A day of meat

Saturday was a day for carnivores.

It began with some pre-eating exercise. I managed to pick the hottest day in a while as my day to do a two hour shadeless ridge walk. Not only that, but I started right at 11:30am, ensuring I'd be under the sun during the absolute hottest part of the day. It was intense, I felt like I was swimming there was so much sweat. As I made my way back to Ubud, I needed some real energy.

And there was Naughty Nuri's! Already profiled, they have delicious barbecue. As the last trip involved a number of martinis, I thought I would visit again to remember and retain the taste of the food. I got a rack of pork ribs, from the grill right behind me.

It was tasty. Bones slid out without even asking, and the meat was tender and sauce delicious.

How to build from this? Easy, with a duck feast. Everywhere I'd been reading about the traditional smoked Balinese duck, which requires a day advance notice as it must be tea-smoked for 8 hours. Nick and Leena made some reservations for us at Bebek Bengil, aka the dirty duck diner.

The Balinese duck is a big order of food. We had three people, and it recommends the duck feast for two, so we were unsure whether we should get one or two orders. After conferring with the waitstaff, they vehemently said one, so we stuck there. It was the right call, it was a massive amount of food.

Beyond the whole smoked duck, there was green beans, rice, prawn crackers (krupuk), and chicken sate. The duck was delicious, it fell off the bone. The smokiness from the tea blended quite well with the fat from the duck and every bite was very rich. The chicken sate were also lovely, crisp on the outside but still moist and juicy inside.

We couldn't stop ourselves and also ordered a mixed seafood grill. This had squid, tuna, prawns, and grilled veggies. The squid in particular was good, chewy but not overly so, with some good char from the grill.

On top of a great meal was the really quite nice ambiance, where we had an outdoor table overlooking an interior courtyard. The grounds themselves were quite elaborate, and apparently many domestic and foreign dignitaries and other celebrities frequent the joint. I am not sure, however, what explains the bizarre pathway to the toilet. Inside the bathroom, there are three steps that take you over a small pond. A very precarious way to get to the loo!