Bali Nights
By day I dream of trips to Bali, eating at a local warung in Ubud, and by night I can actually eat the real thing. Bali Nights is a fab wee eatery from the team that brought you It’s Java. They’re a talented bunch, melding their visual and culinary creative talents into a popping Balinese joint.
I loved the vibrant jungle green walls that echoed of the lush greenery of Ubud with neon pink and orange accents from the batik-style table cloths to the illustrations on the walls boasting the relaxed mantras of Bali-life.
Orek tempe (left), sambal matah (top), sayur urap (right)
Vegan rendang
Sayur urap
We three came hungry and the menu has much to choose from whether you’re in the mood to share, or not. We whet our appetites with the pastel. Touted as Indonesia’s answer to empanadas, they were crispy pastry pockets filled with a chop-suey-esque filling of vermicelli noodles and vegetables.
There are many different iterations of sambal, an all encompassing term for a sauce made with chillis which can vary from mild and tangy to face-fanning, tongue hanging out hot. You’ll be introduced to a number of these delicious condiments here as they come with most dishes but you can also order them from the sambal menu; it is delicious topped on rice and mi goreng.
I clapped my hands in delight when I saw sayur urap on the menu; I learnt how to make this dish in a cooking class in Ubud. Usually made with delicate fern tips, these have been switched out with kale taking its place. The salad is fragrant with bumbu, an all-purpose spice paste made with root aromatics such as ginger and galangal and warm notes of cumin, coriander, pepper and nutmeg. This is a must-try dish that will instantly transport you to your last trip to Bali.
As a frequent extoller of the many ways to use jackfruit, I ordered the vegan rendang, a thick and dry coconut curry enrobing hunks of tender potato and jackfruit. It was accompanied by sambal ijo, a refreshingly green number with tangy and bitter notes to foil the rich gravy of the rendang. Special kudos to the Bali Nights team, they served the steamed jasmine rice in a gorgeous woven basket lined with a banana leaf, infusing the rice with its lush and heady scent.
Mie goreng tektek
We should have stopped there, but we couldn’t stop, or wouldn’t stop. The straw that broke this camel’s back was a final order of Mie Goreng Tektek. Forget your preconceived notions of Indo Mie’s ugly delicious packet shite, this was the real deal with a good amount of spice and heat, topped with a ubiquitous fried egg, pickled carrots, crispy crackers and properly charcoaled chicken satay.
The menu is long and glorious in the best way. But there’s only so many dishes one can eat in a given day. I glared jealously at a table across the way who lifted up their whole fish carcass, picked perfectly clean. I felt in myself a determination to order the whole grilled snapper Ikan Bakar Jimbaran upon my most certain next visit to Bali Nights.
4 Williamson Avenue
Ponsonby
Auckland
Ph. 021 066 0015