I ate a lot in Bali. I mean, it was hard not to. Breakfast was overflowing, and Ubud is full of restaurants and snack stalls waiting to be sampled. On our third day, I had the mee goreng for breakfast with a fried egg on top, because, you know, breakfast.
We decided to walk to Ubud’s downtown to burn off some extra calories, making our way down Jalan Bisma until we got to the Monkey Forest.
The Monkey Forest was only mildly terrifying, and after Nishan got his photos of Ubud’s monkeys gone wild, we stopped for lunch at Ibu Oka, the pig-centric restaurant that Anthony Bourdain infamously raved about. I got the spesial, which is a little bit of everything atop rice and greens, and you know what? Sorry Bourdain, but I’m not with you on this one. This little piggy was not my vibe. Too greasy and too porky. Somebody call the harambulance.
Aftewards we stumbled over to Ubud Palace which strangely enough is also Ubud’s central pickup and taxi queuing location. We headed back to our hotel after that, eager to enjoy teatime before dipping into the pool.
The next morning after a breakfast of banana pancakes, we figured we should take a day trip to the coast. Four days into our trip and we hadn’t even visited Bali’s famed beaches.
The hour-long drive led us to Seminyak, where we stopped at Warung Sobat for their grilled lobster. Warung Sobat is about a fifteen minute walk from the beach, and although it’s a casual spot, make sure to make reservations ahead of time so they can prepare the lobster accordingly. It comes with rice and a deliciously garlicy buttery sauce, and was totally worth our carbon monoxide fume-filled taxi ride to the coast.
Things went downhill once we got to Seminyak’s coast. I won’t even include photos. The beaches were lined with inebriated spring breakers and seemingly miserable families on holidays they didn’t want to be part of. (To be fair, I’d rather be in Ubud over Seminyak too.) Dudes, lay off the Bud Light and EDM.
This was our cue to head back to Ubud. Tea time and a dip in the pool was sounding real good right about then. An hour later and we were back at Komaneka. Ah, much better.
One great thing about traveling to Asia is the reverse jet lag. Waking up with the dawn in Bali was no problem. Besides, it’s pretty easy to get up early with this view.
On our second morning, Nishan and I had an early breakfast in preparation for a day-long excursion to Mount Batur. I had the bubur ayam, or Indonesian chicken congee.
Mount Batur is an active volcano in northeast Bali and the area surrounding is lush and fertile. We stopped at the Tegalalang rice terraces along the way to take in the stunning view.
Bali’s reputation as one of the most beautiful places on earth is well deserved — but it was the inland regions, not the beach, that I was falling in love with.
We headed onwards towards a kopi luwak coffee plantation. Kopi luwak, or civet coffee, refers to the coffee that includes part-digested coffee cherries eaten and defecated by the Asian palm civet. Keep the poop jokes to yourselves, folks. This beautiful plantation sold not only kopi luwak, but also herbal teas and locally harvested spices. We bought a bag of restorative ginger and lemongrass teas to take home.
Fortified with coffee and breakfast, we joined our guide for our day-long bike ride through the region. First up: a quiet, peaceful bamboo forest.
Despite the clouds, Bali is hot and humid, so we soon stopped for a break in Penglipuran village. After a short walk through the village, we were back on our bikes.
Our guide stopped along the way to point out the fruits that grow alongside Bali’s lush roads. My favorite was the juicy langsat fruit. Oh, if I could only bring these home with me. The fruit in Bali remains the best I’ve ever tasted in my life.
We continued our ride through rice paddies, Pura Taman Narmada Bali Raja water temple, and a Dalem temple.
Once we reached the town of Bangli we stopped for a rejuvenating Balinese lunch of bakso (meatball soup), satay, noodles, krupuk, fried tempeh, mung bean salad, and rice.
Back in Ubud, we were exhausted after our day of biking. We rewarded ourselves with a spa treatment overlooking the Campuhan River. The cherry on top was the lime-spiked fruit skewers at the end of the treatment. Delicious.
If you’re interested in a similar bike tour as ours, we toured with Bali Hai Bike Tour based in Ubud. They were fantastic.
It’s January. You know, that time of year when we’re all dreaming of a warm day at the beach under the sun. It’s been nine months since Nishan and I returned from our honeymoon, but memories of Bali run deep. We took a red eye flight to Hong Kong and after a quick lunch of duck noodle soup at the airport, we got on a plane to Denpasar, Bali’s hot and hectic airport. After an hour in a taxi, we arrived at what would be our home base for the next week: Ubud.
Our lingering jet lag meant that we woke up before sunrise, but who can complain with this view? After a delicious breakfast of rice dumplings stuffed with banana and drizzled with palm sugar syrup, we were off to explore the town of Ubud.
We wandered through Ubud Market, brimming with the most delicious fruits you can imagine — but only if you get there early enough. After nine in the morning, the market reinvents itself as a kitschy souvenir market, but still bustling.
Afterwards we stopped at Kafe Batan Waru for lunch. Batan Waru would become one of our favorite haunts during our stay. The outdoor seating, the charming street, but most of all the food made the place an easy choice. We feasted on lemper ayam (sticky rice and shredded chicken grilled in banana leaves), kangung tumis (Asian watercress with shallots, garlic, and soy sauce), and skewers of sate ayam madura. All washed down with sugary, icy cendol, of course!
It was time for our massage appointment next. Don’t get me wrong. We had no interest in the Eat, Pray, Love narrative, but we couldn’t pass up Bali without a massage. So we took the stroll down beautiful Jalan Kajeng, stopping along the way to admire Bali’s stunning stone carvings and larger-than-life architecture. We got caught in a rainstorm, which was fine, because really, anything in Bali is fine. Yes siree, you’ll find me in Bali being phased by just about nothing.
Relaxed, kneaded, and slightly sleepy, we made our way back to downtown Ubud to check out Pura Taman Saraswati. This temple honors Dewi Saraswati, the goddess of wisdom and the arts, and it’s a bit incredible that the temple sits literally in downtown Ubud, just a stone’s throw away from a Starbucks.
We headed back to our hotel after that excursion, just in time for tea. If you are staying in Ubud, I cannot recommend Komaneka at Bisma enough. It it is by and far the best hotel I’ve ever stayed at, not only for the wonderfully appointed rooms and grounds, but especially for the incredible warmth of the staff. I’ll write more on that later, but for now, I’ll say that our trip in Ubud was marked by one constant: our daily excitement at what deliciously home-cooked snacks and sweets each afternoon tea would bring. It’s been almost a year and I’m still craving the lemongrass tea and irresistibly fragrant honey.
About 70 kilometers south of Madrid lies Toledo, a religious center boasting a Christian, Jewish, and Muslim past. History runs deep here and memories of a medieval Arab history are never far away, from the Arabic-origin names of the Alcazar to the gorgeously domed architecture featuring colorful inlaid tiles, Middle Eastern style.
Today, Toledo is a bit of a tourist trap replete with a McDonalds branded choo-choo train that circles the town square in regular intervals, but that didn’t stop us from visiting for the day. After a tourist trap lunch in the tourist trap square, we made our way down the labyrinth of narrow streets and navigated the town above the Rio Tajo to arrive at the Toledo Cathedral.
The design is both gothic and Moorish; east and west at the same time.
To be completely honest, we enjoyed wandering the streets of Toledo more than we did checking off the city’s landmarks. After a week straight of nonstop sightseeing, we were tired. We found a mom and pop Asian grocer near the train station and stocked up on snacks for our train ride back to Madrid. Toledo was beautiful. I preferred the quiet and narrow side streets to the bustling souvenir shops and ticket queues, though.
We spent the next day in Madrid at the Centro de Arte Reina Sofia, Madrid’s too-cool-for-school modern art museum. Later that evening, I conspired with Sacha, Nishan’s cousin in London to meet us at Txitimiri at Barrio de la Latina for a surprise dinner. Sacha took an evening flight and took a taxi straight to the restaurant. The surprise on Nishan’s face was worth every bit of covert planning. Ladies and gentlemen, Anthony Bourdain’s doppleganger exists, and his name is Sacha.
After a late night out, Nishan and I spent our last day in Madrid taking it easy at Buen Retiro Park, which is sort of like Madrid’s answer to Central Park, complete with a lake, a rose garden, and sculptures galore.
Even after leaving Spain, we managed to get one last travel meal in on our way back to SFO. A lunch of weisswurst and pretzel at Deutch in Frankfurt kept me happy during the flight back. We returned feeling like we’d hardly scratched the surface of Spain and with hopes that we’d return someday. Perhaps next time we’ll visit San Sebastian or Andalucia. Who knows?
Mercado de San Miguel felt familiar. Located near Madrid’s Plaza Mayor, the market bore an uncanny resemblance to San Francisco’s Ferry Building. Rather than serving as a traditional market, Mercado de San Miguel is a gourmet tapas market with vendors selling boquerones, cured meats, seafood, and an assortment of sweets.
Boquerones in particular are aplenty at this market, and we kept going back for this one in particular: pickled peppers, anchovies, and the briniest olives you can imagine. Perfection.
Afterwards we strolled through Plaza Mayor and made our way to Chocolateria San Gines for yet another plate of churros con chocolate. Chocolateria San Gines has been around since 1894 so they know a thing or two about chocolate, but you know what? Nothing compared to our experience at Granja Viader in Barcelona. But I’m being unfair. These are two completely different cities. Apples and oranges, I guess.
We walked off all the sugar by passing through the bustling Puerta del Sol en route to the Royal Palace of Madrid. The palace is on the site of a 9th-century Alcazar, first constructed as an outpost by Muhammad I of Cordoba and inherited after 1036 by the independent Moorish Taifa of Toledo. Today, the palace is the official residence of the Spanish Royal Family, but is only used for state ceremonies.
Nishan and I took the rest of the day easy to prepare for the day’s big event: dinner at the two Michelin starred La Terraza del Casino. Initially overseen by the legendary Ferran Adria, it’s now led by Paco Roncero and the tasting menu draws heavily from El Bulli.
After beginning with cherry and yuzu cocktails, we were presented with “olive oil butter,” a playful spin on spherification. This was followed with “goat cheese and quince moshi,” but really, this was more like a tiny green salad served alongside a mini toothpaste tube of, well, more solid olive oil.
Next came the “chocolate and foie gras Filipino.” I don’t know what the Filipino part of this was all about, but this was basically melt-in-your-mouth foie gras encased in white chocolate. Nishan loved this. Me? Not so much.
After a simple but delicious take on tuna tartare served sushi hand roll style, we were served “guacamole and herring.” This was a more sophisticated version of so many of the herring tapas I’d seen around Madrid. The creamy avocado was a perfect foil for the vinegared fish.
Next came a perfectly glazed and simple plating of Peking duck followed by the “fried quail egg and potato.” I’ve never eaten off of a clothesline before, and while I loved the playful presentation, I wished for more flavor.
After my “shrimp omelet” (or rather, transparently thin disc of crisped egg with baby shrimp) came the “frozen tomato rock.” Yet another take on spherification, and I enjoyed this one a lot. The icy exterior gave way to a liquid tomato center. So much concentrated tomato goodness!
Next came my favorite dish of the evening: fresh almonds and caviar. Just give me all the caviar, please. I enjoyed this immensely. Even the almonds were perfect. They reminded me of the freshly peeled raw almonds that are so common as a snack in Iranian cuisine.
I’d lost count of our course at this point, and we were next presented with “moluscada,” a delicious plate of mussels and clams in a light broth. So good. This was followed by gnocchi with pesto and baby cuttlefish. The gnocchi were ethereal.
But here’s where things began to go wrong. Our next course was the “vegetable garden.” The presentation was very cool: a mini vegetable garden, wooden box and all, alongside a pair of shearing scissors with which to harvest our salad with. But beneath the salad’s breadcrumb “soil” laid gobs and gobs of mayonnaise. SO MUCH MAYONNAISE. What is it with Spain and aioli overload? I couldn’t stomach this.
Things got back on track with the umami-laden olive oil paella. Then came the sole a la meuneire. I wished this had more flavor, but them’s the breaks with white fish. The last savory course of the evening was the Iberian pork with yucca and dates. This wasn’t my vibe, but that’s okay. I was saving room for dessert anyway.
The first dessert course was named “Versailles,” which was basically a rose with what seemed like dyed fruit slices enveloped inside as petals. Were we being punked? Aptly enough I felt the same way when I went to the actual Versailles and saw how long the ticket lines were. The next dessert course, called “strawberries and cream,” was a plate of strawberry ice cream garnished with tufts of spongy cake.
The last course of the evening was “unique origins chocolate bonbons,” or what I like to call, “thirty-six pieces of chocolate when you’re too full to touch even one.” Is La Terraza trolling the world? We’ll never know, but kudos to the team for gorgeous plating, fantastic service, and a playful spin on so many Spanish classics.
