Author: The Wifey's Corner

There are a lot of restaurants that we always put on our to-try list and yet never had the time and stomach space to try them. Cinta Grill has been a favourite to many but it is certainly a new one for us. We passed this place numerous times, never had tried it before although we have hears do many good reviews of it. Aside of the good reviews, this place seems always packed which means it must be doing something really well, right?

We went to Cinta Grill around 7.30 pm after our delightful massage session by Juwuk Manis and the restaurant is packed! We enjoyed the vibe of the restaurant, it was so much alive. Service was prompt and friendly even though they were so busy.

We ordered one portion of Surf and Turf and a Full Slab of Baby Pork Ribs. Both mains arrived within 30 minutes of ordering, and both tasted wonderful. The baby pork rib especially was the star, just as many people have recommended it. The meat was so tender and fell off the bones; and has been marinated really well. The sambal is totally worth mentioning as it is actually very flavoursome! Hubby’s Surf and Turf was also delicious, well cooked beef and very tasty grilled prawns. He requested fried sweet potato and truly good choice, crispy and perfect compliment to the meat and sauce. All in all happy tummies and happy customers 🙂 Maybe make a reservation ahead if you’d like to come by during busy hours, just to be safe 😉

Total spent on the night was IDR 421,575 (approximately AUD 45) – cheap right? 😀

Cinta Grill

Jl. Monkey Forest, Ubud, Bali, Indonesia

Phone: +62 361 975395

www.cintagrill.com

Please pardon the lagging in my food review posts from our (not-so) recent Bali trip. We moved home just two weeks ago then haven’t had internet at the new place since. Now that we are settled, I just have to post about this one place that really left such a wonderful impression. Our driver recommended us this place when we were talking about the non-mainstream eateries around Ubud, and he told us about Warung Teges. Warung Teges only sells one dish namely nasi babi. And apparently this is one of the locals favourite in the area and not so much known by tourists as yet.

So, we asked to stop by at this place on our transfer from Bakung Ubud to Oasis Sanur. We arrived there at around 10.30 am and we were the only patrons along with two others. The warung size is rather small with about 10 tables, but I have seen reviews elsewhere that they have ample seating in the backyard as well. We ordered and paid on their food counter then within few minutes our food arrived! At a glance, it looks very similar to other nasi babi guling. There are pork satay, crackles, tender spiced meat, crispy skin, some other bits of pork, urap sayur along with steamed white rice. But only when we ate it, we understood why it is a local favourite! So delicious…

If you love nasi babi in Bali, I am sure you would have visited the famous Pak Malen, Pak Dobiel, Pak Candra and many others. This one is so different in term of heat level, it is not that spicy, but you can taste all the other flavors from different spices used. The chili does not overpowering all other spices meanwhile you can appreciate all other flavors singing harmoniously! Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy all the other nasi babi as well, ones that are super duper spicy. A definite place to go back to if we are going to Bali again!

A portion of nasi babi at Warung Teges costs only IDR 30,000 (approximately AUD 3)

Warung Teges

Jl Cok Rai Pudak, Ubud, Indonesia

Phone: +62 36197525

We sure tried many new places on our last trip to Bali, including this dish. Opposed to what we usually eat at Nasi Ayam Kedewatan Bu Mangku, this time we tried it’s sibling’s. Nasi Ayam Kedewatan Bu Mardika is located few doors down from Bu Mangku’s, in the same side of Jalan Kedewatan. We heard about this place a while ago and yet every time we went to Bali, we had always came back to Bu Mangku’s and never had disappointed either. But this time, we wanted to explore new options and here we came.

We read somewhere before that the owner of this place indeed is sister to the famous Bu Mangku. Whilst there are few branches of Nasi Kedewatan Bu Mangku all over Bali, I believe there is only one branch of Bu Mardika’s. But surely it cannot be that bad, right? After all they are sisters and if the recipes were passed down from generations before then it cannot be that different, right?  \ (•◡•) /

There is a visible sign above this restaurant, and knowing it’s approximate location makes it easier to find. We just paid better attention to restaurants after we passed Bu Mangku’s and there it is the blue sign. From the outside, it looks fairly small with only few tables. But once we ordered, the lady led us through the small doorway towards the backyard. The seating area in the backyard actually very similar lay out to Bu Mangku’s however in smaller scale.

There is only one dish on offer here just like at Bu Mangku, namely nasi ayam – everything mixed in one plate or dishes separated from the rice. You can ask for extra spicy or less spicy according to your liking. We both ordered the one-dish nasi ayam, hubby asked for extra spicy whilst mine was medium spicy. Our order then arrived within minutes and looked awesome! There are urap, generous portion of rice, ayam betutu, half egg, peanuts, sate lilit, sambal, and some crispy bits of chicken. Also a small bowl of spicy broth on side in case you feel the sambal is not spicy enough already.

The verdict

We think it is not bad at all, the portion is slightly bigger than Bu Mangku. Taste wise it is very similar, they are spicy and tasty, little more greasy but not bad. We feel the service is much better than Bu Mangku, the staffs are much nicer and friendlier here. And for that reasons, we’d love to be back here next time as opposed to go back to our usual Bu Mangku.

Nasi Ayam Bu Mardika

Jalan Raya Kedewatan, Ubud BALI

Phone: (0631) 974387; +62 81 999 023 025