Hey all, mister here, I’ve been away for a while but now I’m back into sharing my food experience with you all! A few things have changed. As a starter, I’m now living in Bali (yes, the Paradise Island!) with a new, unique selection of food. Without further ado, here is my first impression of Balinese food:

When I first came here everybody kept telling me about “Babi Guling” which sounded weird at first since “Babi” is “Pig” in Indonesian and “Guling” is “Body Pillow”. The thought of using a pig as a body pillow gave me the creeps. Thank God it turned out better than that. “Babi Guling” or “Suckling Pig” is actually rice served with barbecued pork parts like the skin, meat, internal organs, accompanied by veggies and of course, Balinese sambal (spiced chili sauce). Sometimes it includes pork stew as well. Every place seems to come up with its own style (and price, some very ridiculous) but the basic idea is the same. I heard from the locals that back then they could only eat Baby Guling during festivals or ceremonies. Fortunate for us, the dish is widely available now and without a doubt the most popular Balinese dish.


With that said, this first review will be about “Babi Guling Candra” on Teuku Umar St. in Denpasar.
Babi Guling Candra

Outside Seating Area

Inside Seating Area

Babi Guling – IDR 30K
Babi Guling or Ayam Betutu? They only served 2 (two) items. I saved Ayam Betutu for next time. For 30K you get rice, pork stew, satays (pork skewers), and a variety of barbecued pork crispy skin, meat, intestine, etc along with some veggies. Very fulfilling. The sambal (chili sauce) is very hot but well-spiced.


A Closer Look
For an Indonesian plate the portion was quite big and made me happy. The meat was cooked properly and overall it was a very pleasant experience to me.

Kitchen and Take-out Window
Back there you can see someone waiting from behind the glass. That is the take-out window. I was looking at the line of people waiting and forgot to take a picture. My bad. On the left side are Balinese/Indonesian traditional snacks such as Balinese peanuts, eel chips, intestine chips, etc. They also sold stick ice cream with local flavors such as durian (spiky fruit), jackfruit, avocado, etc for IDR 8K each. 

MISTER’S MEMO™
Atmosphere: Not bad, standard Indonesian restaurant.
Service: Okay, nothing special.
Price*: $$
Parking: Street
Attire: Casual
Hours: Mon-Sun 7am-10pm
Credit Cards: N/A, Cash-Only


Babi Guling Candra
Jl. Teuku Umar 140
Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia
Tel +62 361 994 0098, 225 559
Tel/Fax +62 361 221 278

 
* Including a drink, tax & service charges, per person on average:
$: < IDR 30K (cheap)
$$: 30K+ (okay)
$$$: 60K+ (pricey)
$$$$: 90K+ (borju)