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

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

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

Blindingly white with a small but glittering freeform pool, lovingly decorated Villa Kresna is hidden away on the beach-bound spur of Jalan Sarinade, a five-minute walk from the beach end of Jalan Abimanyu. A few years ago Villa Kresna lost around half of their land and a couple of years later it underwent a complete … read the full post

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? Right! So it was off to … read the full post

Call me mother of the year but when I go to an indoor play area in Bali, I’m hoping for three things: good coffee, decent air-con, and five minutes’ peace. At still relatively new Peekaboo in Sanur, aimed at kids under nine, I mostly get all three — Mr 3 still wants me to play … read the full post

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 … read the full post

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, … read the full post