The London Foodie Goes to Bali - Lovina

Having enjoyed the cultural hub of Ubud (reviewed here and here) and then relaxed and dived for a short while in Amed (reviewed here), we drove for around 3 hours north-west along the coast road to reach the northern town of Lovina.

Lovina is a relatively new name coined in the 1950s by the last Raja of Buleleng with an eye to future tourism-based development. It started with a small lodge built on his own land, named Lovina. Today, Lovina (pronounced 'Lobina', there being no 'v' in the Indonesian language, Bahasa) is used as the name for seven villages, which merge into each other along a seven mile stretch of the main road running along the north coast to the west of Singaraja: Temukus, Kalibukbuk, Anturan, Pemaron, Tukad Mungga, Banyualit and Kaliasem.

Kalibukuk is the main hub of this area and makes up the town centre. The whole stretch of coast here is fringed by quite narrow black sand beaches which are generally safe for swimming. The waters of Bali's north coast, in contrast to the crashing surf of the south, are relatively calm with a dream-like quality at sunset.

The Most Beautiful Sunsets of Bali at Lovina Beach

Diving, snorkelling and dolphin watching are the main activities, but perhaps above all else, this is an area in which to relax and take in a very slow, traditional pace of life. I am told it can get a little crowded in July and August, but outside that peak season, this is a quiet part of the island.

Where to Stay

The Damai

We stayed at The Damai. A stunning hotel, The Damai has 14 villas, varying in size from the intimate to the palatial, each set in a lush tropical garden and decorated with stylish furniture, fabrics and artefacts from Bali. The Damai is owned by a Danish hotelier who is, I am sure, behind the hotel's elegantly refined design.

Ours was a deluxe villa, with a small veranda surrounded by a fragrant herb garden. The rooms had  fine hardwood furniture and local antiques, creating a simple, elegant tropical style but also including all mod cons such as TV, DVD and Wi-Fi. The large open air bathroom had a stone jacuzzi filled with water from a local stream, and an outside shower in a private walled garden brimming with lush greenery.

The grounds were extensive, and tastefully lit in the evenings.  There were several different gardens and a spa, as well as water tanks to keep live crayfish.  Near the reception area and bar, the swimming pool overlooked the hillside leading down to the beach far below.
  

We also had a look at the magnificent Umah Raja Villa, the estate's largest at 310 sq metres, with  a master bedroom and 2 junior bedrooms, all connecting to their own en suite bathroom. The living room with dining area was luxuriously decorated with antiques from Bali, Java and other parts of Indonesia, as well as having fine locally crafted furniture. Outside, there was a large veranda, balcony, covered pavilion and two private swimming pools.

Table for Two Please!

The hotel is set into a hillside overlooking Lovina, and it is approximately a two mile journey to the beach area with its bars and restaurants. This was not a problem for us as we had a hire car, but otherwise any trip into town would require a taxi (not a big expense in Bali, where most short trips cost £1).

We enjoyed the tranquillity and beauty of the hotel's grounds, and mainly lounged around by the large swimming pool, reading, enjoying a few cocktails at the bar and relaxing. The Damai is one of the most elegant hotels we experienced in Bali, and I would thoroughly recommend it to anyone visiting Lovina.

Where to Eat

Le Jaenzan

We ate at this very good restaurant on the coast road in Kalibukbuk. We were met by the head chef and owner Ketut Tangkas Adnyana as we entered the restaurant. He trained in many restaurants (including at The Damai), as well as spending several years working in cruise liner restaurants in the USA, before setting up his own business in 2010.

After an amuse bouche, we had pan fried scallops with tomato tamarillo chutney, and dill butter sauce (£3.30), and homemade pork sausages - served with green salad, tomato, fried peanuts and honey/oyster dressing (£3) which were both equally delicious. The presentation of the dishes was also noteworthy, like nothing I had seen in Bali thus far.

The Tuna Carpaccio - yellow fin tuna, beetroot mayo, green salad and pickled vegetables (£3) was next, the fish was perfectly seared and then encrusted in green salsa, it was a refreshing and well made dish.

For main course, we had a baby fillet of red snapper served on a bed of roasted aubergine, garlic bread and a herby honey sauce (£5.30). Dr G decided to go for the pork ribs marinated in miso, grilled and served with yellow rice, aubergine, vegetables and pork jus (£5.30).

The sea lobster flambéed in Pernod with grilled tomatoes, new potatoes, salad and lobster sauce (£8.70) was also magnificent, and a real steal at that price tag!

This was an excellent meal, made even more special by the attention and care that the owner showed us by coming to chat to us and explain each dish in detail. Ketut, the owner, is obviously a very passionate and skilled chef and I hope to return one day.

The Damai Restaurant

The award-winning restaurant at The Damai is said to be Lovina's best restaurant, and indeed one of the best in Bali. It serves organic vegetables and meats from its own small farm, together with a fresh catch from the sea and imported delicacies.

Breakfast was very good, with Indonesian, Continental, American and Japanese options.  We sampled all four during our two days, and all were very good although the American was the weakest, Japanese (mahi-mahi smoked in green tea and smoked, miso soup, omelette roll, fish cake and steamed rice ) and Indonesian  (nasi goreng or mie goreng and tropical fruits) the best.   There was a chef who would prepare and cut whichever tropical fruit guests selected and present them very temptingly - dragon fruit, star fruit, snake fruit and guava among others.

Japanese Breakfast at The Damai

We also had dinner at The Damai one evening. There are several set and à la carte menus, but we opted for the 3 course Balinese set menu (£25 per person) which was excellent.  This started with Sate Burung Dara - sweet basil marinated pigeon grilled on a lemongrass stick, with young fern tips and long bean salad, and fresh lime.
  

We then slipped in a dish from the  à la carte menu - young jackfruit steak, peppered and pan-fried, served with roast beetroot, red wine braised shallots, and pommes allumette (£10).
  

The main course was Kare Be Siap - a fragrant coconut curry with chicken, oriental squash and pak choy served with organic Balinese rice and fried garlic.

Dessert was a spectacular Dadar Gulung - thin pancakes rolled around coconut and palm sugar, coconut ice cream, vanilla tuille, snake fruit salad and lemon grass syrup.

Singaraja Street Food Market

East of Lovina Beach, Singaraja is home to a night food market, renowned in the area for its sates and other Balinese muslim favourites.

We sampled a few savoury local dishes including goat soup, stuffed roti canai and a selection of sates.

They were all quite delicious particularly the chicken sate with a creamy peanut sauce which cost us only a few pennies!

It is a very simple market, amenities are minimal but it is a good opportunity to eat with and like the locals.

What to Do

Visit the Bedugul Region

Set in the mountains around 90 minutes' drive inland from Lovina, this is a very scenic area to visit, with terraced rice paddies, lakes, waterfalls and temples all worth a look. We visited Munduk to have a look at one of its several waterfalls. It is also possible to arrange guided treks to many of the sites through the Puri Lumbung Cottages in Munduk. A few miles further south, there are two large lakes, Tamblingan and Buyan, which are worth a look.

Lovina is known all over Bali for its early morning dolphin watching boat trips.  There are many in the town centre who will offer to take visitors on such trips.  It seemed, from various sources, to be pot luck whether this resulted in a trip of a lifetime among a school of friendly dolphins, or the reckless pursuit of a possible sighting in the distance, in which a series of boats chase each other rather than dolphins.  We decided to give it a miss.

Travel Essentials

The Damai
Jalan Damai, Kayuputihlovina
Bali
E mail: info@damai.com
www.damai.com

Le Jaenzan
Jalan Serirt Lovina, Kalibukbuk, Bali, Indonesia
E mail: info@restaurant-lejaenzan-lovina-bali.com
www.restaurant-lejaenzan-lovina-bali.com

Puri Lumbung Cottages
Munduk Village 81152
North Bali
E-mail : info@purilumbung.com
www.purilumbung.com

Polpo Venetian Banquet at Wilderness Festival

Words & Photography by Simeen Kadi

Name: Wilderness Festival - http://www.wildernessfestival.com/

Where: Cornbury Park, Charlbury, Oxfordshire.

When: 8th to 11th of August 2013. Polpo banquet Lunch and Dinner on Saturday the 10th August 2013.

About: In a summer awash (often literally) with festivals up and down the country, Wilderness stands out for its combination of jaw dropping setting and the way it joyously celebrates all of our senses. Gorgeous, eye-popping acts, great music and some of the best food in the country all come together for a glorious weekend in the Cotswolds.

During the day you can swim in the lakes, sip champagne in the lakeside spa, go horse riding or even attend a talk on astrophysics or visit the Museum of Charles Dickens.

And, after all that exertion of body and mind, sit back and luxuriate in a Venetian banquet by Russell Norman and his talented gang at Polpo. A now legendary Soho restaurant serving authentic dishes from the Veneto in a laid back environment with killer cocktails, Polpo brought a new edgy, urban take on Italian food with its gritty styling and casual cichetti menu when it opened in London a few years ago. At Wilderness, Norman and his executive chef, Tom Oldroyd, will be bringing their popular cuisine to a decadent Venetian setting for both lunch and dinner. Complete with wine and Venetian masks for the highlight of the festival – the Midnight Masked Ball.

What we ate: I enjoyed a taster of Polpo’s Venetian banquet recently and so, if you want the experience to be a culinary surprise, look away now. Over a lazy afternoon punctuated with Aperol Spritz, we were treated to a feast of Venetian cooking.

We started with a brace of Crostini - Creamed Salt Cod and Rocket and Walnut Pesto. Both were creamy and bursting with flavour. Grissini wrapped with Fennel Salami and grilled Radicchio were the best way to eat dried bread sticks that anyone has ever come up with.

The Arancini that followed were golf ball-sized and perfectly crispy with just the right amount of gooey, melted mozzarella binding the risotto. The Fennel and Endive Salad was crunchy and packed a citrus punch – a real palate stunner.

I loved the Mackerel Tartare, lively and bright mackerel combined with a zesty dressing and served with paper thin Carta di Musica with which to scoop it up.

And then came the Venetian speciality – Risi e Bisi, served up by Russell Norman himself.

Risi e Bisi is a traditional feast served when the first of the fresh peas are out and Polpo will be making good use of fresh, local peas at the Wilderness banquet. Not to be confused with its cousin risotto, this rice dish is creamy and more soupy, flavoured with a good stock, parmesan and the peas.

The Lamb & Salsa Verde which followed was perfectly cooked with a tinglingly fresh and herby sauce.

Dishes were well balanced, with light and healthy mackerel cancelling out the carb-heavy rice – well, in my book, anyway. We finished with the lightest, airiest Tiramisu which did, indeed, pick us up.

The Polpo banquet is a very good reason to attend the Wilderness Festival but tickets are almost sold out, so hurry.

The Wilderness Festival is all about pleasing and indulging the senses so you can expect excellent cuisine from top chefs and brilliant new cooks as well as great drinks at every turn. And, of course, all the excitement of midnight circus acts, great bands, ballet, Shakespeare and even talks by Bonnie Greer and Damian Barr. I think it’s the best festival in the country, but I won’t be shouting too loudly about it.

London Restaurant Reviews - Benares

Words & Photography by Marina Benjamin

Name: Benares

Where: 12a Berkeley Square House, Berkeley Square, London, W1J 6BS, http://www.benaresrestaurant.com/

Cost: Lunch and pre-theatre menus offer diners 2 courses for £29, and 3 courses for £35. The a la carte menu is pricier, with starters at £13-£18 and mains around £30-50. The tasting menu is better value at £78 for 5 courses (plus £55 with wine flight).

About: Benares is 10 years old this year, and yet the feel of the place is right up to date. A recent refurbishment has left it with a slick, low-lit, nightclub-y feel. The bar bustles with after-work traffic, and the street-facing first-floor restaurant is packed. Chef-patron Atul Kochhar clearly has much to celebrate. And he’s doing so with a 10th anniversary tasting menu that features some of his ‘greatest hits’. Because I’d never eaten at the mothership – only at Kochhar’s satellite restaurant Colony (which he opened in partnership in 2010 and left in 2011) – I was determined not to be put off by recent reviews complaining of too much fried fare, some of it greasy. I need not have worried. The tasting menu was a polished procession of well thought out food, executed to a very high standard, each dish offering a deep dive into a complex underworld of spice, heat and aromatic flavour.

But first things first. I began in the bar (as leathery as a luxury car) with a cocktail. A passion-fruit chutney martini – sweet and fulsome on the tongue, but with a cheeky after-bite of chilli. It was delicious, and I could happily have knocked back a second glass. In fact, drinking spicy martinis was just the thing to do at the chef’s table where we were soon seated – a cozy private dining room, with a direct view onto the busy kitchens.

What we ate: My highly amusing bouche was a mini ice-cream cone piped full of cold, super-smooth, terracotta-coloured chicken tikka mousse. It was clever and surprising, without being overwrought.

The only down note of the entire meal was served next. It was Kochhar’s signature crispy soft shell crab, served with Piri-Piri lobster cocktail. Why was it a downer? Well, it was too mildly spiced for starters, the Piri-Piri sauce bland and indistinct. And the soft shell crab was, alas, a little greasy. My problem is that having grown used to genuinely crispy tempura batter, a heavier, less toothsome, and seemingly gram-flour based batter, didn’t really cut it. The best I can say for the dish is that the mild Piri-Piri mayo cut the enthusiastically salted crab.

From here on, the meal was faultless. A smart Asian twist on ‘surf n turf’ married a juicy lump of fennel-infused lamb chop to a fat butterflied prawn, bursting with mustardy, garlicky, yogurt-y zing. A crisp-fried fillet of sea bass, bathed in a spiced coconut sauce, was melt-in-the-mouth delicious, and nicely paired with a slightly crunchy mix of vermicelli and cabbage.

The food was so bright on the palate, so light and more-ish, that I didn’t even notice the complete absence of Indian staples such as rice and bread, until the next dish arrived. This was the closest thing to a main course I’ve ever eaten on a tasting menu, and it was great to have something as hearty as lamb, because it turned the meal into something more than a grazing session. And because the previous fare had been so light, I had plenty of room to indulge. This dish just sang. Slices of pan-roasted lamb, still pink, were served alongside a samosa filled with braised shoulder meat, and a hot potato and broad bean mound. To accompany this there was a miniature jug of Rogan Josh sauce and a plate of feather-light naan, agleam with garlicky ghee. Every mouthful of this dish exploded with flavour; rich meatiness, surprisingly sharp Rogan Josh sauce, and comforting buttery naan. Perfection itself. If you’d asked me at the time, I’d have said that I could die happy there and then. But then, writing this now, a couple of weeks later, I’m desperate to eat it again.

Dessert was also sensational. Unpretentiously served in a glass tumbler, it was a layered confection of hibiscus and tea jelly and raspberry puree, topped with a big dollop of steamed yogurt blended with condensed milk (called Bhapa Dhoi) that was infused with rose petals. It was delicate and creamy, with just the right textural lift provided by a freeze-dried raspberry crumb.

What we drank: According to the sommelier, the best wines to drink with Indian food are light and fruity. Or, as was the case here, lighter and fruitier versions of wines normally associated with big flavours. Thus the crab was matched with a crisp and appley Viognier (sold at £46); the bass came with a delightful – and uncloying – Alsatian Gewurztraminer; and the lamb was served with a berry-rich Cotes de Roussillon from the Corbieres region. A bolder pairing matched the Tandoori meats with a 2011 St Laurent, from the Neusiedlersee wine-growing region on the eastern shore of lake Neusiedl, in Austria. It was soft, elegant, fruity, and very smoky on the nose, which worked well with food from the tandoor, and it had a sophisticated, slightly sour aftertaste. This wine was well worth its £52 price tag. With the Bhapa Dhoi we drank a 2009 Chenin Blanc, from the Loire. At £70 this was the priciest wine in the flight, bold, floral, and clean tasting.

Likes:  Benares offers a slick and accomplished dining experience with great foodie punch. The unusually thoughtful matching of wines with flair to food of uncompromising character is a real strength.

Dislikes:  Occasionally, dishes such as the soft shell crab with Piri-Piri lobster cocktail don’t quite meet expectations.

Verdict: Benares will no doubt be around for another ten years, still serving cutting-edge modern Indian food. But the new tasting menu is only available until September; so if, like me, you’ve been looking for an excuse to visit Benares, this is it.

Around the World in 193 Courses

Words & Photography by Felicity Spector

Now I’ve never had Liberian plantain upside down ginger cake before, nor Omani sweetened condensed milk pudding, still less a Timman Jazar rice and carrot based dish from Iraq. Certainly not all together, and all before 7 o clock in the morning in a virtually deserted Soho restaurant.

But this was part of the “Around the World in 193 Courses” challenge, an attempt to create the world’s longest tasting menu, with one dish from every country across the globe.

A courageous group from the continental food company Unearthed had signed up for the full 24 hours, pledging to try every single one of the dishes. By the time I got there for the last two hours, they were still going strong - just about - the endless succession of dishes washed down with some very large cups of coffee.

Eight different dishes had been brought out every hour, on the hour, prepared over the previous few days by team led by an army of trained chefs - aided by a legion of helpers: anything which could be prepared in advance was chopped, baked and plated up ahead of time. This was truly a military operation - not least a tribute to the chefs who managed to keep cooking for the entire 24 hours, even after some exhausting days of preparation. In total, it took five chefs 130 hours in the kitchen to create the entire menu, which included more than 150 separate ingredients.

Recipes came from all sorts of sources - I’d supplied one from America - pumpkin pie - although I missed the chance to try it. “That one got eaten HOURS ago”, I was told. Some of the more obscure dishes came from embassies, or NGOs which work in the developing world. Some had been a revelation - the Chilean Pisco Sour was a particular highlight, along with some tasty Syrian kibbeh and some Panama tequila punch. To be honest, I’m surprised the Unearthed team remembered much after that. A low point was, unsurprisingly, some “toasted seasonal weaver ants” which hailed from Zambia. I wasn’t sorry I’d missed out on that one.

I settled down to my unusual breakfast - slightly more enthusiastically than the guys from Unearthed who couldn’t quite believe they were still eating. I tucked into the gingerbread, which was rather nice, and something called a Velvet Coffee Creamer tart from Namibia, which was like the middle bit of a banoffee pie, without the banana. Or the biscuit base. Or any coffee. It was delicious. I whisked through some sweet potato frittata from Sao Tome and Principe, which to be honest I would struggle to find on a map, and enjoyed some Slovenian sweet bread. I gave the Yetakelt Wet - a spicy vegetable stew - from Djibouti a wide berth, though: sometimes my chilli allergy comes in handy.

My favourite dish was the Somalian sandwich cookie, a fig-roll type concoction - described as a traditional sweet. Who knew they ate fig rolls in Mogadishu? Another stereotype, shattered.

And this, I think, was partly the point: as well as aiming for a world record, this was about raising awareness about other countries’ cuisines. Unearthed say their research shows most Britons have only sampled food from between 1 and 7 countries: it’s presumably much higher in London where it’s easy to try street food from all over the world. Maybe not Djibouti, though, or Sao Tome.

It wasn’t really about an extreme eating challenge, either, despite the 24 hour marathon. For two days, Unearthed laid on a chance to try a selection of bite sized dishes for £10, with all profits going to Action Against Hunger: the tickets, I was told, were snapped up within a few minutes.

I was full of admiration for the team who pulled off the 24 hour feat - and for the idea behind it - celebrating authentic food from across the world in the spirit of curiosity and adventure. As Unearthed brand manager Simon Day put it, as he managed the final spoonful of those 193 dishes - “The idea is to encourage people to unearth exotic new tastes, from Spain to Australia, without stepping on a plane”.

Apart from that record breaking attempt, though, maybe it’s best not to try them all in one meal.