EAT Everyday: Back to Bali

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Back to Bali

Rice paddies in the mountains around Manggis, Bali

After picking up my parents at the airport, we stopped to have lunch at Simpang Cafe, an Indonesian restaurant near National and Overland. There are a couple of Indonesian places in the area including the Simpang Market next door and Indo Cafe across the street. Simpang recently remodeled, at least since the last time I was there, and the new cafe is nice and more spacious with new tables and chairs. We ordered the Nasi Bungkus (rice with chicken curry, beef rendang, Balinese style egg, spiced potato with chicken gizzards, and vegetable curry, wrapped in a banana leaf), Nasi Goreng (chicken fried rice), Chicken satay, Gado Gado (a salad with tofu and peanut dressing) and the oxtail special. My favorite was the Nasi Bungkus; it reminded most of the food that we had in Ubud, Bali. I love the interesting and different flavors of the various curries with the heat of the sambal, which matches well with the steamed rice. The Nasi Goreng and chicken satay were also good. The soup that came with the Nasi Bungkus and Nasi Goreng as part of the lunch special was also very good, interesting flavor. The gado gado wasn't as good as the ones we had in Bali, and had a little bit too much dressing, and the oxtail was rather bland. I will definitely be back to try some more of their rice dishes.

Nasi Bungkus

Nasi Goreng

Bali is one of my favorite places in the world; I've visited twice in the last two years. It has everything: beautiful scenery, unique and special culture, wonderful welcoming people and delicious (and often inexpensive) flavorful food. Here are a couple photos of my favorite places and things in Bali: