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Cafes, Food, Restaurants
A Bali Blends Vacation
I am the sort of unusual creature who actually likes airline food. I learned to eat Moussaka on a trip to
The Nasi Lemak was woefully basic (and it came in a little plastic tray), and though it was eaten in very close quarters, it was one of the best meals of the kind I�d had. Perhaps because it had the requisite adobo peanuts and dilis in addition to the eggs and greasy, spicy chicken. Perhaps it was because it cost RM7 and was eaten thousands of feet off the ground. Or perhaps I just like this kind of food: Malaysian and Indonesian cuisine, similar to our own, but a lot spicier and still seeped in the exoticism of different lands.
Whatever the case, I�m always happy to try to recreate the experience when I find a local restaurant that serves the same cuisine. So when Bali Blends Caf� in Westgate finally opened its doors, we just had to try it.
First went my sister and her husband, sampling their favorite Beef Rendang and the inevitable Nasi Goreng. A weekend or so later, AJ (also known as dakilang Manilenyong kaladkarin sa South) and I tried it out ourselves. AJ made the perfect dining companion, having just come from
So here we were, looking for milk iced tea and soda water with condensed milk, which unfortunately, they didn�t have. Grape Shake (P90) for me, then, and iced tea (I think it was Nestea, P60; the special house blend, P90, has lemongrass, and their water has pandan) for AJ. Since we wanted to try something new (and we already had pictures of the Beef Rendang, P230 and the Nasi Goreng, P230 with beef and chicken satay, P250 for prawn), we ordered their Mie Goreng (P175) and took the friendly waiter up on his recommendation of the Beef Steak (P190). To keep us occupied while waiting for our meals, we also had the Potato Curry Cheese Puffs (P110).
The Cheese Puffs made instant fans of us: soft rice coated balls of grated potato and two kinds of cheese, flavored with a touch of curry. The balls came with a dipping sauce made of vinegar, tomatoes, and onions (which reminded us of Mang Max�s fishball sauce back in good ol�
The Mie Goreng came topped with chicken, beef, and shrimp, as well as a layer of sliced scrambled egg. AJ found it a bit sweeter than usual (well, the menu did say it was saut�ed in sweet soy sauce), though we both enjoyed the noodles (AJ left his little bits of meat and ate my beef steak with his noodles instead).
My Beef Steak, marinated in Indonesian spices, was also a bit sweet and very flavorful, laced with all sorts of spices I couldn�t identify. The saffron rice had a subtle flavor which I enjoyed, but it was also very oily (which, to my shame, I honestly didn�t mind that much). I had my eggs scrambled, though the usual preparation is sunny side up. In the end, I discovered the meat serving was quite generous, so I stopped eating halfway through (no more room!) and had it wrapped up; Nick enjoyed the leftover beef the next day.
By this time we were fairly stuffed, so we no longer ordered dessert or coffee, which they had a lot of on the menu. Altogether we enjoyed our meal: while it wasn�t exactly like being there on vacation (we could still see the rest of Westgate out the window), it was a pleasant enough change from the usual sinangag (which I think of as the local equivalent of Nasi Goreng).
The restaurant ambiance was also rather pleasant, stocked as it was with Javanese carvings, Indonesian dolls, and those three-tiered parasol like things. We also pretty much had the run of the whole place, which was nice and quiet (they were playing a bunch of standard covers performed by an Indonesian artist, which makes that authentic in a very non-Indonesian way, I suppose).
Given the range of items on the menu, I probably will come back here to try their other stuff (give the Nasi Goreng a try) or to enjoy some after dinner coffee. Hey, it�s not a real vacation, but it�ll do in the meantime.
Bali Blends Cafe
Westgate, Filinvest Corporate City, Alabang, Muntinlupa
No landline yet
Acoustic nights every Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday
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6 comments for “A Bali Blends Vacation”
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the picture of nasi lemak made me slobber all over my keyboard…between mie goreng,etc i’ll take it in a heart beat!
oh i so agree! i’ve been hankering for this stuff since christmas. we went to a place in kota kinabalu called ye olde kopitiam, and they served really good nasi goreng and nasi lemak, as well as a super yummy mix of tea and coffee. syempre natsugi ang pictures ko sa sd card, sayang! :p am sooo missing the totally authentic stuff. :)
just want to know how authentic their food is? (as if I myself can tell) Have to try them out soon.
I wasn’t very happy about their food. Among the ones we ordered, only their lamb dish was above par.
not too authentic at all… more like a local rendering of the traditional dishes. if you have nothing to compare it to, it should be fine, otherwise, you will miss the more barok and more authentic stuff you can get on the streets abroad.
Hi.No, Bali Blends is not “authentic” indonesian…but their other restaurant, “Rumah Makan” (I think), the restaurant right beside it which they also own, is authentically Indonesian. :-)