Bali - Bale Bali Indonesian Chinese Food

Upon arrival in Bali, after we had settled our luggages at the villa we rented for our stay , we went searching for food and we found Bale Bali that offers Indonesian Chinese food . We love the Balinese quaint interior design of the shop , cooling despite being non air con and the food is good too.  We wanted to try everything from their menu but we have to keep some space for some other Balinese food from their warung :)  After having tasted their food especially their seafood, we know we will come back for more , which we did.  They do delivery services and we ordered again their seafood and satay for our supper :p

 

one part of the wall, they have a small balinese garden deco

from where we were seated, I was testing my skill...the interior

is quite dark :)

love the old Balinese door cravings

love the fountain..so quaint looking

Momsie always forcing her kids to pose for her

testing my photography skill again :p 

not a good shot but  I promised

I will improve myself ...just give me time okay?

the place is quite dark..every table is provided with 

tea light :) quite romantic actually

this is on the house...a bowl of fresh peanuts

with a pinch of sea salt...I love their wooden bowls

I want to make another trip to Bali for sure...love their art and wood crafts

my fried rice with shrimps and veggies

this is so delicious that we came back to this place

 for more..even Josh and Joanna loves it..the shrimps are so fresh

Joanna's salted fish fried rice...delicious too

Josh and Elaine ordered their Bale Bali special fried rice

that came with sunny side egg and some prawn crackers

we ordered their BBQ seafood palate

that consists of Gurami fish, jumbo prawns, squids and

stir fried kangkong...awesome

and we ordered this for our supper 

again but this time we asked them to deliver 

to our villa....so good

lip-smacking good ...

the ice kacang with young coconut meat 

is yummilicious

this is their signature ice kacang

with red beans at the bottom

taste good too

*We will definitely add Bale Bali to our list

to eat out when we come back to Bali

Bali - BBQ Seafood @Jimbaran Beach

After travelling an hour from where we stayed, we arrived at Jimbaran Beach whereby there are many restaurants serving bbq seafood. This is one great place to relax and chill out with the family. We arrived in time for dinner and were lucky to find a beautiful spot , where we can look out to the sea and eat at the same time..... the sound of sea waves really calms the soul and the aroma of barbeque seafood fills the air.

No wonder people say Bali is a great place to relax and destress.  My son has been here twice and he loves the place. No wonder he suggested this place for our family holiday together :)  There are two restaurants that served the best bbq seafood... One is Menega Cafe and the other one is Matahari Cafe. Since my son had tried the one in Matahari, he wanted to try Menega Cafe.  Both , according to him , are just as good.  I told Josh , I am coming back to Bali again :) and the next trip, I will stay longer :)  The seafood was so fresh ..especially the jumbo prawns...oh gosh...I am drooling as I recalled the taste of fresh local seafood grilled Balinese style.  The coconut drinks are fresh and and the coconut meat are young and sweet.  

beautiful beach that projects a romantic atmosphere

Menega Cafe is one of the famous bbq seafood restaurant 

besides Matahari Cafe in Jimbaran Beach

another one beautiful shot of the seafront

the daughters and son are having fun laughing at their 

mom getting them ready for the shot...1, 2 and 3 again and

again...hahaha amateur photographer ma

but they still entertained me ...I thank God for these kids :)

time for me to have a photo taken with my daughters 

Joanna and Elaine

another round with Josh and Elaine

families are having fun together eating and relaxing 

our meal came as it was getting dark...love the aromatic

smell of bbq seafood

we ordered red snapper and yellow crazy fish 

( dont really know the local name for this fish )

but they tasted so fresh and delicious

Red Snapper @ Rp150,000  per kg

Crazy Yellow Fish @Rp150,000 per kg

for the clams and squids 

Rp120,000 per kg

jumbo prawns

Rp170,000 per kg

fresh and juicy...love these grilled jumbo prawns

stir fried kangkong 

Delicious meal...worth the one hour ride to Jimbaran Beach from where we stayed

*stay tuned for the next post

Labor Of Love On A Special Today

These three dishes were prepared by Wild Boar. Truly his labor of love for me hahaha ...sweated in the hot kitchen just to prepare his specialty dish..seafood tom yum . And he also cooked his favorite Pan Fried Tamarind Prawns aka Assam Prawns and Baked Cauliflower for our dinner.  Of course, I was the  unpaid  ' MAID MATE ' helping to get the prawns deveined and other stuff that needed to be done :p  Anyway, it was a sincere  show of love on his part to give me a good meal on this special Sunday. And of course, I did all the cleaning up and washing up after a fantastic dinner .  The seafood tom yum soup was commendable , he added a tablespoon of coconut milk to the soup, giving it a deeper flavor....spicy hot and the tangy-ness was just right. The seafood were prawns, squids and fish fillets.  The aroma of kaffir lime leaves filled the kitchen as the soup was simmering on the stove. 

If Wild Boar wants to take over the apron, I don't mind as he can cook , and I truly enjoyed his cooking even though I have to be his unpaid ' maid mate ' for an hour :)    

flavorful  seafood tom yum soup

oven baked cauliflower...he simply shake in whatever spices

he can find in the fridge....hahaha he added ground almond

thinking it was parmesan cheese...TRUST MEN !

THIS DISH IS GOOD ! HEALTHY AND DELISH

it does not look nice but it does taste yummy

WB's favorite Pan fried Spicy Tamarind Prawns  aka Assam Prawns 

THANK YOU WILD BOAR FOR SUCH

A LABOR OF LOVE

ON THIS

SPECIAL SUNDAY !

Potato Salad With Crispy Bacon Chips

On my daughter's recent trip home, she taught me how to make her favorite potato salad .  I like her recipe , all she did was to steam the potato cubes instead of boiling the whole potato. She added chopped red onions and chives with enough salt and black pepper to the Japanese mayo...it was really delicious.  Now is the time to learn from her some good recipes...mommy taking lessons from her daughter * wink  I am proud that she is a good cook in her own right :)

I decided to make the same potato salad but gave it a tweak...I added some crispy bacon chips to the salad for I know that the Wild Boar would surely love it and true enough, he almost emptied the whole bowl of salad :)  A simple potato salad yet rich in flavor !  WB had the salad with his English Rose Roast .  Normally, I will serve him green salad but for this once, I served him potato salad . He loves it so that is all that matters.  And for me,  I  had this delectable potato salad for dinner.  Light and easy for me :)

pan seared the bacon till browned and crispy

once bacon has cooled, chopped the crispy bacon into smaller bits

add the crispy bacon chips to the chilled potato salad

Potato Salad With Crispy Bacon Chips 

Ingredients:

2 big Russet potatoes - remove skin and cut into 1/2 inch cubes

1/2 red onion - minced
2 tbsp of cut chives  * I used spring onions instead
4 or 5 tbsp of Japanese mayonnaise
sea salt to taste
1 tsp of  freshly ground black pepper

2 strips of bacon

Method:

1.  Wash the russet potatos, remove skin and cut into 1/2 inch cubes.  Steam the potato cubes for 15 mins or till cooked .  Take out and leave it to cool.

2. Mince the red onion and cut chives finely, add to  Japanese mayo .  Add fresh ground black pepper and sea salt to taste to the mayo. Give it a stir and pour the mixture on the cooled potato cubes and give it a quick mix.  Make sure all the potato cubes are coated with the mayo mixture.  Wrap the bowl of salad with cling wrap and chill in the refrigerator till it is ready for serving.

3.  Pan seared the bacon strips till browned and crispy.  Once it has cooled , crush into bits.  Add to the chilled potato salad and serve as a sides .

Enjoy!

Claypot Braised Fish Head With China Yam And Leeks

Thanks to Wendy of Table For 2 or More for posting up on facebook about the yam from China. That very day, I went and bought 2 for a song...lucky for me because after that it was totally sold out after her posting. You see how influential she is...one word and all was sold out fast after her post :p I went back to buy more for making fritters the next few days.  No luck, they ain't selling anymore in Tesco.

With the two that I bought, I braised half of the yam with fish head and china leeks...gosh it was good. The yam was fluffy and because of that, it absorbed in the flavors from the braising of the fish head and leeks :) Choose fish head from Grouper/'Sek Parn' or Threadfin / 'Soong Hong' or 'Giant Mak Yau 'or Snapper /Ikan Merah.. meat is firmer. For this kind of cooking you need firmer meat :)

I braised the yam in my favorite claypot :)

ingredients :  'soong hong' fish head from Jusco, china leeks

and the china yam, and beancurd(foo chook )

love this delicious and flavorful braised yam dish 

and I can have the whole fish head to myself :p

WB doesnt eat fish, he is a meat man but I am training him 

to eat more fish then meat.....but condition is I must debone it 

for him...like a child he behaves at times :)

the china leeks added flavor to the dish...

and china leeks has a stronger flavor than local ones

Claypot Braised Fish Head With China Yam And Leeks

ingredients:

1 fish head -med. sized ( fish of your choice ) you can deep fried the fish head
* for healthier version, I opted out the deep frying, I lightly seared the fish head with
a few tbsp of vegetable oil. Season fish head with salt and ground white pepper and
two tsp of corn flour

1/2 china yam - peeled, cut into 1/2 inch thick slices
a few sticks of dried beancurd (foo chook)
2 stalks of china leeks - cut into 1" inch length

3 slices ginger
2 cloves garlic, minced

seasoning (1)
2 tbsp light soya sauce
1 tsp dark soya sauce
2 tbsp Chinese cooking wine2 cups of water

pinches of salt to taste

thickening
1 tbsp cornflour mix with 3 tbsp of water

Method:

Lightly seared the fish head that has been seasoned with salt, white pepper and corn flour in the claypot with 3 tbsp of vegetable oil under med. low  heat till lightly brown.  Take out the fish head and keep aside.   With the excess oil, fry the cut yam till lightly brown ( so that it doesnt get mashed up during the braising ) , take out the yam and keep aside.   

Add in garlic and ginger slices and sautee till fragrant, add in the seared fish head and yam and seasoning (1) and slowly braise the fish head and yam under low heat.  Once the gravy boils and the fish is cooked thru and yam is soften, add in the beancurd and leeks.  Cook for another 15 mins and add salt to taste and thickening .  Serve hot with rice.

Enjoy and have a great day !