Bali's Canggu Club, with its plantation style fans and vast sports fields, isn't exactly a backpacker mecca. But a cluster of interesting little cafes on the street that runs just to the north of the club might be more in tune with what independent travellers are looking for in Bali once they've exhausted their nasi goreng and babi guling fixes at the more local-style joints.

Cute!

Butter is one of these little eateries -- we've already covered Green Ginger Noodle House a few hundred metres away -- on Jalan Pantai Berawa. The tiny air-con cafe, with outdoor roadside seating as well, offers coffees, teas, a range of other drinks and most importantly: cakes and biscuits.

Like we said, cute.

We popped in here last Saturday morning a little after opening and were the first table to sit down. Within a few minutes the elegant place was humming, pretty much full of people enjoying their breakfast pies, munching on biscuits or ordering takeaway coffees and pastries -- clearly this is a very popular spot with expats and tourists staying in the Canggu area.

After we washed our hands...

Oh alright.

... we had a flat white (24,000 rupiah), a cinnamon roll with a melted chunk of cream cheese (15,000), chocolate chip biscuits (5,000 each) and a slice of delectable spiced apple cake, the special of the day -- it was a bit more like a tart and a huge hit with Ms 5 (18,000 rupiah). Butter is kid-friendly too, with items such as milk and cookie (18,000 rupiah) on the menu (and we overheard someone order a babycino, if you must!)

There's also a small selection of vegan treats -- we took away two lemon coconut donuts (15,000 rupiah). It's serve-yourself free water, always a pleasant surprise in Bali as it happens so rarely (Localista and Sea Circus are another thirst-friendly spots).

I still can't believe they asked whether I wanted cream cheese.

The decor is whimsical and put together beautifully, with a bit of a Scandi feel, and features such as embroidered cushions on the couple of lounge chairs, white old-style Javanese wedding chairs (so we have heard them called) and fresh flower pots out the front.

Butter is a great spot for a quick coffee and cake rejuvenator -- probably not ideal for lounging for half a day, but rather more a pop in, pop out location, though we doubt anyone would mind if you hung around a bit longer. They do make birthday cakes to order, so if you're holidaying in Bali for someone's birthday, you could order in advance from here.

Choose your slogan.

Butter
Jalan Pantai Berawa 44
T: 0819 3621 6983
Facebook page
Open Mon-Sat 08:00-18:00

Tags: Butter, cafes, coffee

When I started this series on cheap Indonesian food in Seminyak, the place at the top of my must-try list, because I still shamefully hadn't after four years in Bali, was Made's Warung. Everyone knows Made's Warung; it's been around since 1969 and these days has two outlets; I tried the one in Seminyak, which is an almost lavish, tourist-oriented affair.

All that glitters ...

Well, I've tried Made's Warung now and sadly I'm only keeping it here in this series as a warning. If you want to feel like you're eating in a tourist trap -- literally, surrounded by shops and a gazillion tables of other tourists in what feels like an open-air food hall -- and pay inflated prices for an experience that really isn't much different from restaurants serving similar food for a fraction of the price, then by all means, enjoy a meal here.

I ordered a plate of the nasi campur special, which came in at 65,000 rupiah. As is often the case in Bali, all items are plus 10% tax, with no service charge; this isn't mentioned on the menu as far as I could see, though a warning on every single page that you need to spend 100,000 rupiah to pay by credit card is.

To be fair, the nasi campur was a huge serving, with a great range of dishes to try, including beef rendang, curried prawns, some generous chunks of fish, a few veggie dishes. It was passable food; not bad, not amazing, a little spicy plus a kick-the-taste-buds sambal on the side. A lemon squash (20,000 rupiah) turned out to be a sweet pre-made slushy; Bintang beer only came as draft, for a pricey 27,000 rupiah. I had to signal to a host rather than a waiter twice to get service, though there were no shortage of waiters around.

Nasi campur special.

The menu includes Indonesian favourites, as well as an array of Thai, Japanese and international selections; I can't say whether the other types of cuisine are done exceptionally well or not but as far as the Indonesian food goes, for the price it wasn't amazing and I was kind of sad that they hadn't simply stayed focused on doing that really well. I kept thinking of Lara Djonggang in Jakarta and thought that if a warung should transform over time into something classy, then that's what it should seek to become -- something really special. Or for something a little closer to home, Bumbu Bali down in Tanjung Benoa gets it right, and is worth the trip.

The atmosphere at Made's was so bland -- vast courtyard, next to no light, a single vocalist belting out "Wind Beneath My Wings" under red velvet draped curtains -- I felt like crying. And it all seemed to be about the money, from the open shops surrounding the courtyard to the massive sign in the carpark telling you that if you don't have a receipt from eating at the restaurant, cough up 50,000 rupiah on exit, thank you very much. No such warning on the way in!

Table after table...

Made's Warung seems to be the sort of place you might go if you're on holiday with a dozen relatives and want to try to keep everyone happy. If that's your only criteria, I'd suggest dining instead around on Laksmana, somewhere like Cafe Bali, where the menu is wide-ranging international, affordable, and in a lovely wooden house with whimsical decor. Sure, there will be just as many tourists there, but if you're staying in Seminyak, that can't really be too much of an issue (head somewhere like Sidemen if you want to be somewhere quieter).

Let's call it No Name's? Doesn't look like much...

Now, one joint that does serve up a bargain between Legian and Laksmana is the signless "Japanese warung" on Drupadi, about 50 metres down from Legian on the left. A waiter said they were called "Kazuya" -- I think -- but there's no sign for now so it doesn't really matter what it's called, does it? What matters is they serve up great food in an Indonesian-style warung setup. Strictly speaking, it's sort of healthy Japanese-style food, not Indonesian, but I still thought it worth including here.

... but this is where the magic happens.

This place, perhaps, is what Made's Warung was once like: completely unassuming but turning out consistently yummy food. I've eaten here a lot -- and I've brought my daughter's lunchbox in at 11:00 to be filled before I drop it to school -- and it's always good. It's always the same, but always good. My favourite mix is red rice, stewed pork (so sweet, so tender...), crisp broccoli and lentils. With a can of Coke on the side, it comes in at 32,000 rupiah.

See?

They do a lovely vegan soy lasagna, a few different croquettes, lots of legumes as well as meat dishes. Recommended!

Made's Warung
Raya Legian, Seminyak
T: (0361) 732 130

Japanese Warung
Drupadi 1
Open Mon-Sat, 11:00-18:00

If you're shopping in Seminyak and need to stop off for a quick lunch or dinner and you're in the mood for some cheap Indonesian food, you have a few options to choose from. Here we cover just two of our favourites: Warung Ocha and Taman Bambu, with two more places up our sleeve for another part next week.

Warung Ocha

Look, quick, one of those annoying little Coke cans.

One of the most obvious and popular Indonesian joints along Raya Seminyak (which is a continuation of Jalan Legian, and then eventually becomes Raya Basangkasa just a little further north) is red-signed Warung Ocha on the corner of Jalan Plawa. Warung Ocha does a huge range of a la carte Western food -- pastas, salads, sambos, seafood, burgers and so on -- as well as point-and-pick and a la carte Indonesian dishes.

The red and brown special.

We're just focusing on point-and-pick in this series, which is possibly Ocha's weakest point, but mainly when it comes to price, as local food is so much cheaper off the strip -- the Western food is reasonably priced.

I've eaten here several times but most recently stopped in and had a plate of red rice (you can choose white if you like) with mixed vegetables (carrots, pumpkin and mushroom), tempeh manis (tempeh in soy sauce) and a fried egg with sambal. The sauces were good, the egg and sambal on the dry side and I got a nice little rock of gravel/grit thrown in with the rice for free. Look I know this happens with rice, but you just kind of hope it doesn't in a restaurant when you have to spit a full mouthful of food into a napkin because you've shattered the grit, yeah?

And look I know I shouldn't drink Coke, ever, but when I have a quick meal -- and this is really the Indonesian version of fast food -- I really do feel like one. So I really get possibly disproportionately irritated when I order one and it comes in one of those annoying little cans. It's not enough to go with a meal, but two are too many... Whatever, you've been warned.

There is however a large range of drinks here, including wine by the glass (80,000 rupiah though! plus plus! at a "warung"! though to be fair, it's Chilean, not Hatten), beer (25,000 rupiah for a small Bintang -- all prices are plus 10% tax, plus 5% service), fresh juices (around 21,000 rupiah), good coffees -- just 15,000 rupiah for a cappucino -- and interesting teas, such as rosella, a fairly standard one in Indonesia and definitely one you should try if you haven't already (13,000 rupiah).

Point and pick desserts.

Even if you go for the Indonesian quickie main, you should dally a little and be tempted by the range of desserts on display, which average 15,000 rupiah a slice and always look yummo.

The atmosphere is bustling and it's always busy, so the food should be fresh; the staff were quick to move me under cover when it started sprinkling.

My total bill: 46,000 rupiah.

Taman Bambu (Bamboo Garden)

Not quite a bamboo garden but not bad.

About 100 metres down Jalan Plawa, Taman Bambu offers a similar array of point-and-pick dishes -- and that's about it. I know it will sound corny, but the food here seems to be made with a bit more love and care. I had the crumbled fried tempeh, a squid sort-of curry and pickle salad, with a fiery spoonful of extra sambal on the side. The tempeh was lovely and crisp, the squid was tender and the pickles had chillies in them which along with the sambal brought real, cleansing tears to my eyes.

They sadly only have white rice here, but the Coke came in a beautiful glistening bottle (look we all have our boxes to tick, alright?) The ice on the side was chipped from a big chunk -- if you worry about the risks of coming down with a bug, this is probably best avoided but I've been drinking it for years without any problems.

A small selection of dishes available.

Prices here are a lot cheaper -- it can be amazing how they do fall once you are off the tourist strip -- and my total bill here was just 20,000 rupiah for the lot. For a hole-in-the-wall warung, it's a rather pretty little spot, too, looking on to a bit of greenery out the back -- though not quite the bamboo garden the name may have you hoping for.

I should eat more veggies, I know.

The staff are very friendly and overall it's just a bit more of a pleasant, personal experience than Warung Ocha, the latter of which feels like a bit of a factory -- Taman Bambu is definitely worth the extra 100 metre diversion. There's also a very good babi guling place next door if you haven't tried that yet -- we've eaten there, but we're yet to report it as part of our babi guling series.

Warung Bamboo
Jalan Plawa No. 10, Seminyak
T: (0361) 888 1567
Open daily 09:00-22:00 or 23:00ish

Warung Ocha
Jalan Raya Seminyak No. 52
T: (0361) 736 222
Open daily 07:00-22:30

Tags: Taman Bambu, Warung Ocha

Zen Garden on Seminyak's Jalan Mertanadi -- the road that runs up to the jail from Sunset Road -- has only been open a week but shows great promise as a genuine healthy spot to have breakfast or a lingering lunch if you'd like to take a dip in their pool.

Get ready to relax.

Jalan Mertanadi is a walk across Sunset from the north end of Legian -- it's just that bit too far for most tourists to walk, meaning the street, packed with intriguing furniture and homeware shops, doesn't get a lot of foot traffic. In turn this means only a few interesting restaurants on the strip -- Little Green Cafe and a couple of others -- so Zen Garden (with parking, a rarity on this strip) is a bit of a find if you are battling the heat to find something special along this strip.

The menu is focused on healing teas, fresh juices and healthful salads, with a smattering of desserts and coffee available as well (and breakfasts). The teas are wide-ranging and include "respir", a blend of thyme, eucalyptus, rosemary and mint that should help runny noses and coughs according to the menu (20,000 rupiah for a pot); "bio purify", a blend of rooibus and nettle (25,000 rupiah for a pot); and Malang white tea (from Java) for 40,000 rupiah (also in a pot).

Juices (25,000 rupiah) include the Muscle Tonic (apple, pear, orange and lemon) and the Eva's Fertility (orange and watercress) to increase your sexual energy and breast milk production if you're lactating. After shiny skin or silky hair? That can be ordered too; well okay, the juice combinations that promote these, at the least.

I had an apple, carrot and ginger juice, and the waitress clearly explained that the juices all come without water, ice and sugar added -- would I like any on the side? A really great cafe philosophy -- both leaving all three out, and making clear you can have them if you like. The unchilled juice came in a tall glass, and I took my ice on the side and added it to cool it down -- refreshing!

My other meal was a hamburger (kidding, kidding).

They have a decent selection of salads made fresh daily and on view on the way in, in addition to those on the menu. I tried the Mexican bean salad and their cauliflower salad, which came with a slice of bread and extra dressing in a cute little bottle on the side. Both salads were really fresh, though the beans in the Mexican salad I'm pretty sure were tinned, with the cauliflower salad in particular imaginative. The little heads were blanched to a good texture and tossed with sultanas, black sesame, parsley and a few other goodies. The salads of the day range from 20,000 to 65,000 rupiah (one to four choices). [Update: I returned a few days later to see if I could get the cauliflower salad again it was so good... but the salads are on rotation, an eight-day cycle at the moment. I had a delicious rice salad and mushroom and green bean salad instead. Really good.]

The a la carte salads include the Zen Garden chicken salad, which is organic mixed greens with grilled chook, avocado and apple with a yoghurt vinaigrette and beetroot and brie cheese salad, a mix of beetroot, celery, apple and avocado and a slice of grilled bread with brie with Italian vinaigrette (each 65,000 rupiah). There's a burger on the menu for kids.

That thing about eating and swimming is a myth.

The atmosphere is new and modern -- maybe a little suburban feeling, being away from the Seminyak buzz -- with tables and chairs looking onto the pool and garden, which a waiter explained was still waiting on umbrellas and other furniture. With free WiFi and pool use thrown in, you're looking at what is surely set to be an affordable and healthy little spot to stop at while doing some shopping along this stretch of Kerobokan.

If you aren't keen on coming over this side of Sunset Road but you're in the mood for healthy eats, you could try Down to Earth cafe over on Laksmana or its sister outlet, the vegan Zula on Dhyana Pura.

Zen Garden
Jalan Mertanadi, Kerobokan
T: (0361) 911 6979
Open 09:00-17:00, closed Sundays
balizengarden@gmail.com

Tags: healthy food, Zen Garden

I've been on the hunt for Bali's best babi guling for some time now, so when I heard about the babi guling tacos and burritos at Taco Beach (thanks for the tip, Hati Solutions), I figured trying them would really be an essential part of the overall mission, right?

Small is sweet.

Right! So it was off to Taco Beach on Seminyak's Jalan Kunti. The yellow-ochre walls bordered with blue and white decorative tiles lend the tiny six-tables-or-so restaurant a festive Mexican air, without being too theme-parkish. This is a restaurant that's been put together on a budget, and although the menu is short and sweet, it's an imaginative Mexican-Balinese fusion that perhaps unexpectedly works.

We kicked off with a plate of "atomic chile poppers", battered and breaded roasted chillies stuffed with mozzarella and fried (10,000 rupiah each). These were not quite atomic in their heat, but they had a bit of a bite and contrasted distinctly from the oozing cheese and crisp, ungreasy batter. Two per person were plenty as a starter and a great cheese hit -- next time we'll try the nachos (35,000 rupiah).

Yes, it's a babi burrito.

But the main course! I went for the babi guling burrito, a large burrito filled with shredded babi guling (suckling roast pork), avocado and rice plus a side of a sweetly spiced hot chilli sauce (it made the dish), refried beans with a sprinkling of feta, finely chopped fruit salad and a hefty serving of Spanish rice (50,000 rupiah). The serving size was generous and the marriage of Balinese spices with avocado and refried beans... it all worked, a lovely competition of textures and flavours where you, amigo, are the winner.

Chicken space ships. I mean, tacos.

My partner-in-comfort-food-crime went for the grilled chicken taco, a plate of two crunchy taco shells filled with chicken, Spanish rice, sour cream, a salsa verde and small corn and bean salad on the side (40,000 rupiah). It seemed to pass the American-eating-Mexican-food test, at the least.

The complete menu comprises tacos, burritos, a selection of interesting smoothies -- pumpkin pie, anyone? Aha, yes, pumpkin pie smoothie -- and desserts. Alcohol-wise, only beer is on offer as of now, so you'll have to look elsewhere to satisfy that margarita fix. We skipped the smoothies but tucked into a slice of the margarita lime cheese cake and a deep-fried apple pie taquito (15,000 rupiah each).

Hello calories!

An unlikely blend of American country-style apple pie filling rolled in a deep fried crunchy shell reminiscent of a chimichanga, the taquito was topped with caramelised cinnamon and a sprinkling of powdered sugar. The cheesecake had a home-made quality to it, which is to say, it was scrumptious and not full of gelatin the way so many cheesecakes in Bali are (trust me, I've tried). This was lovely, dense and rich, with a chocolate biscuit-y shell and came sprinkled with tiny fragments of candied lime.

When presumably the owner asked us whether we had enjoyed our meal during our desserts I mumbled amid a mouthful that it was great comfort food. "Well, yes, I got very comfortable making that for a few years," he said. I'm not quite sure what he meant, but it sounded about right.

Having never been to Mexico, I can't attest to the authenticity of the Mexican part of the menu, but they do claim that their carne asada beef tacos and baja fish tacos are just like those sold at Tijuana's roadside stands. You'll need to be the judge.

Given the lashings of cheeses and creams in many of these dishes, Taco Beach is well priced for Bali. Staff are friendly and helpful, but be warned that with such few tables, you may have to wait on a busy night (though they do have a delivery menu).

If Taco Beach is full and you're keen on an Indonesian meal instead, perhaps head to Warung Ocha back on Jalan Legian, while cheapie favourite Warung Italia is just a few doors up. And after your meal, just in case you deserve it, and let's face it you probably do, pop into nearby Chill for a foot massage (do call ahead though).

Always in the mood for Mexican and heading elsewhere in Southeast Asia? We've covered Mexican food in Bangkok, Singapore, and Phnom Penh.

Taco Beach
Jalan Kunti 6, Seminyak, Bali
T: (0361) 854 6262
* This piece written with help from my dining partner, Travelfish.org's normally Bangkok-based researcher David Luekens.

Tags: babi guling, Taco Beach

We spent last weekend with friends at Life in Amed, in one of our favourite houses in Bali and decided to take a scenic route home via Sidemen (home to another of our favourite places to stay in Bali). A friend had mentioned stumbling upon Warung Organic on a similar trip, so we kept an eye out for it and sure enough, about a kilometre out of Sidemen proper it was poised and waiting, overlooking the stunning paddy you'll find all around Sidemen.

Well that's a promising start.

The simple bamboo-and-thatch warung really is in the middle of nowhere, but seems to get a reasonable amount of passing traffic thanks to its roadside location. Upstairs are around a dozen tables, with fantastic sweeping paddy views. On a cloudy day, as when we were there, the light shifts with some drama, and the panorama is a kaleidoscope of changing greens.

Look to the left...

The menu is basic, with the usual warung suspects on offer: nasi goreng, satay, noodles, Bali kopi (cowboy style coffee -- don't drink that last mouthful), pisang goreng (fried banana) and Bintang. We tried the pandan crepe, too, filled with grated coconut and slightly caramelised palm sugar, and it was much better than we were expecting -- better than the kopi, actually, on which front you should not get to excited. While I definitely appreciate the difficulties of running a warung in a location like this, the lumpy milk on the side (charged extra for) was a downer -- but in the scheme of things, not a big deal and by far eclipsed by the views. Perhaps just have a Bintang and a plate of satay, and savour this:

Look to the right...

While you're waiting for your meal or snack -- if they are busy it will take a little while -- do head downstairs, past the no-nonsense kitchen where the staff will be doing the cooking -- and take a wander through the paddy.

Or just gaze straight out ahead.

You'll stumble across all those things you're used to seeing from a distance on the road, such as shrines, some with their glory fading photogenically, and colourful floral and food offerings, always a cheerful contrast from the surrounding greens.

You're welcome to walk through the paddy...

This isn't a gourmet stopover by any means -- it's no Sari Organic, where the food is worth the destination and the views are similar -- but if you're travelling to or from Sidemen on the Amed side, this is where you'll want to stop for your (black) coffee break or lunch. Prices are a little higher than your average warung, but it's well worth it. This is exactly the Bali everyone should see.

... but watch out for the rice monsters.

Warung Organik
Br. Iseh, Sinduwati, Sidemen, Bali
T: (0858) 5701 3416
n.selamet@yahoo.com

Tags: Sidemen, warung, Warung Bodag Maliah, Warung Organic

Setting an alarm for 2:00 -- yes, in the morning -- in order to meet up with someone you've met online, in a bid to hunt down Bali's best babi guling: if I do say so myself, that's dedication, dear readers. And it turns out that sometimes the people you meet online are quite normal, and that you can find some very, very good babi guling somewhere on the west coast of Bali, about 30 minutes from Canggu in the deep hours of the morning on traffic-free streets. Where exactly? Ah, there's the rub. It's a secret.

You spin me right round baby right round.

After he commented on our babi guling series, the very generous Dana from Bali Manual offered to take us to find his choice for the best babi guling on the island. So Nicky Sullivan, our visiting Siem Reap researcher, and I arranged to meet Dana and his girlfriend on the road in the early hours of the morning a week or two ago. Thankfully, the pair turned out to be completely normal and completely enthusiastic about their love of babi guling.

Mmm, spicy.

The only thing Dana requested in return for guiding us to this spot, down twists and turns and ultimately down an unmarked footpath into a literal backyard, was that we don't divulge its location. Fat chance we could, Dana! We were lost pretty quickly, though as our intrepid guide pointed out, if you get to the general area (still a longshot) and see a lone motorcyclist on the streets, you can safely bet that this babi guling joint will be their destination, so you could follow them and see... But seriously, Dana said he raised the issue of being more widely advertised to the family that runs the warung, and they prefer not to perhaps become Bali's next Ibu Oka's.

That is an entire piece of crackling coming off the pig's side.

The four of us traipsed into the restaurant just after 3:00. The pig is generally ready to be served at around 4:00 (and is served until around 9:00), but Dana had recommended getting here early so we could see the final stages of the cooking and carving process. This was excellent advice, for it's not very often you actually find babi guling cooked on the premises of the restaurant you eat it in (Warung Babi Guling Sanur, one of my favourite babi guling spots opposite McDonalds on the bypass road, is an exception).

Bamboo stuffing.

This was the true local Balinese babi guling experience -- confronting, for sure, but it must be said, ultimately delicious. For starters, the pig weighed in at around 75 kilograms, which is pretty much equal to my weight. There's something about eating an animal your own weight that makes you think, let me tell you. Then, right next to where the unlucky pig was being handspun into all its caramelised, succulent glory, was the very pen where it had likely spent the final portion of its life, along with a few live pigs snoring away the morning. Talk about juxtaposition.

Two, four, six, eight.

So let me set the scene: the stink of the pen competes with the wafting scent of the just-cooked meat. The flesh is carved off the bone, dropping into plastic trays that are whisked off to the kitchen to be properly prepped and served up with the typical babi guling accompaniments: the sweetmeats, the crackling, the lawar (they kindly asked the bules whether we wanted the fresh-blood lawar version or not). People are speaking in hushed tones. Neighbours are no doubt still sleeping.

By 4:00, more than a dozen in-the-know people aside from us are sitting at the roughly-hewn tables, waiting for their plates of pork and rice to kick off their day, or finish off their night. Life, death, morning, night; people look at the very same things in different ways, don't they?

Seconds, anyone?

The verdict? By far, this was the best babi guling crackling I've had so far, ever; that moment between glass-like crispness and melt in the mouth was the merest of a nanosecond. The sausage, too, which I was once always reluctant to try when it came to babi guling but am now impatient to assess, was rich and flavourful. The rest of the dish was on par with a few of my other favourites... which means that it perhaps pulls into the lead as my current frontrunner on the island. (Though there was no broth, sadly.) This place so far is also the only one where everyone was eating with their hands; they would have happily dragged a spoon out of the depths of the kitchen if we'd asked, but when in Rome, right?

We offered to pick up the tab, and the grand sum for four eating with gusto was change from 130,000 rupiah, including some sweet hot teas on the side and a stack of extra meat and crackling.

Want to go? You'll have to get in touch with Dana. We have a feeling that he'll be happy for the excuse to head back often. And he'll show you how to do it right.

Tags: babi guling

Quite a few little cafes are starting to pop up in the Canggu area around the expat-popular Canggu Club, but all-vegetarian Green Ginger Noodle House, which has been open for quite a while now and is cute beyond cute, is worth seeking out for something a bit different if you're staying in the area (somewhere like Desa Seni, for instance).

Eat... and go on, pick up design tips too.

A celebration of fresh produce and vegetarian goodness (many dishes are also vegan or can be made vegan), the menu here is short and sweet but likely to delight with its imagination.

Come for breakfast and tuck into strawberry and banana pancakes with ice cream and honey (30,000 rupiah, but it will also cost you the lie of telling your kids they shouldn't have treat foods for breakfast) or try a Thai-style omelette with oyster mushrooms, corn, coriander and mung beans (35,000 rupiah, no fibs busted) for something a bit different.

Yum cha on Saturday, fancy lamps every day.

The lunch and dinner menu is Asian-focused and as it says on the label, noodle heavy, though a good starter is the ginger shiitake tofu wontons or spinach shallot dumplings with dipping sauces (30,000 rupiah -- we had both). Follow that up with, for instance, a laksa (baby corn, bok choy and tofu in spicy coconut milk with lime, boiled egg, peanuts, cucumber and chilli, 40,000 rupiah) or Singapore noodles (stir-fried flat rice noodles, tofu and veggies with veggie oyster sauce and sweet soy 40,000 rupiah).

A range of salads are on offer if you're after something lighter -- next time we're trying their take on Thai tofu larb with lime, shallots, chillies and lemongrass in lettuce cups with mint and toasted ground rice.

We haven't had a dessert here yet, and again the offerings are limited, but delectable sounding -- cardamom coffee cake or cranberry/white chocolate muffins, anyone? Like you'd say no.

Specials.

Three cheers too for a simple kids' menu: fried rice with egg, spring onion and a dash of soy, ramen noodles with corn carrot, greens, and sweet soy dressing (30,000 rupiah for each) or for your annoying fussy eater, white bread jam and butter sammies (25,000 rupiah).

Watch the world go by.

Though the food offerings are yummo, this is the sort of spot to take a book and while away an afternoon, or to meet friends for a catch up over a drink -- nobody's going to be elbowing you out of this sleepy but stylish little joint.

Get your fresh juice done as a frappe (20,000 rupiah), or for what sounds like more of a meal, tuck into a papaya, oat and coconut smoothie (25,000 rupiah). We can vouch for the coffee -- espresso arrangements from 25,000 rupiah, or go for a pot of chai -- slow brewed milk with cinnamon, clove, ginger and cardamom (25,000 rupiah).

It's the little things (this is a tile detail).

There's no service charge and no tax on the menu prices. Saturdays are yum cha days, but we've yet to try this, while Indonesian classes are offered but details were sketchy on our last visit, so pop in to see what's happening while you're on holiday if you're keen. A limited range of homewares and clothes are for sale as well -- you'll be inspired by the way this place has been put together, a sort of festival of Bali meets shabby chic. The kids have a little bit of space to run around and the staff are friendly.

Not a bad brunch-y spread.

This isn't the spot for a fancy meal or breathtaking views (try Om for the latter), but if you're in the mood for some healthy vegetarian food, relaxed style and friendly service -- particularly with kids in tow -- Green Ginger Noodle House fits the bill.

Green Ginger Noodle House
Jalan Pantai Brawa 46, Canggu, Bali
T: (0361) 844 6640

Tags: Green Ginger Noodle House, vegetarian

I'll be honest with you: the first time Mr Travelfish and I arrived in Bali on a weekend trip from Jakarta we were exceedingly underwhelmed by the beach along Seminyak, which was strewn with debris and not quite the colour of tropical beaches in the brochures. Sure, it's volcanic sand, not dirt, but still... And it did take us a few trips before Bali started to grow on us. These days we still aren't really regular beach goers in this area (we much prefer the Bukit beaches, which we've covered here), but we do head to Seminyak for breakfasts or lunches when we've visitors in town or for something a bit different. Expensive? Sure, relatively, if you head somewhere like Potato Head; but not necessarily...

Debris problems... but tides were unusually high.

One of the loveliest spots for a cheap beachside lunch in Seminyak is Mano, right next to the more salubrious and much pricier La Lucciola. Well okay, they're maybe about 100 metres apart, on opposite sides of the car park for Petitenget temple (with babi guling just across the road, by the way, if you are keen on trying that particular Balinese dish while in this area). While La Lucciola is great for a special occasion, it's not so great for the hip pocket on a regular basis. Mano, on the other hand, though a little pricier than warungs, isn't too bad at all. If you can find something cheaper in this prime beachfront area, please do let us know about it and we shall investigate.

Definitely beachside.

During our last visit a month or so ago, the surf was really pounding and tides were extremely high; I'd never seen the water line so high here and the surf in fact was lapping at the retaining wall outside the restaurant. It also meant a lot of debris was floating around, so, as it was when we first arrived in Bali, the view was unappealing. On a normal day, however, it's pretty fine. (Still, let's not pretend Bali doesn't have some environmental problems -- especially trash issues.)

What the sign says.

But back to Mano. We're talking decidedly no-frills, with a few wooden tables and chairs under a roof, but otherwise open to the elements, a few little bales where you can sit cross legged, and a few spots out in the sun during the day -- save those for dinner or sunset, I'd say.

Buddhas, boats and ... bits and pieces.

On the menu? It's really a range of what you typically see on many classic cheapie "international" menus, but with a few nice quirks. A basic drinks range includes juices, coffees and smoothies -- a latte is 17,000 rupiah, a yoghurt honey smoothie is 21,000. Select from Indonesian dishes such as soto ayam (chicken soup, 19,000 rupiah), salads such as tomato and feta in a basil pesto sauce (27,000 rupiah) or a guacamole salad (lettuce, mashed avocado, chopped tomato and garlic bread, 26,000 rupiah). International mains include good old spag bol (42,000 rupiah) and a margarita pizza (39,000 rupiah). It's all very old-school local feeling, with simple flatware and so on, and friendly, obliging service.

Pretty touches.

Come to Mano for a lazy meal when you feel like breathing in sea-spray air and savouring an ocean view, but you don't want to fork out for it. I wouldn't travel across the island to dine here, but I would check it out if I was staying at a hotel in the Petitenget/Seminyak area and was on too tight a budget to splurge at the fancypants neighbours along here.

Mano Beach Side Cafe
Right hand side of Petitenget Temple car park (parking 2,000 rupiah)

Tags: Mano

It's not often you return to a restaurant in Bali to find it's truly doing better than it was before; too often you have a lovely night out, return six months later and find that the fickle clientele has moved on, seduced by something shinier and trendier that has opened down the road. So it was a pleasant surprise to find that the lovely Sardine, on my first visit in more than a year, has expanded and has an even more convivial vibe than before.

So pretty.

We turned up a weekend or two ago without a reservation, and snared a table for two by the entrance. The restaurant was pretty much full the entire time we lingered there; being near the host desk, we even got to hear an Australian guy insist he was "a really famous Australian footballer -- so do you have a table for us?"

Can you see the famous Australian footballer?

Sardine sits on Jalan Petitenget in Seminyak/Kerobokan overlooking that patch of paddy between the road and Umalas that seems to be fast disappearing, forsaking rice for bamboo scaffolding as the concrete jungle encroaches. At night, the view is of beautiful lights and lit up umbrellas stretching into the distance, sort of like a study in distance points for art students. It really is pretty. The restaurant itself is set under a soaring bamboo structure, open at the sides to the elements, lending it a casual al fresco feel; an upscale blend of back-to-nature, historical Bali, breezy and chic.

Fiery entrance. Doesn't scare away footballers.

We liked the local twist on the cocktails -- Bunga rosella cosmopolitan, a mix of vodka, rosella infusion and orange juice (90,000 rupiah), plus an enticing range of arak cocktails -- arak madu with arak, honey, fresh lime and nutmeg for 60,000 rupiah or a fancier espresso arak martini, a mix of arak, kahlua, espresso and cocoa powder for 85,000 rupiah. Alcohol is prohibitively expensive in Bali; these prices are on par or less than upper end restaurants.

Historical snap of Bali.

I am a sucker for a beautifully written menu; I think many people are and more restaurants should hire writers to do their menus, to be frank. Doesn't "Papua crab tower" sound better than say just "crab", evoking images of crabs scuttling in rainforest-filtered streams atop difficult-to-reach mountains? Yeah, sucker, I know. But the crab, mixed with avocado slices, tomato and mango, nestled in a papaya and lime coulis (85,000 rupiah -- plus 8% service, 10% tax on all prices listed here) was really, really good. Obviously if you don't like fruit in savoury dishes, this is so not for you, but if you do; goodness, I could have had two.

Crab. Ahem, Papua crab tower.

But my memory of Sardine from earlier visits was that the sardines were good -- and I'm partial to sardines in Bali as I know they're caught fresh offshore (or at least, I can buy them fresh from my oddly named fishmonger -- so oddly named I can never actually remember it -- on the bypass, as well as Dijon, just in case you're self-catering and must have fresh fish.)

So I elbowed Mr Travelfish into having the grilled sardines (with steamed potatoes and tomato salsa, 90,000 rupiah) which I do believe he enjoyed, while I had as a main the starter of smoked sardines with warm potato salad and caper berries -- big fat juicy delectable caper berries, if you must know (65,000 rupiah).

Mmmmmm.

It was indeed a little piece of Scandinavian delight, though as the fish were from nearby, perhaps I need to adjust my world view a little.

The overall Sardine menu is seafood-heavy -- grilled octopus with warm chick pea salad and lemon and red wine vinaigrette (80,000 rupiah) was another dish I could have easily checked out for you, dear reader, else the pan-seared diver scallops with mushroom ravioli, parsely truffle emulsion, with oven-cured tomato and herb relish (235,000 rupiah) could also have done with attention. Do you need me to return, dear reader? Do you?

Another seafood dish was the grilled lobster (over coffee firewood -- see above about the money good menu writers bring in to a restaurant) with organic Bedugal veggies (120,000 rupiah per 100g); this Bedugal veggies thing is important.

Tick tock.

Sardine has its own patch at the Organic Farm Bali, along with a clutch of other Bali restaurants who prefer to remain anonymous, apparently fearful of their competition catching on and doing the same thing. We give Sardine big points for firstly doing this, and secondly, publicising their move.

If you're not into seafood, meatier and a couple of veggie options are available -- single chicken, duck and tenderloin/lamb dishes or a veggie risotto will satisfy non-seafood lovers.

We did occasionally feel a little rushed by over-eager waitstaff wanting to take our plates away before we were done; I guess that comes with a full restaurant.

Simple.

Wine isn't cheap here -- though nor is it anywhere else, so don't let this be a black mark -- but you can get a bottle of Hatten rose for 300,000 rupiah. The average bottle is around the 750-800,000 mark, with a glass of Oddfellows 2009 chardonnay 110,000 rupiah -- so I think you're better off going for a bottle or sticking to no alcohol -- a small Bintang is 40,000 rupiah, the same price as a raspberry mint iced tea.

We didn't go for the desserts, but we would have loved to linger at the lounge fronting the paddy. Gosh, we really are going to have to go back for that, aren't we?

Sardine
Jalan Petitenget 21
T: (0361) 738 202;
http://www.sardinebali.com/
Closed Mondays