Denpasar food tour

I had signed up for an evening Bali street food tour in Denpasar. As it turned out I was the only client. My guide, Ratih, said that the volcano had caused cancellations of bookings across the sector.

We had a car and a driver. We started in an upmarket coffee shop. Coffee was not brought by the Dutch but by traders from Lombok. It grows well in the highlands of Indonesian islands. Traditionally coffee is an after-work pick-me-up taken with a side of banana fritters. In the past, locals could only afford robusta, exporting the arabica. With rising income, Indonesians now frequent coffee shops.

Next at a warung, we had tipat tahu Gerenceng, comprising boiled bean sprouts, rice cake, tofu, omlette, kropok (prawn cracker), and peanut sauce. It was quite similar to rojak in SEA. Incidentally the choices are curated by the guide so you might get a different tour with another guide, which is part of the charm. It was also thus in Da Nang, Vietnam.

Next, at a roadside store, we had nasi jinggo, which is a combination of rice with chicken, fried tempe, noodle, and sambal. It was very cheap, only about a dollar or two if I recall and is a popular late night snack. One story claims that jinggo is named Django, a spaghetti western of that time, 1966. The sambal was quite spicy.

We took a walk through the outdoor wet market where locals shop for their fresh food.

Bali is full of statuary and the Balinese are observant of traditions.

Soto is probably Indonesia's national dish, found all across the archipelago. It's any of a multitude of variations of broth with meat and vegetables.

I didn't take a picture of the sate kambing (goat satay) and gulai which is the thick sauce accompanying. I found this one a bit off-putting due to the fatty meat.

This is serabi, a rice pancake with coconut milk, and shredded coconut.

Finally we ended the tour with a hot drink containing ginger.