Babi in Bali

Bali is one of my all-time favourite destinations. Regardless of how far we venture or how exotic the other locales, we always seem to come back to Bali at least once a year (more often than not, 2-3 times a year). Of course we never fail to eat badly here - one would not expect any less of someone like me - and this obviously adds to the allure of the sun, sand and surf.

We have done the old favourites many times over - classics like Made's Warung, Kafe Warisan, La Lucciola, Bebek Begil and many others usually satisfy for a fraction of the price back home. This time, we decided to try the newly opened and VERY upscale Indonesian restaurant Sankha at the Bvlgari Resort. I mean, c'mon, if we can't afford to shell out USD1,500 a night for a room, at least we can splash out at dinner, right?

The restaurant was deserted by the time we rolled up at 10pm (driver got lost...), so we got the best seat in the house, right by the cliff overlooking the private beach. The view was stunning and the atmosphere was very romantic. Most importantly though, the food was absolutely EXQUISITE. We ordered the sambal kangkong, a selection of satay and the tamarind and coconut marinated chicken, all classic Indonesian specialities. You're probably thinking right now we must be mad to make the 45min drive to Bvlgari Resort to order what we could theoretically have had at the warung down the street for next to nothing. But this wasn't just any warung though - it was Sankha, and it was awesome.

Most ethnic cuisines which are borne out of times of need, tend to use judiciously herbs and spices to make the most of the little (or poor quality produce) they have. Indonesian cuisine is one such example, and when you take these beautiful spice blends (rempah) and cook them with better cuts of meat, the results are stunning. Sankha is a great example of this - the satays were made of good chunky cuts, and the chicken was Australian corn-fed, not some kampung bird! Also of note is the use of udang geringo (tiny dried shrimp) in the kangkong - a feature not often seem but which gave it just that extra ooomph. YUM.


Fine dining aside, Bali's most famous dish has got to be the babi guling - a whole spit-slow-roasted pig with the crispiest skin imaginable, melt in your mouth fat, some unidentifiable crispy bits(probably pig innards if u ask me) and meat that is shredded and mixed with a fiery spice mix, served over rice. It is so iconic, Anthony Bourdain has featured it on his No Reservations show, and both significant Singaporean food personalities Chubby Hubby and KF Seetoh have reviewed and raved about the dish.


On our way to golf up in Bedugul, we asked our guide to stop at "the best babi guling shop you know". He nodded silently and seemed to drive forever, finally stopping at a tiny little roadside store next to the padi fields of central Bali. The lady-owner of Agung Ayu Babi Guling was almost sold out of babi, but she did manage to rustle up a few bits for us. Maybe we were just hungry after the longer-than-expected drive, but the food definitely didn't disappoint. Well as they say, fat is flavour, and babi guling certainly isn't short on flavour. And while Agung Ayu might not be the BEST babi guling shop on the island (Ibu Oka in Ubud is reputed to be the best), I've never been to Ibu Oka, and I was pretty damn happy with what we found anyway.

I mean, how can crispy pig NOT taste good?