Best restaurants and what to eat
Indonesia
Denpasar, the capital of Bali, is a vibrant crossroads of temple cuisine, market fare, and home-style Balinese cooking. Its culinary identity leans on fragrant spice pastes, roasted meats, banana-leaf preparations, coconut, and a strong tradition of ceremonial dishes shared across the island.
Bali’s signature all-purpose spice paste, built on turmeric, galangal, ginger, candlenut, chili, garlic, and aromatic roots. It is the backbone of countless Denpasar dishes, giving them a warm, layered heat and a deeply perfumed finish that works beautifully with pork, chicken, fish, and vegetables.
A bold Balinese seasoning blend that often adds shallot, garlic, chili, shrimp paste, and lime leaf to create a punchy, savory profile. It delivers the island’s hallmark balance of spice, sweetness, and earthiness, especially in roasted or grilled dishes.
A festive mix of chopped vegetables, grated coconut, herbs, and spice paste, sometimes enriched with meat or blood in traditional versions. In its vegetable form it is bright, aromatic, and texturally lively, often served alongside rice and ceremonial dishes.
A raw Balinese sambal of sliced shallots, chilies, lemongrass, lime leaf, and coconut oil. Sharp, fresh, and fragrant, it adds a vivid citrus-sweet heat to grilled fish, chicken, and rice dishes.
A richer, cooked-style sambal with fried shallots, chili, and spices, offering a deeper caramelized savoriness than raw sambals. It is commonly paired with rice and fried or grilled foods for an intense, aromatic kick.
A seasoned vegetable salad of blanched greens, bean sprouts, and herbs tossed with grated coconut and spices. Light yet flavorful, it brings a fresh, nutty counterpoint to richer Balinese dishes.
Bali’s traditional distilled spirit, commonly made from fermented coconut sap or rice. Rustic and potent, it is served neat in small amounts or used in ceremonial settings and local cocktails, with a raw, earthy sweetness beneath the alcohol.
A lightly fermented palm wine made from coconut or lontar sap, fresh and gently sweet when young, and stronger as it ferments further. In Bali it is both a village drink and a social beverage, usually enjoyed cool and unadorned.
A traditional Balinese rice wine or rice-based fermented drink with a sweet, softly alcoholic profile. It is often associated with ritual hospitality, offering flavors of rice, yeast, and gentle fruitiness.
A cooling jelly drink made from daluman leaves, usually served with coconut milk and palm sugar syrup. It is grassy, silky, and lightly sweet, a classic tropical refresher for Bali’s heat.
A traditional Balinese herbal refresher made from local leaves, roots, and spices, often served chilled. Its flavor is earthy, slightly bitter, and cleansing, reflecting Bali’s fondness for plant-based tonics.
A distinctive herbal drink made from cemcem leaves and other local botanicals, served cold as a village-style tonic. It is tart, herbal, and refreshing, prized for its vivid green character and cooling effect.
Bali’s most famous roast pig, rubbed with a complex base genep spice paste and slow-roasted until the skin turns crackling and lacquered. The meat is richly seasoned, aromatic, and celebratory, often served with rice, lawar, and sambal.
A deeply spiced chicken dish wrapped and steamed or roasted until the meat becomes tender and infused with aromatics. Its flavor is intense, smoky, and peppery, with the spice paste penetrating every layer.
Duck prepared in the betutu style, seasoned with a dense paste of chilies, turmeric, ginger, and other aromatics before slow cooking. The result is sumptuous and fragrant, with rich duck flavor balanced by assertive spice.
A mixed rice plate that brings together small portions of lawar, sambal, meats, vegetables, and sometimes eggs or sate. It captures the full range of Balinese flavor in one meal: spicy, savory, herbal, and texturally varied.
A compact banana-leaf parcel of rice served with sambal, shredded chicken, and small side dishes. Affordable and ubiquitous in Denpasar, it is a beloved late-night staple with bold seasoning in a modest package.
Minced fish, chicken, pork, or seafood mixed with grated coconut and aromatic paste, then molded around bamboo or lemongrass sticks and grilled. It is smoky, juicy, and perfumed with Balinese spices, making it one of the island’s signature dishes.
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