Bali: Cafe Hopping

Koloni, Canggu

First of all, I want to inform you that this post is not a sponsored post. None of the cafes/restaurants I discuss below paid me to write a review of their brands, or gave me other benefits such as discounts. This post is based on my dining experiences during my holiday to Bali with my husband and our 3 children.

We went to Bali for 5 days on January 2020. As the children are picky eaters and prefer Western and Japanese foods instead of Balinese local cuisine, so we were not go for local culinary tours. We did cafe hopping instead, and these are the reviews of the cafes we’re dining at...

#1 Sushi Kyuden, Sunset Road

We arrived in Bali on new year’s day about lunch time. At that time, all I think was finding a cafe which located within the same route as ours, as we’re heading to our villa. I didn’t want to stuck in traffic with cranky hungry kids. I knew there is a Sushi Tei restaurant at Sunset Road, so we decided to go there.

Surprisingly, the Sushi Tei was changed into Sushi Kyuden. I am not sure, but I think it was within the same business group under different brand as the menu is exactly the same as Sushi Tei. The price and the interior of the present day restaurant was also the same from the previous sushi restaurant (I was there before in 2014).

#2 Berawa's Kitchen, Canggu

For dinner, I googled “family friendly cafe in Canggu“ as we stayed in the area. Then, Berawa’s Kitchen appeared. From the picture, there is an open space area with bean bags and children’s play ground. So we went there.

Apparently, it was a quite new cafe and the concept is a semi-open space cafe with some different food stalls to order at. There are English breakfast food stall, Burgers, Italian, Balinese, Mexican and other food stalls as well as a bar to order drinks. The dining area is also on a semi-open garden.

However, as we arrived after the rain, the bean bags were “evacuated” from the lawn. And the playground was wet. But the food was delicious. We tried the burgers and Mexican dishes. Overall, the price of Berawa's Kitchen was also friendly. It was about

Rp 50.000 - 65.000 for a dish and Rp 10.000 - 20.000 for a drink.

#3 Uma Ceking, Gianyar

The next day, we went to Gianyar to visit Pura Gunung Kawi and Goa Gajah. So, we decided to search for lunch spot nearby Gianyar area. 15 years ago, me and my husband past through Jalan Raya Tegallalang Gianyar and that street was a village street. In the present day, the area was transformed into shops and cafes. The cafes are all located in the slope, and provided swings or other paid attractions for Instagram posts.

We then chose Uma Ceking, a cafe with the bigest parking spot. From the parking area, we needed to climb down the stairs to the restaurant. The restaurant is a long building attached to the slope with one open side to enjoy the view (of the valey and the terraced rice fields). The restaurant also offer (paid) swings above the valey.

The menu itself is a mixed between Indonesian and Western. Me and the kids went for pasta. It was delicious but also a bit expensive. As we went during the holiday, the restaurant was also full and we waited for quite a long time before they served us our foods (but the waiters were very friendly though).

#4 SUZU Japanese Restaurant, Sanur

For dinner, we had appointment to meet up with my parents’ Japanese good friends. They were stayed in Sanur and they invited us for a Japanese dinner in SUZU, a Japanese restaurant located inside Hotel Alit’s Beach.

It is located on the second floor so we can see the sea from some spots of the restaurant. Outside of the restaurant, there is an open space for candle light dinner while in the inside, the interior is of a typical Japanese house with its paper walls and wooden tables. If you are familiar with Sushi Tei or Midori, this restaurant’s menu is their sister. However, as we were treated by our Japanese “parents”, then, we didn’t know the approximate price for this one. The foods are delicious though!

#5 Koloni, Canggu

Canggu is famous for the digital nomads who works in the cafes. On one afternoon, we spent our day in our villa so we went to a nearby cafe for lunch. We chose a cafe because I was attracted with its name: Koloni, and its building’s shape. After we seated, we just realized that everyone was working on their laptop! Aha! So they ARE the digital nomads! We are the only family visitor even though the cafe did have baby high chair.

We then ordered grilled salmon with sweet potato, grilled chicken with smash potato, and shrimp (aglio olio kind of) pasta, ice tea, smoothies and ice coffee. Although it taste good, but I think it was a bit overpriced. We spent about Rp 500.000 for 3 dishes and 3 drinks!

#6 Warung Damuh, Sidemen - Karangasem

On our 4th day in Bali, we went to Karangasem to visit Museum Pustaka Lontar and Museum Sang Hyang Dedari, community museums located in the villages within Karangasem Regency. At noon, while driving, my husband said “Hun, google a place for lunch please”. But then I replied, “My phone got no signal at all, it is in the middle of nowhere“.

So when we passed a restaurant - the one and only I think - we decided to stop and have lunch there. The name of the restaurant is Warung Damuh, and we were the only customer at that time.

The place is a semi open Balinese wantilan and the menu is Indonesian food. The restaurant sells wines as well. It seems that the restaurant is a part of some wooden villas at the backyard of the restaurant. The ambience was quite nice anyway as we dine in a (cool weather) village environment. PS. my husband ordered duck and it was so huge!

#7 Tsavo Lion Restaurant, Gianyar

From Karangasem we headed to Gianyar to join the Safari night at Bali Safari. First, we conducted a walking tour in the zoo, then we were embark on a cage vehicle. Inside that vehicle we did the Safari night tour and the rangers fed animals from inside our cage. There were lions, zebras, African cows, elephants, tigers, giraffe, rhino and hippo.

After the tour, we were free to enjoy our all you can eat dinner at Tsavo Lion Restaurant. Apparently, the restaurant is located in the other side of the lion “habitat”, so we can watch the cage vehicles (with the visitors and the rangers inside) when they feed the lion during the tour from our dinner table!

The food itself is a mix of Indonesian and Western food. The menu is also quite vary from pasta salad to fried rice and grilled fish with sambal matah. But the best part is the dessert! There are eclairs, red velvet cake, brownies and Indonesian traditional “jajan pasar”. The kids were very happy because of the foods, the lions outside the restaurant, and the Safari night experience itself. The price for Safari night package is quite expensive, also for domestic tourist, but it’s worth the experience!

#8 Gosha Kitchen and Patiserrie, Denpasar

On our last day in Bali we had lunch with my best friend from Uni and her family. As they lived in Denpasar so we met them there. My friend chose Gosha Kitchen as the menu is a mixed between Indonesian and Western delicacy.

I ordered chicken stroganoff. The kids went for spagethi and chicken nugget with french fries, and my husband had oxtail soup. My friend’s and her family went for lasagna and her kids also ordered banana split for dessert. The foods were delicious anyway! However, the surprise came with our bills. It was Rp 599.000! For 8 people’s meals and drinks, it was considered as cheap. Unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture of its nice interior. But I did remember to shot a picture of my chicken stroganoff, though!

The Wishlist Cafes...

#Jamie's Kitchen, Kuta Beach

One of our bucket list restaurant in Bali is Jamie's Italian in Kuta. Jamie's Italian at Markthal Rotterdam was our favourite restaurant when we lived in the Netherlands. So, when we arrived in Kuta and saw the restaurant was Jamie's Kitchen instead of Jamie's Italian, the kids went very upset. They want the same menu as the one in Rotterdam but apparently it was a different one. So we decided not to dine here... Maybe someday?

#Be.Ja.Na, Uluwatu

On our last day in Bali, we went to Uluwatu for the sunset and the Kecak dance performance. On our way to Uluwatu, I saw an eyecatching cafe called Be.Ja.Na Balinese Rijstaffel. When we got back from Uluwatu, my daughter saw that restaurant as well. She then asked, "What is Be.Ja.Na? Can we eat there?" However, as the next morning we need to catch a very early flight, so we decided to grab fast food and had dinner within our hotel room instead.

We also realized that we didn't go to Ubud at all during this Bali trip. Thus, we didn't try any Ubud cafe at all like we used to... So, we do need to come back someday, right? See you next time, Bali!

#Bali #Indonesia #culinary