Bali food: Sublime to ridiculous

Last week Sue and I headed off to Bali, escaping post-covid blues and, we hoped, staying one step ahead of Foot and Mouth Disease.

We were there to sample the many delights of various Como resorts – from the health and wellness focus of Como Shambhala – half an hour from Ubud – to Como Canguu, right in the hear of a surfing Mecca.

In between, we stopped off at Como Uma, just outside Ubud.  We’ll go into the resorts in more detail in a later edition of Mildrover but along the way we tried and tasted some of the best and healthiest food a couple of mildly roving pescatarians could wish for.

And, just in case we got ahead of ourselves, we were brought crashing back to earth at Denpasar Airport where the choice of food was overpriced and uninspiring, to say the least.

Click on this gallery for an introduction to the best and, in one case, worst of Balinese cuisine.

Healthiest breakfast I’ve ever eaten, Como Shambhala

Room service lunch on the balcony, Como Shambhala

Fruit plate, Como, including dragon fruit and jackfruit

Fries like you never saw before.

Steamed Greens, Green Goddess Sauce and poached egg, Como Shambhala, Ubud

Berbagi Rasa (a sharing starter) in Nusantara by Locavore, Ubud, See below for details

Picnic lunch by the river, Como Shambhala

Fish Tacos … yumola!

“Real Toast” – Como Canguu

French Toast, Como Canguu

A healthy green drink, slightly less so banana smoothie and iced coffee (with stevia sweetener) in the Cheatery Canguu

Something spicy steamed in a banana leaf in the Casa Tua, Canguu

… and there it is, delicious

Burrata in Como Canguu

Vegan Caesar Salad with snapperIn Como Canguu

Macaroni cheese (bacon not optional) and fries in Denpasar Airport

Berbagi Rasa

Main picture, clockwise from front centre

• Sambal Teri Kacang: salted fish, peanuts, shallot, garlic, chillies, kaffir lime leaves and palm sugar.
• Keripik Sanjai: Cassava crackers seasoned with chillies, lemongrass and kaffir lime leaves
• Keong Sawah Pedas: Rice field snails braised with chillies, salam leaves, lemongrass and sweet soy sauce)
• Martabak Tahu: Tofu, shallots, garlic and leek wrapped and cooked in spring roll skin.
• Sempol: Tapioca fritter seasoned with celery leaves, served with a mild peanut sauce.
• Asinan Bogor: Tropical fruit marinated in rice vinegar, chillies and shrimp paste.
• Tempe Mendol: Fritter made with tempe, aromatic ginger, coriander seeds and kaffir lime leaves.
• Rujak Cemcem: Cemcem leaves marinated with chillies, sea salt and shrimp paste.
• Keripik Bayam (centre): Amaranth leaf deep fried with rice flour. turmeric, chillies and coriander seeds.