Warungs in Nusa Lembongan, Indonesia

Nusa Lembongan is only 25 minutes away from Bali by speed boat.  It is a small island that makes for a peaceful getaway from the hustle and bustle of Bali.  The islands main income is seaweed farming which mostly goes to the Asian cosmetics industry.  You can see it through the crystal clear waters of the island.  The beaches here are much nicer than mainland Bali and  lends itself to activities such as surfing, snorkelling and diving.  

 

While spending time taking in the nature and the quietness we of course had to eat.  Again we opted out of the resort restaurant for every meal and wandered the island for local warungs.

 

 

The first one we went to is called Pondok Baruna Warung.  This is what we had:

 

Gado gado, $3.  Lightly blanched vegetables with tempe (soy bean cake), tofu, egg with peanut sauce.  Standard dish, the peanut sauce was smooth and rather sweet.

 

Vegetable soup with noodles, $2.50.  A broth which was a bit more flavoured with onion.  The noodles were vermicelli.  A more filling entree, still very yummy.

 

 

Kare Ayam, $3.70.  I had to try a curry.  It was very mild and not very hot which I was a bit dissappointed about.  It was like a mild Chinese curry.  The addition of the side sprouts and beans were really buttery and to me was the best bit about the dish. 

 

Ikan Bakar, $4.  Fish fillet grilled and served with Sambal Matah (chillies, shallots and kaffir lime leaves).  This was much better than the chicken.  What made this dish was the Sambal.  It was so intense and hot but went so nicely with the fish.  We weren't sure what type of fish it was but it was of medium firmness and tasted a bit like ling fillet.  The hot chilli lingered around for the whole meal. 

 

There were lots of other dishes here on offer I just wish I had more time to go back and try them all.  Everything is just so cheap and healthy.



Warung 99 Mealhouse - Chinese style, this was stated on the wall.  This was another warung where we had our final lunch before heading home.  It was also like a shopfront selling groceries.  The menu was small with all the traditional items listed, but as we found out, did very much have the Chinese twist to it.

 



 

Ayam Goreng.  Yay! . . .  No!  I was expecting fried chicken as that was what it said on the menu but to our suprise it was fried chicken softened by a heap of Chinese spinach in a typical Chinese style gravy.  It was still tasty though despite the look of it!  It had the flavour of this red spice that I can't quite put my finger on, will have to ask my mum about it but it usually is pared with chicken. 

 



 

Vegetable soup with meat.  The meat we presume was pork bits.  The soup was really refreshing and packed with spinach.  It was reminiscent of what my mum cooked us at least once a week to build up our immune system.  It was definitely less flavourful as the past Indonesian soups we had.  This soup is usually just a heap of greens, garlic, and meat bones with some sesame oil boiled in water. 

 

You can see we also ordered Nasi Goreng, which was just standard. The meal was overall a bit disappointing, but at least we tried a different take on Indonesian home-style cooking we would never have otherwise had.

 

I didn't copy down the prices but it was cheaper than the other warungs, which is ridiculous! 

 

We motorbiked around the island and there were other local places to eat and lots of goodies to be tried.  If we ever go back I'm sure things would change as it is a fast developing island attracting more and more visitors.  I recommend going before it turns into Bali.

 

 



Chiswick Restaurant – 65 Ocean Street, Woollahra

A few weeks ago I finally went to my favourite Aussie chef’s latest restaurant Chiswick.  Matt Moran co owns this with Peter Sullivan who, for those who don’t know owns the renowned Aria in Sydney and in Brisbane as well.

After watching Matt on Masterchef over the weeks I made a booking to go to lunch at Chiswick with my sister.

The tables are quite close together and so you can hear the next table’s conversation quite clearly but I don’t think the 60-year-old wannabe foodie sitting next to us knew that.  From the moment she asked for her chair to be swapped to a padded chair from a wooden slat chair I knew she was going to be painful!  Lucky I wasn’t one of the waiters, who by the way were tolerant of her as they should be and in general were attentive and what waiters should be.

The menu is designed for sharing and so to start off with I had to have the crisp buttermilk chicken with cabbage and harissa mayonnaise.  When this came out the painful lady commented to her partner, “oh my that is not a very appetizing dish, it looks burnt and not refined.  It’s not like Aria at all . . .” blah blah blah.  She gave me the total shits and I wanted to say something but I held my tongue.  Does she not know we are not in Aria we are in Chiswick, it’s a totally different concept you idiot!   

Trying not to think of what I would say back to her I loudly enjoyed my delicious chicken.  There were four generous pieces which were all crispy, very juicy and tender inside.  The crunchy cabbage was a good intermission between the pieces of chicken and the creaminess of the harissa mayonnaise.  I’ve never had this before; the mild spiciness along with the smokiness was so good with the chicken.  I rate this dish 9/10.  Take that old lady!  You will never know what you missed and dissed on!

For main we shared the orecchiette with spanner crab, snow peas and chilli and the roasted snapper fillet, celeriac, walnuts and bois boudran sauce with a side of steamed broccoli (from the garden) with garlic and chilli.   Oh which reminds me to share another quote from the offending lady when she was perusing the menu “Oh I don’t like broccoli I only like broccolini. ” Rolling my eyes big time!!!

Anyway. . .  as soon as the orrechiette came closer and closer and landed on our table the aroma was amazing, the waft of garlic, the light sprinkling of parmesan, just gorgeous.  It looked so pretty as well!  I was also very happy to see actual chunks of the spanner crab and not just little shreds of meat.  It tasted like a fresh spring day in southern Italy.  The crunch of the snow peas and the saltiness from the crab with the orecchiette was the almost perfect mouthful of pasta I have ever eaten.  9/10.

The snapper didn’t have quite as much aroma but looked more impressive!  The bois boudran sauce which (I had to look this up) in a nutshell is made up of vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, tobasco, chives, tarragon, shallots was a strong thick sauce but you can still taste the snapper perfectly.   The side accompaniment of celeriac and walnuts combo had a soggy but soggy in a good way texture with some crunch and I’m not sure what the dressing was but it was slightly creamy and with the walnuts was a really unique taste.  It has left me craving celeriac and wanting that salad again, and yes with the edible flowers too. 8.5/10

We were much too full to have dessert, bummer.  

The old couple next to us didn’t have dessert either and left in a hurry “ it’s too loud in here, lets have a coffee somewhere quieter.”  Good riddance!

I will definitely be back as I really want to order the Moran family grass fed beef and the roasted lamb.  I saw the lamb go to a number of tables on a big wooden platter and that looked so hearty!  

As I took in the atmosphere sans old hag, I can say that the beautiful interiors of Chiswick looks like a dining room from the Hamptons with the perfect green lawn out front, and a back view to the luscious vege and herb garden.  It was a bit loud and cramped but I guess that’s what creates the buzz and the family get together craziness vibe, amped up with the mmm’s and aaah’s of the delicious tasting produce that Matt and his team put out.  I totally recommend this place for some top quality nosh in a classy yet comfortable environment that is if you don’t get sat next to the lady I sat next to!

How to make "zjush" up leftover chicken

With some leftover roast chicken I wrapped some bacon, well tried to with a skewer stick and browned it in sage infused olive oil after I had fried some leaves up first.  I made use of the sage growing in the garden of the in-laws used the fried leaves as garnish and also used fresh ones under the bacon so the flavour could go into the chicken as well as the bacon. 

To make the sauce I just added some white wine, chicken stock, some more sage leaves and water to the pan after removing the chicken.  If I had garlic I would have added that too.  The sauce was delicious and was needed as already cooked chicken tends to be a bit dry especially if re-heating.  I forget how tasty sage is.  Mixed with the combo made in heaven, that is chicken and bacon, this was a good Easter Sunday dinner.

This was the first time I made this and it was delish together with some fresh salad on the side.