Bali Trip 2014: Day 4: Relaxation & Food
What Really Happens In Bali? Well if you believe TV and mainstream media it is nothing but drinking and crazy risk taking. Well here is our version – stay tuned for our quick 2 week escape from Australia heading over to Bali and Kuala Lumpur.
After the crazy day of shopping and shopping yesterday, I was looking forward to at least a slightly slower pace today. That was the dream anyway….
Today would feature such highlights as:
- Breakfast
- Shopping
- Massage
- Lunch
- Shopping
- Massage
- Drinking
- Dinner
*Notice a pattern forming here???*
Breakfast
Decided not too travel too far away for breakfast this morning, checked out the lovely little Bella Vista Coffee Shop. Bella Vista is on Jalan Padma Utara and serves REAL coffee – if you are looking for a little taste of home then this is the spot. I also caught a peek at the cake cabinet and there are some tasty little treats in there. Our breakfast consisted of:
- Bacon & Eggs on Toast
- Pancakes with Lemon & Sugar
- Iced Coffee
- Bali Coffee
- Orange Juice
All up RP200k – not a bad price for a great breakfast. Not exactly budget but not too bad really.
Shopping
Ah yes – so it seems a certain someone didn’t get all her essentials yesterday so it was off to some shops again. First up was Putu Tailor and Leather on Jalan Padma Utara (next to the All Seasons) to get some boots copied. About RP800k for a pair of Leather Boots to be made, in only 3 days. I figured why not get in on this and got my wallet copied for RP300k. We were off to Amed tomorrow so wouldn’t be back to pick up the Boots/Wallet for a while but no worries.
Next up was some essential clothing supplies from the lovely Miss Debby. Miss Debby’s is a lovely fixed price stall located on Garlic Lane (Jalan Sahadewa), Miss Debby asks you to please go to her little shop front and ask to go out the back (all the good stuff is at the back….). This is a great place to head to on your first day in Bali as it gives you a rough guide as to what you can expect to pay at the market sellers (helps give you an upper hand in the bargaining process).
Spa Time
So true to form by this point I was in need of a nice relaxing massage so once we were finished at Miss Debby’s we headed down to Jalan Melasti and checked out Pips Massage (Pampering in Paradise). I chose the Balinese Massage (RP80k) and the wife got the Reflexology (RP60k). This place is seriously good – we were lucky to get in actually as they were pretty much booked out all day. Definitely check if out they have some amazing treatments. The staff were very professional and the quality of the massage was fantastic.
Lunch
Well by this point we had worked up an appetite. So off we tripped in a Bluebird taxi up to Biku on Jalan Petitenget. This place is very very popular so please remember to make a booking. You can actually book online (which we only just did last night) and you get instant confirmation.
Now Biku is famous for their High Tea, and Asian High Teas – which we had last time we were there; this time we opted for something different.
The lovely architecture of Biku, how amazing are those ceilings? The service is usually pretty prompt and attentive. If you are a fan of Tea then this is your place, the Tea menu alone is double the size of the food menu.
I opted for the Pork Rib special – they were so juicy and perfectly cooked.
Wifey opted for the Caramelised Onion and Goats Cheese Tart – which despite how boring and uninteresting it looks apparently tasted divine. I was happy to stick to the ribs but the wife loved this.
Her Dessert – Chocolate Mousse – Only problem with Mousse in Bali is that generally once they take it out of the fridge and get it to your table it has virtually melted, but still the taste was perfect.
I opted for the Chocolate Pudding and a nice Mug of Coffee. All up it came to RP375k so not the cheapest place to eat but for the quality of the food and the setting it is worth it. If you have never been to Biku before I would definitely recommend the High Tea – although the menu is pretty strong so you may have a tough choice.
Shopping
Seriously who needs to shop more? My wife…. we caught the taxi back to Jalan Melasti and did a bit of shopping around the markets on the corner of Garlic Lane and Melasti.
Spa Time (again)
In a complete role reversal my wife was happy to sit by the pool with a Bintang in hand and I went out searching for another quick massage. I ended up at Carla Spa a little bit further up Jalan Padma Utara and ended up getting a body scrub – suffice to say it was pretty bad, poor technique, no atmosphere, and just overall not enjoyable – thankfully only RP65k so I can’t really complain. But I won’t likely head back there any time soon.
Dinner
For our sunset pre-dinner drinks tonight we decided rather than walking back up to Crystal Palace we would head down to the beach and just grab a beer from one of the mini-bars. We ended up having some drinks at Bayu’s Bar. Located just in front of the Mandira Hotel it was actually a pretty great spot to watch the sunset and have a couple of Bintangs.
Another glorious Bali Sunset – sitting in Bayu’s Bar enjoying the sunset with a couple of beers and some great company.
Bayu was a lovely friendly man and only too happy to sit and have a chat with us for a while, we really enjoyed learning a little about his life and experiences living and working in Legian. It was a really relaxing afternoon, we had about 5 Bintangs and it came to RP100k.
Next it was time to head to dinner – tonight was our “Splurge” meal – Mozzarella on Jalan Padma. Definitely make a booking here, it is usually pretty full most nights. Also don’t be surprised to see people reading the menus with little torches – the lights are somewhat low and well it does make it tough to read the menu.
Entree: Lumpia and Prawn Wontons
Mains: Fettuccine Carbonara and Surf’N’Turf
Dessert: Chocolate Lava and Chocolate Soufflé
Food was cooked perfectly, and the staff here are also the stars of the show, the wait staff make an effort to learn your names and connect with you. We each had a couple of drinks and coffees and all up it was only about RP550k. Nope it aint the cheapest place in town, but if you want to have a nice dinner it is a lovely setting and well worth a treat.
We were totally stuffed from dinner so stumbled somehow back to the hotel and straight into Bed – tomorrow we head off to Amed for a couple of nights.
Liked anything you heard from today’s blog? Here is the summary of places we visited and their websites (where I could find them):
Food:
- Bella Vista Coffee Shop
- Biku
- Bayu’s Beach Bar
- Mozzarella on Padma
Shopping:
- Miss Debby
Spa:
- Pips Massage
- Carla Spa
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