Balinese food is rich, tasty, and diverse. We always love eating when traveling here and have had the best meals at little local restaurants. You haven’t visited Bali if you haven’t at least tried their local food.
So what kind of food do they eat in Bali? Since the majority of Balinese are devoted Hindu Dharma people they will not eat beef as this is against their religious laws. Typical traditional dishes that Bali is known for are:
- Babi Guling
- Bebek Betutu
- Sate Lilit
- Lawar
- Sayur Urab
A lot of Balinese dishes are also influenced by the other islands of Indonesia. So naturally, you can also find the famous Indonesian dishes such as nasi goreng, Soto, Gado Gado, and satay in Bali too.
What is traditional Balinese food made of?
Balinese food usually consists of fish, chicken, pork, duck, or vegetables cooked in a mixture of herbs and spices. Shredded coconut and/or coconut milk is also often used. Noodles are sometimes eaten as a side dish too, as rice is the staple food for the Balinese.
The Balinese eat rice with every meal. It is extremely important to the Balinese, not just for food but it is also used in offerings to their deities. Dewi Sri is the Goddess of Rice/Fertility.
Many rice farmers have placed shrines in their rice paddies to honor this Goddess. There’s even a temple in Jimbaran called the Ulun Siwi Temple to worship this Goddess.
Local food used to be prepared outdoors on an open fire. You might still see this when you go to the countryside. But understandably like most places in the world cooking has moved indoors to the kitchen.
Below you can find a detail description of the most known Balinese dishes:
Babi Guling, the Balinese roasted pig
Since Indonesia is mostly a Muslim country you will have a hard time finding any pork dishes on Sumatra and Java island unless you go to a Chinese restaurant of course.
But on Hindu Bali, that’s no problem. The Balinese have a special dish called ‘Babi Guling’ which is a spit-roasted suckling pig.
It is stuffed with spices such as garlic, ginger, turmeric, coriander, laos (peppery, ginger-like spice), chilies, lemongrass, black peppercorns, kaffir lime leaves, and salam leaves. Babi Guling is eaten with steamed rice and young jackfruit cooked in coconut milk (Jukut Nangka Mekuah).
You can find it in many restaurants or food stalls around Bali. The most popular place on the island to eat this dish is at the Ibu Oka restaurant in Ubud.
Bebek betutu, roasted Balinese duck
Another specialty is ‘Bebek betutu’, which is a roasted duck in banana leaves and includes almost all of the same seasoning used in the ‘Babi Guling’ except for laos and salam leaves.
This dish is only eaten on special occasions but you can try it in several Balinese restaurants as long as you give them 24 hours notice of your order.
Sate Lilit, the satay from Bali
Indonesia is the birthplace of Satay. Every region has its own way of preparing the satay with beef, lamb, chicken, turtle (unfortunately), rabbit, or fish.
In Bali, you’ll find the delicious ‘Satay Lilit’. It’s usually made of snapper fillet, raw prawns, coconut, spice paste for seafood, lime leaves, black peppercorns, brown sugar, and lemongrass.
Some restaurants also offer their own satay Lilit version such as replacing the fish with chicken or duck but still using the same basic ingredients.
Satay Lilit is really tasty and it is nice when they grill it on a lemongrass stick instead of the common wooden satay stick. I bet everybody who tries this Balinese dish will love it!
Lawar, an important Balinese religious dish
Another dish worth mentioning is the typical Balinese ‘Lawar’. There are several Lawar dishes and they are differentiated by the type of meat used. They are made with pork, chicken, seafood, turtle, and even dragonflies for the most expensive Lawar.
This Balinese dish is served during religious ceremonies and other Balinese events. It’s made of pig’s blood, coconut, garlic, shallots, chilies, ginger, turmeric, laos, kencur, shrimp paste, fruits, vegetables, meat and mixed into a salad.
You will not find it on the menu since it involves a lot of people. It takes hours to make and after it’s ready it has to be eaten directly or it will lose its taste.
The preparation of this Balinese traditional food is mainly the men’s job and serves as a social gathering where various men sit in a circle, chit-chat, drink and chop till they drop. Only the oldest and most experienced of the men are allowed to mix the ingredients together into Lawar.
Sayur Urab, a common vegetable salad in Bali
This is a mixed vegetable salad with grated coconut, green beans, papaya leaves, spinach, cabbage, Chinese long beans, cassava leaves, kafir lime, garlic, salt, palm sugar, shallots, shrimp paste, green chilies, and red chilies peppers. You can accompany this with rice with grilled fish or grilled chicken.
Nasi Campur, a mix of local dishes served on a plate
Nasi Campur is actually found everywhere in Indonesia and means ‘Rice Mix’. You can find Nasi Campur in many Balinese restaurants too. It is one of the favorites on any tourist menu.
This Nasi Campur consists of a cone of mixed rice with vegetables such as urab, spinach, jack fruit, tempeh, and a meat dish such as chicken, beef, egg, and fish such as tuna or mahi-mahi.
The Nasi Campur is the best way to try various dishes in one go. Large restaurants offer a set Nasi Campur so you can’t really choose the side dishes yourself.
But if you go to the smaller ‘warung’ restaurants they often have their choices displayed. All you then need to do is walk to the display, order the rice and start choosing. They will serve it on your plate and after you pay, you walk with your plate to the table. Feels a bit like a buffet.
One of our favorite places to eat Nasi Campur is Warung Indonesia at Gong Ronta in Kuta. Others are Warung Murah on Arjuna street in Legian, Warung Ocha on Raya street in Seminyak and Warung Kecil in Jalan Duyung in Sanur.
Which Spices and Herbs do they use in Bali?
The Balinese like to prepare their food with a lot of spices known as bumbu. The following herbs and spices are used daily for the most common Balinese dishes:
- ginger
- chili pepper
- lemongrass (serai)
- kefir lime leaves (daun jeruk purut)
- bay leaves (daun salam)
- tamarind (asam jawa)
- candle nuts (kemiri)
- galangal (lengkuas) .
First, these herbs and spices are ground into a paste. The paste is then combined with chicken, fish, and tofu/tempeh and added to vegetable dishes too.
Additionally, sambal is important as well in Indonesia. Sambal is the general word for spicy chili paste. However, there is a large variety of recipes for sambal all with different flavors and spiciness.
Well-Known sambal and originally from Bali is the Sambal Matah (raw chili, raw shallots, lemongrass, lemon). It is raw sambal and is perfect together with grilled fish.
All of the Balinese ingredients, spices, and seasonings can be bought at the local markets. The herbs are all sold fresh but lately, they are also sold as a paste. The sellers have already mixed the herbs into a paste for a specific dish.
If you want to buy fresh herbs and spices then you can to the pasar malam (night markets) or the early morning markets in the bigger villages. Think of places such as Sukawati, Ubud, Sanur and cities such as Denpasar (Badung Market and Kereneng Market) and Klungkung (Galiran Market).
Is Balinese food healthy?
Generally speaking, Balinese food is healthy. They use a lot of herbs that also benefit health plus their food is very diverse. Most of the food is grilled, steamed, or cooked in coconut milk, which can be considered healthy. But they love fried food too such as fried rice and chicken.
But at the end it all depends which dish you choose. And as mentioned before, the variety of Balinese dishes are immense so there is enough to choose from.
If you are a vegetarian or vegan then you will easily find good options that you will enjoy. For meat-eaters, there is enough to choose from too. Satay is always a winner, same for chicken curry or pepes ikan (grilled fish in banana leave).
We always try to eat as healthy as possible when in Bali. Vegetables are always on the menu and a lot of food is grilled making it a good healthy option.
However many dishes are fried such as Nasi Goreng, Mie Goreng, and Goreng Tempe/Tofu. While oil is used, the dishes are not drenched in it.
What kind of Vegetarian or Vegan food do they eat in Bali?
Great dishes perfect for vegetarians and vegans are Gado-Gado which are mixed vegetables with spicy peanut sauce and Sayur Lodeh, vegetable soup with coconut milk broth.
Tofu and tempeh (fermented soybeans) are used widely and a perfect option. A wonderful dish is Tempeh Pedas, which is spicy tempeh. My favorite is jack fruit leaves (daun nangka) or cassava leaves (daun ubi) in coconut milk.
If you are vegetarian or vegan be aware though that even if it states tempeh curry, sauteed vegetables, or noodle soup, make sure that they didn’t use chicken broth. Also, dishes are sometimes prepared with ‘trassi’. This is a shrimp paste and adds flavor.
Nowadays you can find more and more vegan and raw food restaurants in Bali. Especially in Seminyak, Canggu, and Ubud, you’ll find plenty of them so that’s great.
Raw food is mainly popular in Ubud, of which Alchemy is a leading restaurant. Where raw restaurants used to be just serving raw food nowadays most of them have changed into plant-based restaurants.
What are the typical Balinese desserts?
Most of the Balinese desserts are made from rice and/or coconut. Palm sugar is used as sweetener Favorites Balinese desserts are:
- Bubur Injin (Black Rice Pudding)
- Pisang Goreng (banana fritters),
- Dadar Gulung (pancake with grated coconut)
- Jaja Batun Bedil (rice dumplings)
- Laklak (green pancakes)
Unlike in the western world, dairy milk isn’t used. So lactose intolerant travelers can choose almost anything on the dessert menu.
We especially love the Bubur Injin (Black Rice Pudding) made from black and white glutinous rice, grated palm sugar, vanilla pod, and some sea salt. The Kolek Pisang which are bananas in coconut milk is also a favorite.
But other desserts are Pisang Goreng (banana fritters), Gulung Dadar (stuffed pancake with grated coconut), and Jaja Batun Bedil which are glutinous rice dumplings in palm sugar.
What kind of food do they eat on the street in Bali?
Everywhere in Bali, you can find small food stalls on wheels. Here you can often try street food such as satay, basic dishes with meat and fish such as mie goreng or bakso.
Bakso is rice vermicelli with beef/chicken or shrimp balls in broth. The food is served on the spot and is usually eaten nearby the food stall.
Nasi Bungkus is a little selection of meat, vegetable, and rice wrapped in paper. In the past, everything was wrapped in banana leaves. Hopefully, this will return soon again.
Do they eat dogs in Bali?
Unfortunately, some people eat dogs in Bali because they believe it’s good for their immune system. Even some tourists have been tricked into thinking they were eating chicken satay. This can happen at the street food stalls so please take a good look before ordering.
The local government is trying to get rid of those sellers but it’s hard since there’s always money involved.
How much is a meal in Bali?
The best thing about Balinese food is that it is accessible to everybody. The price of a meal all depends on where you eat. At a small local restaurant, you can easily have a whole meal for just USD 3. At a fancy restaurant, such as in hotels they serve satay or lawar beautifully for USD20 or more.
But don’t let the price guide you. The smallest little local restaurant can serve the best curry ever. They are often sold out by lunchtime.
The more expensive restaurants usually serve more unique dishes, often organic or with a touch of western influences.
Bali has it all, there are so many restaurants to choose from, you’ll have a hard time. In general, you’ll be set around $10 USD for the main course including a drink.
What do they drink in Bali? (minuman)
There are several types of coffee available in Bali and with Indonesia being the world’s third-biggest producer you can try out some very good and unexpected coffees. The most famous koffie on the island is ‘Kopi Bali’
The Balinese produce coffee on the mountain slopes between Kintamani and Munduk
This coffee is made of Robusta and Arabica coffee beans and then there’s Kopi Luwak, one of the world’s most expensive coffees. This type of coffee is made from the droppings of the Civet cat. The Civet Cat eats the coffee berries, defecates the beans so humans can collect them, and start brewing.
Teh Panas is hot tea with a lot of sugar and you can order it anywhere especially at those small roadside shacks (traditional warung) where they sell candy, washing powder, and all other stuff you can think of.
If you ask for Teh Panas with milk it’s going to be super sweet as the Indonesians love to use sweet condensed milk. This milk is cheap and you can preserve it for a long time.
If you want to avoid sugar in your tea ask for Tea Pahit (bitter tea), the same counts for coffee called Kopi Pahit.
Can you get alcohol in Bali?
Alcohol is available in Bali. The Balinese know how to make some strong liquors made from coconut palm juice or glutinous rice. Examples are:
- Balinese rice wine called Arak, can contain over 50% alcohol.
- Tuak, contains 5% alcohol
- Brem, available in a solid (known as Brem cakes) and liquid form
The Balinese sprinkle Brem on offerings during Hindu ceremonies on the island.
The Indonesian Government installs 300% import tariffs on many alcoholic beverages. This makes the local-made Hatten Wines more popular on the island. It was started by two smart Balinese in 1994. They are now producing wine in Sanur from their vineyards near Pemuteran and their wine has already won some awards.