TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Eating out in Ubud, for a song
For the seventh consecutive year, Ubudites are again welcoming visitors from the world over to its annual Writers and Readers Festival, which started yesterday
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
F
or the seventh consecutive year, Ubudites are again welcoming visitors from the world over to its annual Writers and Readers Festival, which started yesterday.
Cheap eats: Those eager on venturing a tad out of Ubud proper should not miss out on a nasi campur Bali (Balinese mixed rice) for a sweat-introducing breakfast at Warung Teges on Jl. Raya Mas in Peliatan. Chriswan Sungkono
The festival is but one among Ubud’s multitude of attractions which make it a global refuge for travelers, be they culturally-cultivated or otherwise. Some even go as far as staying here for much longer than originally planned.
In casual conversations, therefore, an inevitable question is often raised: How to squeeze the most out of Ubud’s infinite offers if one’s running on a shoestring budget?
A host of luxurious resorts and restaurants perched on Ubud’s hills and valleys hints at how easy it is to splurge here, rather than to conserve your money supply. But it doesn’t mean that a parsimonious traveler can’t enjoy any indulgence in Ubud, especially when it comes to eating out.
Located within Bintang Supermarket complex on Jl. Sanggingan, Warung Makan-Makan is a great place to start unlocking Ubud’s cache of cheap, charming meals. Minutes away from the Blanco Museum next to the stylishly classic Campuhan Suspension Bridge, Warung Makan-Makan serves a range of traditional Balinese menus rotated daily for the sake of variety.
Be siap sisit (shredded chicken stir-fried with shallots and chili pods) is the highlight, which you can mix over steamed rice with other selections of more-common Indonesian dishes. How much to pay depends
on how many dishes selected, but diners rarely have to part with over Rp 20,000 for a handsome meal.
For a more grisly setting for your victuals, you’d need some resolve to step into the seedy, constricted maze of goods that is Pasar Ubud and rub shoulders with the hoi polloi. Anyone in Ubud should be aware of this central market’s whereabouts; if you don’t, ask around. Scour its basement to discover Ibu Ketut Susun and her rendition of nasi jenggo, a sampling of Balinese fares at their most unrefined style.
Ibu Ketut welcomes folks to take a seat on the wooden benches while her hand is busily working on a customer’s order, pinching from huge bowls of innards and vegetables set before her. Should you feel daunted by the meal’s presentation, try thinking positive thoughts: Dishes here are not the tastiest ones around, but if you’re intent on loitering around Ubud for a song, then at less than Rp 15,000 per serving nasi jenggo might be your realistic version of a hearty banquet.
Those eager on venturing a tad out of Ubud proper should not miss out Warung Teges on Jl. Raya Mas in Peliatan. In the mornings, Ubud’s locals and expats alike frequent this unassuming eatery to enjoy nasi campur Bali (Balinese mixed rice) for a sweat-inducing breakfast.
Warung Teges’ mixed rice comes with two options — chicken and pork — all minced and cooked together with vegetables in coconut milk. Banana leaves are used as platters, lending a particularly appetizing aroma to the rice. The lifeblood of the meal, however, streams through the devilishly spicy sambal matah, the sauce that is not only rich in fresh chili pods but also steeped in taste buds-stimulating slices of shallots and lime leaves.
For dinner, the options narrow down as the above establishments normally close up shop before sundown. But a stroll along Ubud streets by nightfall is not a bad idea. Right on the pavement, you’ll easily find hawkers of sate lilit ikan (minced fish meat and grated coconut on skewers) in the dark, surrounded by some motorbikes parked on the roadside. The riders are either sitting around the tiny tables waiting for their order or standing impatiently in front of the grill, ready to take the satays home.
Sometimes you can’t really be certain of what you’re eating due to the dim ambience, but why would that be a problem if what matters is that the satays are soft and delightful, and the price — Rp 500 apiece — is insanely low? And the piquant broth, served alongside the rice but with almost nothing in it, will definitely warm your body from within, prepping it for the cool Ubud nights.
A middle-aged couple beside the Blanco Museum before the sharp left turn to Jl. Penestanan are said to sell the yummiest sate lilit around. They normally grill from 4 p.m. to around 7 p.m., but try arriving at the spot as early as you can: there’s a fair chance you won’t have to get into the long queue.
Now if by this point you start thinking that the only cheap fares in Ubud are the traditional ones, head to the cozy Ijolumut on Jl. Sugriwa, where you can savor an array of modern and western cuisines on the cheap, and link up your gadget with Wi-Fi connection to boot. From appetizers and main courses down to desserts and refreshing drinks, Ijolumut successfully embraces the western style of cooking while injecting it with local flavors, and makes the delectable results affordable, too. The pasta selections and the puréed potato soup are must try.
And for travelers craving for something oriental, the obvious choice with the best value-for-money Chinese dishes is Warung Taman on Jl. Sriwedari.
Run for many years by a super-talkative Indonesian Chinese from Jakarta called Johnny, this restaurant is an oasis for the mildly-authentic Chinese taste and texture, in a league of its own in and around Ubud. Try the mun tahu, or pick any dish with pork, to substantiate the claim.
If he is around doing nothing, Johnny the owner will more than gladly jump into a conversation with you and tell you about his own twisted life stories.
It’s long, but intriguing in the sense that you won’t feel bored while waiting for your order to arrive on the table. His stories, and his no-nonsense attitude, will even keep you amused — if you can bear his verbosity — throughout your meal.
No decent list of Ubud’s eateries is complete without the inclusion of nasi ayam Kedewatan. This refers to a strain of Balinese mixed rice with vegetables and chicken, whose cooking approach distinctly originated from the village of Kedewatan, north Ubud, and is beloved of foodies.
There are more than a handful of restaurants in Kedewatan selling the dish, but Nasi Ayam Kedewatan Ibu Mangku is in a league of its own, and for good reason. Its portion of nasi ayam, consisting of rice, chunks of chicken, finely-chopped and stir-fried vegetables, seared ground nuts, a boiled egg topped with (again) the notorious sambal matah, is consistently gratifying and thoroughly fulfilling. Best of all, the whole deal only sets you back Rp 15,000.
