Balinese cuisine, like Indonesian cuisine, revolves around rice and noodles as basic ingredients, to which vegetarian and non-vegetarian proteins are added, such as chicken, fish, tofu, tempeh, and sometimes duck or beef.
Many types of veggies complement the dishes, and spices, curry, sambal or hot sauce, are never missing. Remember the universal request “no spicy” in case!
A peculiarity is the fact that pork meat can be regularly eaten in Bali, unlike the rest of Indonesia which is of Muslim majority.
TYPICAL DISHES TO EAT IN BALI
When travelling to Bali, you can always start your day with exotic fruits. Try classic Nasi Goreng and Mie Goreng in all its forms for lunch, or choose from a wide variety of vegetarian dishes such as Gado Gado and Nasi Campur.
Don’t worry if you need a break from rice and chicken, there are plenty of Western and Asian food options available around. Also read our article Where to stay in Bali, best areas and hotels to find your favourite accommodation.
Here below, we list some of the best dishes to eat in Bali, and what to expect from Balinese and Indonesian cuisine.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
- Nasi Goreng
- Saté Ayam
- Gado Gado
- Babi Guling
- Mie Goreng
- Beef Rendang
- Nasi Campur
- Ikan Bakar
- Kare Ayam
- Tempeh Manis
- BONUS: !?
WHAT TO EAT IN BALI, INDONESIA
1. NASI GORENG
First things first: Nasi Goreng, the iconic Indonesian dish. Simply put, Nasi means rice and Goreng means stir-fried, or sautéed. Nasi Goreng can be found in any restaurant or Warung in Bali (we explain what a Warung is at the end of the article).
The no-frills version of a Nasi Goreng can cost 20-30,000 rupiah, less than 2€. In some nicer restaurants it goes up to 80-100k. Two skewers of Chicken Satay and a fried egg with some vegetables are added to complement the dish.
Then, there are several variations with chicken, pork, shrimps, etc. A quick Nasi Goreng for lunch will fill you up without weighing you down.
2. SATE AYAM
Saté Ayam, or Chicken Saté (also Satay), refers to the typical chicken skewers in satay sauce. Excellent as an appetizer or as side dish. The peanut sauce is ever slightly different from place to place, a delight for lovers of Kacang (peanuts in Indonesian).
A quick memo: in the Bahasa Indonesian language, the sound of the letter C is soft, the hard sound is indicated by the letter K. Thus, it’s pronounced “ka-chang”, “ke-chap manis”, “nasi champur”, “Changgu” and so on.
The portions of Saté Ayam can vary between 5-8 skewers depending on the size, between 30-50k rupiah, or 2-3€.
The Balinese version of Saté Ayam is called Saté Lilit. We personally prepared this dish from scratch during Paon’s cooking class in Ubud, in central Bali. Instead of skewering the meat, Saté Lilit involves pressing and wrapping the meat around the stick, and then cooking it on the barbecue.
ALSO READ: What to do and see in Ubud, Bali
3. GADO GADO
Staying on the peanuts subject, let’s talk about Gado Gado. This dish is a favorite among vegetarians, being a nice serve of greens and vegetables, seasoned with plenty of peanut sauce.
In Gado Gado you usually find steamed vegetables. For example potatoes, carrots, green beans, spinach, cabbage, plus tofu and tempeh, and an optional boiled egg. The dish can be served with peanut sauce on the side, or already mixed in the ingredients.
Gado Gado can be found in almost all local Warungs, ranging between 60k and 80k rupiah, 3-4€.
4. BABI GULING
One of the most special dishes to eat in Bali is Babi Guling, for the reason that it can’t be found anywhere else in Indonesia. Bali distinguishes from the rest of the country because of its Balinese Hindu religion, a variant of the pure Indian one. In fact, not only is it allowed to eat pork in Bali, but even beef is not considered sacred, unlike in India.
Babi Guling is essentially spit-roasted pork, and is a great excuse to get together with family in Bali. It’s often prepared for large tables, given the need to cook and consume the whole roasted pig.
ALSO READ: Bali ceremonies, culture and festivals.
It’s best to go for lunch to taste some Bali Guling, since at some point the meat will run out for the day. Balinese Babi Guling eateries stand out for their large signs of a spit-roasted pig with the writing Babi Guling on it. For us, it can be reminiscent of Italian porchetta, but without herbs and with the addition of spices or spicy sambal.
A portion of Babi Guling costs from 40k rupees upwards in Bali, served with a side of rice and vegetables of your choice.
5. MIE GORENG
Here’s the other famous Indonesian Goreng, Mie Goreng. Mie are noodles, usually made of rice or wheat, stir-fried like Nasi Goreng. Here too, vegetables and proteins are added to taste.
The texture is what makes a good plate of Mie Goreng tasty. Noodles allow for a greater mix of ingredients including soy sauce, both salty or sweet. Kecap sauce, soy in Indonesian, is also widespread in its sweet version of kecap manis, quite thick, almost a glaze.
A variant of Mie Goreng we like to eat in Bali is Kwetiau Goreng. These are flat and wide rice noodles, similar to tagliatelle in shape. Kwetiau Goreng Babi is excellent, with pork strips and kecap manis sauce.
6. BEEF RENDANG
For a change and a more hearty Indonesian dish to eat in Bali, try Beef Rendang.
Originating from the western island of Sumatra, Rendang is a hot and spicy dish, usually made with beef. The meat is slowly cooked in coconut milk and a mix of spices, which makes it tender and tasty.
In Bali, the vegetarian version of Jackfruit Rendang is a popular alternative. The meat is replaced with the thick yellow jackfruit, which goes well with the rendang sauce.
Beef Rendang costs from 80k rupiah up to 160k if ordered in a good restaurant and if the meat is imported.
7. NASI CAMPUR
Another typical dish to eat in Bali is Nasi Campur. Translated as mixed rice, Nasi Campur is served with a portion of rice in the centre of the plate, which can be jasmine rice or brown rice, combined by various vegetables and, optionally, chicken or beef.
It’s often found in warungs, where you can build your own Nasi Campur with ingredients of your choice from a display case, paying 5-10k rupiah for each additional ingredient. A great quick solution for a light lunch.
8. IKAN BAKAR
Being Bali an island, seafood dishes can’t be missing in this list. Along the coasts of Bali you can often read the signs Ikan Bakar, meaning grilled fish. The typical Balinese recipe requires the fish to be grilled on coconuts and flavoured with various spices, with the usual generous addition of sambal.
Local restaurants by the sea are unpretentious, simple and traditional bamboo huts. In the more touristy places, the quality and price for a dish of Ikan Bakar will increase, between 80k-150k Indonesian rupiah.
Another seafood dish is Pepes Ikan. The fish is wrapped in banana leaves for cooking, which gives it an intense aroma. The type of fish is usually tilapia or grouper in the best restaurants.
You’ll find many fishermen villages and Ikan Bakar restaurants in the north of Bali, which we talk about in our article the North East, the real and authentic side of Bali.
9. KARE AYAM
Kare Ayam is essentially chicken curry, with the Indonesian transliteration Kare meaning what we know as curry.
In the Balinese version, Kare Ayam features diced chicken dipped in a mix of coconut milk, yellow curry, ginger, turmeric and the unmistakable lemongrass. It can sometimes contain peanuts or cashews, and the protein can be swapped with fish, tofu or tempeh.
Kare Ayam is a popular Indonesian dish, with a portion costing between 40k-60k rupiah, or about €3.
10. TEMPEH MANIS
We dedicate a paragraph to Tempeh for its unique characteristics. Tempeh is in fact obtained from fermented soy sprouts, an excellent source of protein, so much so that it has earned the nickname “soy meat”. Similar to better known tofu for its origin from soy sprouts, the main difference is that Tempeh is cooked, giving it greater solidity and crunchiness.
Perfect for frying, Tempeh can be served as side dish to Nasi Campur and Gado Gado. But also as a single dish in the delicious Tempeh Manis version, with Tempeh fried and caramelised in Kecap Manis, sweet soy sauce. It’s also a favourite for vegetarians and vegans, increasingly popular in Bali.
Talking about sweet flavours, we mention Dadar Gulung, which you’ll often see offered as the only dessert option to eat in Bali. Dadar Gulung is renowned for its bright green, given naturally by the green Pandan leaves. The dish consists of a kind of soft crèpe made of rice flour, filled with coconut and caramelised sugar.
11. BONUS: BALINESE JAMU
It may not be a food, but we mention Balinese Jamu for its healthy properties. Jamu is a traditional Indonesian drink associated with well-being, considered as a traditional medicinal remedy based on herbs and other extracts of natural ingredients, seeds, leaves, flowers and spices.
There are different types of Jamu, usually yellow, orange or green. Some ingredients can be: turmeric, ginger, black pepper, lime, tamarind, galangal, cardamom. Yes, the juice of Jamu is not sweet, in fact it will leave a strong aftertaste in your taste buds! But it’s a true miracle for healing from colds, coughs or simply cleansing the toxins inside the body.
Jamu is sold in glass flasks, to facilitate the recycling of containers, and to allow the periodic “refill” of Jamu at your trusted supplier, a bit like it used to be for milk in the past.
EATING IN A WARUNG IN BALI
We’ve mentioned Warungs several times in this post, an Indonesian word that translates to “business”, as in small family business. A Warung, also Waroeng in the transliteration derived from Dutch, can be a small restaurant, a bar, or a grocery store.
Warungs are everywhere in Bali, and are often synonymous with simple, inexpensive and freshly prepared food. In our favourite warungs we spend 15,000 rupiah for a plate of Mie Goreng, or 1€!
Today, there are infinite versions of Western-style Warungs, with the most random names depending on where they are located or the type of cuisine (e.g. Warung Canggu but also Warung Pizza!). However, the real Warung remains a local restaurant where you can eat something quick and cheap in Bali.
FLOATING BREAKFASTS IN BALI
You’ve probably seen photos on social media of large and colourful breakfasts served on floating bamboo trays in the pool, the so-called floating breakfasts. They have become typical of the most fancy hotels, nothing historically Balinese or Indonesian, but a trend dictated more by aesthetics than by practice. Floating breakfasts are usually offered at villas or resorts with private swimming pools in Bali.
Beautiful to look at thanks to exotic fruit such as mango, bananas, kiwi, pittaya, pineapple. And of course they taste good too. It’s yet another excellent marketing strategy on a par with the Bali Bowls, made of blended frozen fruit and yogurt, decorated with taste and fantasy by the various hotels and bars in Bali. Eating a Bali Bowl can cost between 50k and 100k rupees depending on size and location.
Now that you know what to expect from Balinese cuisine, are you ready for a trip to Bali!?
Also read how to get your visa to Bali online and plan your trip to Indonesia with our Bali itinerary guide.
USEFUL LINKS
- What to see in Ubud in 5 days
- Sea and islands in Bali: Nusa Penida and Gili islands
- Best beaches in Bali by region
- When to visit Bali, months and best seasons
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