There’s a new kid on Bali’s Mexican block, and she’s a beauty. Well located on Jalan Drupadi just around the corner from Eat Street, Lacalaca offers a short but beautiful Mexican menu in pretty but not silly surrounds. Come here for the quesadilla, stay for the bloody yummo habaneros sauce. We popped in here a … read the full post

Many people travelling to Indonesia enter through the capital, Jakarta, which immediately challenges visitors to move on find the next location check out. Of course different people choose different destinations based on the type of journey they are on, but the difficulty of where to head next remains the same. Some jump on the first … read the full post

We’ve covered some cheap Indonesian eats in the Legian area of Seminyak already, so now we’re turning our attention to the Laksmana/Petitenget loop, where despite the ever-growing numbers of fancy boutiques and pricey restaurants, you’ll still find some bargain eats. A few years ago I interviewed chefs here in Bali about where they like to … read the full post

Joli is a recent addition to the growing dining scene along Jalan Bumbak in Umalas, a still mainly rural area of Bali just north of Seminyak where luxury villas are now springing up like rice sprouts a week after planting. But with the influx of foreigners come the restaurants, and the simple French restaurant Joli … read the full post

I’m often asked about my favourite places in Java and I often reply with expected responses such as “Bromo — it is spectacular” and “Dieng — a mystical paradise in the mountains”. But I also mention places such as Karimunjawa and Ujung Genteng, both of which receive very few foreign tourists, but are stunning places … read the full post

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 … read the full post

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 … read the full post

One of the great things about Indonesia is the diversity of the landscape. One of the great things about the Dieng Plateau is that it looks and feels completely different to almost anywhere else in Indonesia. Sitting up in the mountains about 150 kilometres northwest of Yogyakarta, the Dieng Plateau is absolutely stunning: rolling hills … read the full post

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 … read the full post

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. Jalan Mertanadi is a … read the full post