Sum-Sum. It is a Balinese dessert dish comprised of rice pudding with a palm sugar sauce and grated coconut. An alternative form of this dessert is BuBur Injun, a black sticky rice pudding with coconut milk.
Nasi Campur
Sort of a “tasting dish” of Balinese cuisine, Nasi Campur is a single scoop of rice with an assortment of small portions of other dishes, such as vegetables, eggs, meat, fried shrimp and peanuts. It is highly popular in Bali with tourists, and is readily available almost anywhere.
Soto
Soto is an Indonesian soup with meat, vegetables and spices. In Bali, a version of Soto called Soto Babi is popular, and as the name suggests, it is a pork soup. Many Soto are beef Soto, and as Bali is a largely Hindu island, pork is an acceptable substitute.
Balinese cuisine can seem strange and intriguing, and if you’re going to visit you will find out exactly how delicious their spices and meats and leaves and rice can be. If the taste of crisp, roast pork, or chicken cooked for 7 hours in coals, or a tasting dish of many different kinds of meals and rice doesn’t seem appealing to you, it might be a sign that Balinese food is not the food for you, which would be a shame, as their food has enchanted many, many people from all over the world and from many different cultures.
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