Bali Quest

For most of my life, Bali was not just a place but also an ideal of everything distant and exotic. It was a place I knew little about but I could conjure images of what it might be like. I envisioned beaches teeming with locals living their best lives in paradise. I pictured them eating food that was nothing like what I had ever encountered living in the United States. It was a fantasy land that I couldn’t possibly find a reason to visit, located somewhere on the other side of the globe. 

Well before I moved to Australia, I watched the Bali episode of the late, great, Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations. I loved his book and television shows as they would transport me in spirit to far and away places to experience a virtual taste of distant cultures. After watching the episode, Bali seemed much more of an tangible place versus an unattainable idyllic locale. However, I still couldn’t see a way that it would be a place that I’d get to visit.

Years later, my family and I moved to Australia. We moved at the end of March. So we were at the tail-end of winter in Chicago. It actually snowed the day we departed. When we arrived in Sydney, we were at the tail-end of summer and heading into winter. Well, not really winter in Chicago terms but definitely not summer. So as a family we decided to get a little dose of summer during the peak of winter in Sydney. As we pondered the various places we could travel to, why not Bali? The flight is manageable and resorts were plentiful! Fantasy was becoming reality.

It was actually a bit of a revelation that Bali was a place that Australians holidayed frequently. This exotic island on the other side of the globe was now on the same side of the globe that I resided in. It was also an incredibly popular destination for Australians. Families looking for beaches as well as raucous party-goers looking to let loose travel to Bali in droves from Australia. It’s amazing how quickly things can change from fantasy to something that was actually attainable. In all honesty, it was becoming clear that Bali is to the Australians what Mexico is to the Americans.

Bali is an island among the many that make up the country of Indonesia. One of the many interesting facts about this island province is that the predominant religion practiced here is Hinduism, whereas, the rest of the country practices Islam. Anthony Bourdain made special note of this in his Bali episode because it differentiates the experience of Bali versus the rest of Indonesia in a couple ways. You can drink alcohol in Bali and you can eat pork. The pork part is important.

We stayed at the lovely Westin beach resort in Nusa Dua, an area of Bali that is dotted with lovely beach resorts all along the coastline. In my opinion, if you’re looking for a beach resort to kick back for a few days, it’s hard to go wrong with this area. There’s a mall nearby that has lots of shops and restaurants. However, if you’re looking for a less touristy vibe, you may want to look elsewhere. For a family wanting to get away but still get a taste of the Balinese culture, it’s actually quite a nice area. Even though I thoroughly enjoyed the resort life and would definitely recommend it, I’m also the type that seeks out a little dose of local flavor in my travels. 

While at the resort, I looked for an opportunity to chat with some of the local staff to get some recommendations to get a taste of the food the locals eat and not the places geared to satiate the palates of tourists. I hit the jackpot and got a great tip about where to get good local food. Specifically, babi guling, the famed Balinese roasted pig. 

One of the primary reasons for visiting Bali was to sample this porcine delicacy. Bourdain’s effusive recommendation on his show sealed this particular dish as a bucket-list item for me. The pig is seasoned and roasted on a spit over fire, low and slow, until tender with shatteringly crisp skin. I had to have it. 

The recommendation I was given for babi guling was in the local town, just outside the gates of Nusa Dua. I was warned that they would run out by midday so I should go early. So I slung my backpack over my shoulders and headed out the gates of Nusa Dua. The directions told to me were easy to remember and follow. The juxtaposition of resort community life Bali and local community life Bali was quite apparent but it was lovely to see the locals’ day-to-day lifestyle that’s hidden from the throngs of resort-bound tourists. 

Local Nusa Dua

I finally turned a few corners and found the place - Babi Guling Pak Dobiel. It was not much more than a food cart set up in front of a sheltered area with tables and chairs. In the back was where the pigs were roasted and chopped up to be brought to the front food cart where the pieces would be sold accompanied by a selection of salads, rice, and condiments. I ordered 2 portions to stash in my backpack and take back to the resort to sample with my wife. I didn’t know what any of the salads were but using the international language of gestures, I was able to communicate that I’d like a bit of everything. And please don’t hold back on the crispy skin! Everything was piled into a sheet of parchment paper and folded up in a nice little package.

Babi Guling Pak Dobiel, Nusa Dua

Upon returning to the resort, I found my lovely wife lounging by the pool. We ordered a couple of ice-cold Bintang beers and proceeded to tuck in. Typically, it is served with a side of stir-fried long beans, sambal - the ubiquitous and delicious chile paste, and some other vegetable accompaniments that I wasn’t familiar with, on a bed of fluffy rice. They hit you in the face with flavor, spice, and contrasting textures. Most importantly, the pork itself, was outstanding. The tender morsels of juicy, well-seasoned pork were perfectly suited to the accompanying sides. The crisp, salty skin was worth the walk. It’s such a satisfying thing when something you’ve built up in your mind does not disappoint. Our lunch that day was better than anyone else at the resort. This, I’m sure of. 

Babi Guling from Pak Dobiel

Buoyed by the fantastic initial babi guling experience, I wanted to try at least one other place. The place I wanted to try was the one championed by Bourdain, himself, in that episode of No Reservations. As we took a day trip to town of Ubud to tour temples, rice terraces, and the culture of this cool town tucked among the rainforests of Bali, I insisted we pay a visit to one of the outposts of the famous Ibu Oka babi guling restaurant. On the show, I recall Ibu Oka as being quite similar to the establishment I went to earlier. A place that’s a bit ramshackle with mis-matched tables and little plastic chairs. It was quite apparent that Ibu Oka’s new-found fame had allowed them to expand and cater to the foodie tourists flocking to sample this Balinese delicacy. 

Rice terrace in Ubud

We settled in to the restaurant and perused the nicely-printed laminated menu. That’s not really a good sign. We ordered the combination that was most like the version I had initially. The food arrived and looked quite similar. Nice-looking pork, vegetables, a sheet of crispy skin, all set on top of rice. It was a good plate of food but, sadly, it paled in comparison to the paper parcel version I had earlier in the trip. The pork seemed to be reheated. The vegetables lacked the explosive flavor. The skin was crispy-ish. It was apparent that fame and expansion had led to a watered-down, large scale production approach. It was disappointing. That being said, if this happened to be the first plate of babi guling I ate, I probably would have thought it was excellent.

Babi guling from Ibu Oka in Ubud

As we neared the end of our Balinese holiday and as our taste buds grew weary of the resort’s culinary choices, there seemed to only one appropriate thing to do. I slung my backpack over my shoulders and headed out the gates of Nusa Dua.