Travel Food

Best Eats in Bali

Best Eats in Bali

Bali night-market tasting

▶Watch Bali night-market tasting

1. Gelato was really big on our trip.  A lot of it seemed kind of watery to us, but we loved Massimo’s in Sanur.  We also liked Gelato Secrets, which had multiple locations we visited.  Favorite flavors: Black Forest and Snickers.

2. Massimo’s in Sanur was some of the best food we found on that trip!  They had a large gluten-free menu when we visited, which was a big help for us. That past experience is not a guarantee about today’s menu or preparation. If you have celiac disease, ask about ingredients and cross-contact precautions; the Celiac Disease Foundation’s dining guidance is useful preparation.  However, their pizza was also really good.  They also served other Italian dishes, and the steak with polenta fries was so yummy.

3. If going Indonesian, I love Nasi Goreng.  It was a common dish on the menus we saw.  It is basically fried rice with an egg on top.  Mie goreng is a fried-noodle dish; recipes and toppings vary, so ask what is in the version you are ordering.

4. Go to a street market!  We did an Airbnb experience with a host who took us to a night market.  It was one of my favorite things by far.  I’m quite adventurous and I always want to see the real-life of a place, not just the tourist view.  This was perfect for that.  We were the only white people there.  We saw lots of families at the night market for dinner, and it had lots of delicious food.  The host ordered for us and brought us a huge sampling of dishes.  Wow, it was SO good.  And we didn’t get sick on that visit! That is our personal experience, not a guarantee about any stall. Choose food and drinking water carefully; Indonesia’s Ministry of Health has practical food-hygiene guidance.

5. Indian food was one of the cuisines we enjoyed on that trip.  We love Indian food and got to know it much better there.  The tandoori meats and veggies were yummy.  Our favorite was a restaurant called Ganesha in Sanur, where we had a chili paneer dish.  Oh my.  One of our favorite dishes EVER.  We also loved the samosas.

6. Ice cream is plentiful!  We found ice cream at many of the restaurants we visited, so if that’s your thing, you’ll love it.

7. Bak Bao Ayam.  This is a steamed bun with chicken (Ayam is chicken) that Chris loved.  We found it at the grocery store.

What we didn’t enjoy as much on that trip: Hamburgers, cheeseburgers, milkshakes.  Club sandwiches are hit and miss- sometimes good and sometimes terrible.  Chris got one club sandwich where the mayo was way over the top and mixed with sugar.  Yuck.  The milkshakes we tried were super watery and not very flavorful.

Other notes:

• There is also a LOT of Chinese, which we avoided for gluten reasons.  That was one of the quick-meal options we noticed, rather than a complete picture of Bali’s food choices.

• We had some very slow restaurant meals on that trip.  We never had a sit-down meal take less than two hours.  It was miserable with kids.  Even takeout took an hour or more for us many times.  So just be prepared to spend some time :). Or cook at home like we did a lot!

• Food costs varied a LOT on our trip.  We saw dinners for a couple of dollars and others over $100.  Trip Advisor was a useful resource for us when finding places to eat.  Check current menus, opening hours, prices, and recent reviews for the places you want to visit.

• On that trip, we saw familiar chains in Denpasar, including KFC, McDonald’s, and Pizza Hut.  Check current locations and menus if you plan to visit them.

Planning a family meal now?

Use these official pages to check current details: Massimo’s menu, Gelato Secrets Bali locations, and Ganesha Sanur details. Confirm the menu, opening hours, prices, and branch before you go. For dietary needs, ask about ingredients and cross-contact; see the Celiac Disease Foundation guidance linked above. For food and drinking-water hygiene, see the Ministry of Health guidance linked above.

Watch the full Indonesian street-food film on Vimeo, or see the original YouTube video.