Kintamani Volcano and Batur Lake

After our visit to Tirta Empul Temple, our next stop was something we both looked forward to very much. It was the viewing of the volcano, Mount Batur. We had never seen a real volcano before. So, this added to our excitement besides the idea of having meals on hill top.

Lakeview Restaurant perched on hill top

We had reserved a table for two at Lakeview Restaurant, Kintamani. We got some discount since we had reserved earlier through e-mail. It was a buffet lunch. We had arrived a bit too early. There was no one at the restaurant yet so we thought it was closed. 

Outdoor tables overseeing Batur Lake and Mount Batur

We had carefully chosen an outdoor table so that we can enjoy the volcano breeze and the view below since the restaurant perched on a hill. 

We sat here in the shade and to enjoy the unblocked view of both the lake and volcano

The breeze was cool but after half an hour through our lunch, we were shivering and had to get our jackets from the MPV. The wind was strong at times. 

The food was not bad. Choices were plenty. The food temperature was okay (not cold) but it got cold easily with the blowing wind. The buffet came with a bottle of mineral water for each person but coffee was not included. To taste Kintamani's very own coffee, we ordered a cup to try. 

Our lunch table

Batur Lake (view from our table)

I think we spent about two hours here. We wanted to make sure we enjoyed the view of the volcano and the breeze to the max before we left. 

Mount Batur 

Abang Gusti, our driver-cum-friend, got to eat for free here but at their dining area. We were relieved that they offered him lunch since I had read from the restaurant's website that no lunch for drivers whose customers had booked through e-mail. Actually, all the other drivers who took their customers there got free food.

Close up view of houses near the lake

Houses by Batur Lake

After our lunch, Abang Gusti drove us down the hill and reached Batur Lake. The lake was actually the largest crater lake in Bali. 

Batur Lake

Across the lake was Trunyan Village. We were not interested to visit it as we were not interested to see corpses and cemeteries.

Trunyan Village across the lake (with Mount Abang in the backdrop)

Next, Abang Gusti recommended us a floating restaurant on Batur Lake. We just took some photos of the beautiful huts floating on the lake as we were too full to eat anymore.

Floating restaurant

The sky is so blue in Bali

Around the floating restaurant and hotel

We could feel the platform wobbling at times.

Since this was our free and easy trip, we took it slowly. We spent time chatting with Abang Gusti to learn more about their religion, culture and Balinese in general. He was anxious to bring us to many places of interest as he felt he needed to perform his duty well. But we asked him to slow down and just followed our itinerary of the day. Of course, he was very helpful and knowledgeable. He brought us to this floating restaurant on his own initiative. We could sense that he was very proud to show us around his hometown.

Next, Abang Gusti brought us to try kopi luwak on our request. (in the next post)

Details:

1. Lakeview Kintamani Restaurant (pre-booked through email to get discount)

Jalan Raya Penelokan, Kintamani, Bali.

Telephone: +62- 366 52525

Our bill was 197,200 rupiah. (Bali Coffee = 10,000 rupiah, Buffet lunch =160,000 rupiah (for two pax), government tax = 18,700 rupiah and service charge = 8,500 rupiah)

2. The name of the floating restaurant and hotel:
Kedisan Resto Apung and Bungalows
Jl. Raya Kedisan, Danau Batur,
Kintamani, Bali.
Telephone: (0366) 51627
HP: 081 337 755 411

Verdict:

Must do if you ever visit Bali. Bring a jacket if you want to enjoy the volcano breeze.

Kecak Dance at Laka Leke Restaurant

Kecak Dance...live

Laka Leke Restaurant was thought to be near our hotel, Taman Harum but it was not. It was about some 15 or 20 minutes away. Luckily, we got there in time before the Kecak Dance performance began. We had booked our table two weeks before we left for Bali. It was no surprise they reserved a front table for us. Actually, it was not only a table but a gazebo. Wow! We were indeed surprised and pleased. We were also presented with a fragipani flower each. So, I guess guys in Bali wore flowers on their hair too?!

Lake Leke Restaurant's entrance

A quiet and serene ambience after the peformance

They had the ala-carte menu and also the buffet. We opted for the buffet. The buffet included a bowl of soup and cocktail per person. They would also grill pork ribs on request and send to the table. And the rest, we just picked from the buffet table.

The buffet table

Our table at the gazebo

What we ate...the taste was not bad

Pumpkin soup with bread

Grilled pork ribs

We came to dine at Laka Leke Restaurant mainly because of its Kecak Dance. It was a traditional dance performed at night with background music made up of chanting (of cak-cak-cak) by the group of dancers. It told the story of the great Hindu epic poem of Ramayana. The performance lasted about 30 minutes and followed by a photography session with the dancers. Oh yes! The photography session was free of charge (unlike some other places).

All lights out...It is time for Kecak chanting and dance

A photograph with the Kecak dancers

Details of the place:
Address                :  Nyuhkuning Village, P.O. Box 165, Ubud, Bali
Telephone number: (0361)977565
Email                    : info@lakaleke.com
Website                : http://www.lakaleke.com/ 

Kecak Dance is only performed on Monday night. Please refer to their website for further information.

Chanting cak-cak-cak away...

What we think about it:

- The Kecak Dance is a must watch. Yes, we enjoyed ourselves very much.
- The buffet dinner was 160,000 rupiah per person (excluding 21% tax). We paid a total of 387,200 rupiah. It sounded pricey but we thought it was worth it as we also got to watch the Kecak Dance too. Plus, the place was kind of private and romantic.

Ibu Oka Babi Guling

Ibu Oka Babi Guling ~ the place for delicious roasted pork and rice

If you are excited about this post on Ibu Oka Babi Guling, I believe you should have also read tons of reviews from the Internet. 

This is the main branch at Jalan Sweta, Ubud ~ just opposite the Ubud Palace

We had read mixed reviews about Ibu Oka. Anyway, we wanted to try it out for ourselves. This is a must-try dish in Ubud. We went to its main branch, which is just opposite the Ubud Palace. So that, we could visit the palace after our lunch.

Yup, they are open at 11 a.m. so be there early to avoid disappointment

If you do not want to be disappointed, better be early. They are open at 11 a.m. and yes, we were there around that time. There were not many people there at that time but soon, the place was packed.

Babi Guling ~ look at the crispy skin.. mouthwatering

A set of Babi Guling and rice. The black thing (at the far right) is actually blood sausage...tastes good (if you don't think so much about it)

Their ABC soup is yummy too

Our lunch table (outdoor seating with proper table and chairs)

The verdict:

It is extremely good. The skin of the roasted pork is crispy and the meat is so tender like chicken. This is definitely better than any Hainanese chicken rice that we had ever eaten. It is spicy due to  its gravy and chilli. We really ate it mindfully, just to make sure we tasted it right and savoured every bite.

The crispy skin was peeled off effortlessly in split seconds.

Cutting up the pork slices before serving

The crispy skin ~ the much sought-after dish

# Babi Guling is pig stuffed with herbs and spices roasted over coconut husk fire for several hours.

This is their only menu.

How much we spent: 143,000 rupiah (inclusive 10% tax, 13,000 rupiah)

Nasi Babi Guling Special (Rice set) (30,000 rupiah  x 2) = 60,000 rupiah

Daging Babi Guling (Meat only) 40,000 rupiah

Iced Coffee (15,000 rupiah x 2) = 30,000 rupiah

Details about the place:

Jalan Sweta, Ubud, Bali. (It is just opposite the Ubud Palace and Tourist Information Centre in Ubud Town.)
- 2 types of seating at the place: sit on the floor with low tables and a few tables outside with chairs.

- Need to pay to use their washroom.

I have found this article to be very informative about Ibu Oka Babi Guling. Well, here is the link http://goseasia.about.com/od/ubud_bali/a/Warung-Ibu-Oka-An-Authentic-Balinese-Dining-Experience.htm

Lada Warung, Ubud, Bali

Look out for this sign

Lada Warung

If you are looking for Lada Warung in Ubud, it is located towards the end of Jl. Hanoman (before reaching the T-junction to Jl. Raya Ubud). It has two floors. Well, our first impression of this place is good. It has the right ambience for some romantic dining.

The nice menu

Lada Warung: cosy ambience

Decor on the wall

We went there around 8 p.m. plus by our hotel shuttle. There were only two tables taken. Maybe it was a low season in March. Anyway, we went in but later chose to sit outside since it was a bit stuffy inside. 

We had ordered fried spring rolls, ayam goreng kecap (fried chicken with sauce) set, ayam jamur (chicken slices and mushroom) set, a papaya juice and a honey dew juice.

Our drinks: papaya juice and honey dew juice

A glimpse of our dinner

The verdict:

Their Indonesion home-cooked food is just okay. To our surprise, both sets that we ordered came with large plates of rice. At first, we thought we could not finish them but in the end, we were glad that portion was big enough as we were too hungry after a day of walking and shopping.

Their home-made ice-cream is a disaster! So, never try their ice-cream. (Look at the picture below). It looked and tasted like crushed ice. 

The drinks are a little diluted. I prefer the papaya juice during breakfast at Taman Harum Cottages as it has the feel of a 'real' juice.

Popiah (Fried Spring Rolls) 

Ayam Goreng Kecap

Ayam Jamur: the gravy is good for the white rice

The disaster ice-cream!! 

How much we spent: 150,700 rupiah (inclusive of 10% tax 13,700 rupiah)
Lumpia (popiah): 20,000 rupiah 

Ayam Jamur set: 35,000 rupiah

Ayam Goreng Kecap set: 35,000 rupiah

Papaya juice: 16,000 rupiah

Honey dew juice: 16,000 rupiah

Ice-cream: 15,000 rupiah

Details of the place:
Address: Jl. Hanoman, Br. Padang Tegal, Ubud

Warung Pulau Kelapa, Ubud, Bali

Warung Pulau Kelapa signboard outside the restaurant

The restaurant has outdoor and indoor seating

This is our day 2 in Bali or specifically Ubud. We got the hotel shuttle to drop us at this restaurant in Ubud town. It is located after the Bintang Supermarket or about 10-minute drive from town. Look out for the restaurant on your left after you have passed Bintang Supermarket.

It clearly says no MSG used in their food. Thumbs up!

There were three reasons why we chose to have our lunch here. Firstly, we wanted to try authentic Indonesion cuisine. Second, it prided itself on serving MSG-free food. That was what we wanted ~ healthy food. Thirdly, we were interested to visit their paddy fields. 

Wooden restaurant with Balinese wall arts and decors

Wooden tables and benches

A special table with a see-through glass top; spices of all sorts are being displayed in the different compartments of the table

We were a bit early (I guess) as the place was empty but the staff were all waiting to serve us. There were indoor and outdoor dining areas. We chose the indoors as we did not like the sun. The whole place was very cosy and decorated with Balinese wall arts and decors. The restaurant was a wooden house and they had wooden tables and benches. 

Nasi Campur: delicious!

Nasi Kuning: yummy too!

Sate Bumbu Bali: mouthwatering...

We chose two set lunch: Nasi Campur and Nasi Kuning and also ordered a side dish of Sate Bumbu Bali. Nasi Campur means white rice with a variety of dishes on the plate while Nasi Kuning which meant yellow rice was actually rice cooked with kunyit (turmeric) and also came with a variety of dishes.

Vegetables planted in their garden

A nice garden in their compound

The verdict: 

All the food that we had ordered were superb although we did not know what most of the dishes were called. Some were a little spicy but we were okay with that. The sates were very fragrant too. We thought of ordering more but we were indeed very full.

Signboard to their organic vegetable farm and paddy field

Two beautiful statues in the garden

Creeping plants covering the wall

After our lunch, we walked to the back of the restaurant to view the paddy field. We asked a staff and he was very friendly and welcomed us to visit their paddy field. So, we spent another hour exploring the paddy field.

A gazebo near the paddy field ~ we took shelter here when it rained 

The paddy field

It was not harvest season yet (in March) so the paddy field was very green. We also saw a worker (farmer) planting the paddy from far.

A vast land of paddy field

A house in the middle of the green field

Attap roof of the gazebo

How much we spent : 104,500 rupiah (inclusive of tax 9500 rupiah)

Sate bumbu Bali: 25,000 rupiah

Es Kopi Susu: 10,000 rupiah

Nasi Campur: 30,000 rupiah

Nasi Kuning: 30,000 rupiah

Details of the place:
Address: Jl. Raya Sanggingan, Lungsiakan, Ubud

Their website : http://pulaukelapa.webs.com/aboutus.htm