Lunch at Bali Asli

Today is "Purnama" the day of the full moon in Bali - a special day in Bali's Hindu culture that is celebrated twelve times a year. Temple ceremonies for Purnama are "believed to harness increased spiritual energy from the full moon, allowing participants to connect with the divine and seek blessings for themselves and their loved ones". We knew it was a special day when we came down for breakfast and saw all the staff in their beautiful traditional ceremony outfits.They were very happy to explain to us what the day was all about.

Later, on our morning walk we saw lots of locals dressed in their best too and all the preparations underway at the local temple.

We chose to photograph these scenes along the way instead (neither of which had anything to do with Purnama)........

Rob has a thing about ladders in Bali!

Today we had a lunch date at beautiful Bali Asli, a restaurant located about 30 minutes north of Candidasa on the road to Amlapura. Australian Chef Penny Williams (formerly Ex. Chef at Alila Manggis) conceived of Bali Asli over a decade ago - a special place that "celebrates authentic Balinese culture and cuisine", using local food grown organically and prepared in the traditional way. The restaurant was constructed in a commanding position overlooking the foothills of Bali's sacred mountain - Mt Agung. Unfortunately, today, in the midst of the rainy season, the view of Mt Agung was completely obscured by heavy cloud.

Rob took this pic (minus the view of the mountain) as we climbed the stairs to a warm welcome at Bali Asli.

Despite the cloud cover the view was breathtaking - not a building in sight, just extensive gardens, plants and rice fields, and those mountains in the distance and endless sky (clouds today!).

Our welcome drink was a Spicy Salek (based on snake fruit, soda and lots of spices) - non alcoholic but a drink with a lot of punch! 

Crackers and delicious sambals to start the meal .......

The menu was presented like this, as a bamboo scroll..... We chose the Bali Asli Megibung option - a tasting platter of dishes unique to Karangasem - 8 dishes to try, based on what is in season, organically grown and available in the area around the restaurant.

There was soup to start the meal: sweet corn, young coconut and leaves of the kelor tree - all picked from the restaurant's own garden - and delicious.

Then our main dish - mackeral satays, tuna and coconut cooked in leaves, smoky chicken, spicy tempe, and 3 delicious vegetable dishes - divine! we stayed non alcoholic and drank chilled Wedang Jahe (tamarind, ginger and a hint of chile) with our mains, another punchy combination!

We ended up having a front row table at a most dramatic storm event this afternoon: crashing thunder, lightning bolts and then driving rain. It was an amazing show of force to accompany a wonderful meal!

Dessert was fresh and perfectly light - a beautiful balance to all that had come before it. Together with coffee and drinks this meal cost about $35 a head!!

I loved the stunning architecture and decor of the restaurant too ........

And the toilets are something else!

Productive gardens surround the building .....

And another ladder pic from Rob .......

We loved our Bali Asli experience!

Our driver had us back to the hotel safely by around 2.45 - quite an achievement given the state of the narrow winding roads up to Amlapura - in heavy rain. Our plans for spending the afternoon around the pool came to nothing as the heavy rain continued - all afternoon into .... evening.

A distraction came when the hotel's cat found Rob. They both appeared to enjoy some bonding time on the balcony watching the rain fall as dusk came - and no sign of that magic full moon the day was meant to celebrate.  Not that the cat seemed to care!