FOLK Ubud is a new café located in the trendy part of Ubud, The Monkey Forest street, where lines of cafés, restaurants, and villas are “scattered” around the street. FOLK Ubud itself is the newest establishment under by the same management of Bisma Eight hotel, and just celebrated its grand opening on April 8th, 2016.
We were very lucky to be able to visit this café during our last trip to Bali despite the tight schedule. If you have ever read about our experience staying at Bisma Eight, you might have probably known that we simply love the hotel and really wish to come back to stay longer there. If you haven’t, you can always check our complete review about the hotel in part 1, part 2, and part 3.
Like any other cafés and restaurants along the street, there is not many space for parking available, so it can be troublesome if we come by car, for example. The best way is to explore the area by walking, and leave your cars somewhere else near the Monkey Forest.
From outside, FOLK doesn’t look very different from the neighboring buildings, but once we stepped in, we were totally astonished by the strong Southern European feel in it. Some parts of the café actually reminded me of the buildings in Spain, and it is pretty cool. Keeping with some traditional Indonesian touch as well, the place looks humble yet exotic in its own way.
Do you get what I mean? Just look at the photo below and people will think there is no way this was taken in Indonesia!
FOLK Ubud is basically a kitchen and espresso, so it’s up to you whether you want to visit only for coffee, or having light to heavier meals.
Just like other Bisma Eight’s F&B joints, the ingredients used are sourced locally from sustainable partners with selected items made in-house wherever possible. For example, these sourdoughs are made in-house (and telling you, they are GOOD!), and the coffee is from a blend developed by Tetap Happy Coffee Roasters.
The F&B here in FOLK is led by Chef Duncan McCance of Ekstedt (Stockholm), Orana (Adelaide), Burnt Ends (Singapore) and now, Copper Kitchen & Bar in Bisma Eight Ubud, Bali. Knowing the fact that he originally comes from Melbourne, Australia, I couldn’t help but expecting so much about his creations. Only God knows how much I worship Melbourne and its beautiful city, delicious food, and good looking people, LOL! Last time we went to Copper in Bisma Eight, he wasn’t there yet, so we were really excited about what the Chef would bring to the table that day.
FOLK opens from 7AM until 6PM everyday, and the menu is still very limited at the moment, but rest assured, you can find something good for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.
Prices for food and drinks range from IDR 20,000 to 95,000 only, considerably cheap for the quality you’ll get.
We tried 3 types of salads and kudos to Chef Duncan, although they are basically salads, we felt like we didn’t eat salads, and it’s good. Why? Because there are other things going on inside the bowls/plates that “distracted” our attentions.
For example: the Grain, Pumpkin and Fennel Salad is served with gigantic pumpkin cuts which basically catches all the attention and makes us enjoying this naturally sweet thing instead of other veggies.
Grain, Pumpkin, Fennel Salad IDR 75,000
Beetroot Cured Salmon, Croquette, Sesame Fried Egg IDR 85,000
And this beautiful salad with so many colors made my inner child smiling happily and couldn’t wait to dig in. Green, pink, golden orange, yellow, white, purplish blue, they got them all here. Not only the colors, please note that the star of the salad is actually the croquettes, which were hidden beneath all the colors. It was so much fun eating this salad!
Beetroot, Cabbage, Tempeh, Sesame Salad IDR 75,000
Lots of colors, lots of nutrition, vitamins and minerals in the bowl. The beetroot was a little too overwhelming for me but well, the tempeh made up for it.
For heavier menu, we tried some dishes served with their homemade sourdoughs, basically consists of the sourdoughs and poached eggs, and other ingredients. Must say that the sourdoughs are SO GOOD, like seriously. I found them very moist with stretchy crumbs, very easy to chew. And the sourness is perfect, complete with yeasty aroma but not too sour.
And trust me, whatever you pair with these sourdoughs, they all taste good, period.
Poached Eggs, Tomato, Bocconcini, Bacon IDR 70,000
Avocado, Feta, Herbs, Folk Sourdough IDR 80,000
Roast Beef, Sourdough, Pickled Green Tomato, Cheddar IDR 75,000
Another dish we recommend is this one. If you love sandwich, this is definitely a must order, better yet, it’s served with the perfect sourdough. The roast beef was thin but very solid yet juicy. I loved how the cheddar only partially melted, it kept the cheese texture intact and I love it that way. The seasoning was a bit challenging here, but adding some salt and pepper totally did the magic.
Ham Hock, Rosti, Cos, Fried Egg, Sprouted Grains IDR 70,000
OH what a beautiful dish this is! I screamed in my heart when I saw this on the menu and screamed once again when they served this on the table. Rosti is one of my favorite food for breakfast (sadly I often skip it) and nothing makes me happier than a plate of rosti and pork, YUM! The rosti was crispy on the outside and had this softer, smooth interior, while the ham hock was very tender, juicy, and fragrant. With fried egg by the side, I couldn’t ask for more.
Soft Shell Crab Burger IDR 80,000
What? Or so I thought.
Apparently, this exotic burger is FOLK’s best recommended menu, or let’s say, its trademark (correct me if I am wrong). Okay, it’s not like everyday we can find this kind of burger, right? However, FOLK made this so good I barely had time to re-question it. The soft shell crab was deep-fried with batter, then served with homemade brioche buns. I love, love, love this burger. This is something you have to try yourself because it is indescribable.
Ricotta Dumplings, Pistachio, Cardamom Parfait IDR 70,000
For the dessert (we call it that way), we had this SUPER DELICIOUS platter consisting of Ricotta dumplings, which tasted like doughnuts on steroids (sweet, crunchy, and soft in the same time, super good!!), pistachio sprinkles, and cardamom parfait! Must say this was a beautiful epilogue to our yummy lunch that day because this one was totally unexpected. Nobody thought it would be THAT good judging from the not-so-stunning presentation. But again, never judge a book by its cover, agree? 😉
Beside all the glorious food, FOLK also offers healthy beverages selections from Smoothies, Blended Drinks, Styled or Non-Styled Tea, Coffee, Juices, and many more. We tried few of them, including the coffee, and we loved them. One thing for sure, FOLK is surely being generous with their affordable prices and good serving sizes.
Blueberry, Milk, Vanilla Ice Cream, Honey, Mint IDR 35,000
With a tagline of “A Clash of Cultures” Dan Lain Lain…, we know that FOLK is different from other typical Western-themed cafés in Bali.
Inspired by the storied culture of Gianyar province, FOLK is “rumah makan” (restaurant in English) celebrating the beautiful imperfections of masyarakat (community) life through art and design. It cleverly pits together the nuances of yesterday against the refinements of today, to create a charming clash of cultures.
We really enjoyed our lunch here at FOLK and insanely fell in love to the place. We are very happy to be able to try some of Chef Duncan’s creations and we only can wish the best for FOLK. Thank you for having us and we shall see you again soon!
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*All prices are subject to 5% service charge & 10% government tax
** This review is written based on our visit on 12 April 2016.
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FOLK KITCHEN & ESPRESSO
Jl. Monkey Forest Ubud
Ubud, Bali
Ph. +62 361 9080880
WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM
Opening Hours:
Mon – Sun 7AM – 6PM
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