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The iced water slow drip
coffee maker |
Today we planned a trip to
Gunung Batur
(Mount Batur)
with T&J but, before leaving Ubud, we stopped for coffee at
Seniman Cafe. I'd been
here before last year and was impressed by the innovative recycled glassware.
It's a real coffee-lovers hangout and they have a number of different styles of
coffee.
The cafe also serves a special iced coffee that takes 12 hours to make. Iced water
is slowly dripped through the container of coffee - to produce only enough for
four cups! An acquired taste I guess, like Luwak Coffee. Before leaving we also visited
one of the few op-shops and managed to leave a little money there as well.
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| Street-sellers in Kintamani |
Eventually, we headed out for Gunung Batur and Kintamani, which is on the western edge of
the larger volcanic crater wall. It's about a 2 hour trip north-ish of Ubud
with volcanic peaks surrounding the crater lake. There are a number of towns
within the mountain/lake area which is a popular tourist spot, for international tourists and
for Indonesians because of its religious significance. We stopped briefly at the
villages of Penelocan, Batur and Kintomani on the rim of the crater and for the
first time we were hassled by street-sellers hawking their trinkets and
souvenirs - we didn't stay long. The temperature was also noticeably cooler
than in Ubud, which is at a slightly lower altitude.
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| Resto Apung at
Kedisan Resort |
We drove down into the crater to the lake which was quite peaceful, and
much hotter than up on the rim. We were again accosted by street-sellers and also by boat-owners
offering to take us onto the lake at exorbitant prices. After a very short
stay, we decided to look for somewhere to eat, and followed Frances'
suggestion of trying a place recommended in the Rough Guide, Resto Apung at
Kedisan Resort. Both the book and locals' directions were very confusing, but
we eventually arrived at the quiet and secluded resort on the banks of the lake which was a welcome relief after the street-sellers in the town.
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The floating dining rooms -
we sat in the one on the left |
It was an amazing place, with a large restaurant on the
shore, and small dining pavilions on pontoons floating on the lake attached by timber
walkways. It looked deserted and we had the pick of the tables - only to be
surprised by the arrival of a busload of 60 Indonesian tourists for a buffet
lunch.
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| Fried Tilapia Fish |
The restaurant's specialty is fish from the lake, fried or grilled whole and of
course we had to try. We ordered a selection of dishes, Fried Tilapia Fish, Cha
Bayam (leafy greens with chilli), Nasi Goreng. The fish flavour was a bit
strong for me, and John is a vegetarian, so Tamar and Frances really enjoyed
the Fried Tilapia Fish.
 |
| Cah Bayam - leafy greens |
 |
Trio of condiments in order of
ascending hotness |
The dishes were accompanied by 3 delicious Sambals
(chilli based condiments), the first was tomato-based with superb subtle flavours,
the second was based on ginger & garlic and green chilli and pretty hot, and
the third was a Sambal Mattar, a traditional Balinese sambal based on shallots, lime
and green chilli which was dynamite, even in small quantities. In an effort to
improve the flavour of the Bintang beer that's almost obligatory in Indonesia, we mixed it
with fresh lime juice which gave it enough of a boost to enhance the flavours
in the meal.
We all agreed that it was close to the best meal we'd had in
Bali, and almost the cheapest - one of the few
restaurants catering for Indonesians and not just foreigners.
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Tegallalang - everything from cheesy
ice cream parlours to traditional
rice paddies |
 |
A young girl holds up her
bottle with small fish she caught
in the aqueduct. |
On the return journey we
stopped at Tegallalang for some refreshments. The place is a real tourist trap
with a picturesque collection of terraced rice paddies across the small valley,
and a collection of shops selling the usual souvenirs but with crochet work
added as a local specialty.
The most interesting thing I saw was children, in
one of the narrow aqueducts below the road, catching fish by hand and
dropping them into a bottle of water. They were having great fun, although I
don't know if there were going to become pets or be grown in tanks for eating.
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| The Bumbu Bali restaurant |
That night we were all
tired, although we don't seem to be doing very much, the heat and humidity seem to
exhaust us each day. Frances and I decided to get a small bite at a local restaurant.
We settled on the Bambu Bali near the Ubud Palace which serves Indian and vegetarian
food. We has a very nice (although a bit sweet) pork dish with capsicum cooked in 2 types of soy sauce and a Gado-Gado. Again, the Gado-Gado was quite
different to anything we'd had before and was very good. These were accompanied by a
potato paratha and the obligatory bottle of Bintang.
