food comas

Bali is one of the world’s most popular island destinations with its beautiful beaches, rugged mountains, lush rice terraces, cultural and historical attractions, and top diving and surfing spots… this paradise has something for everyone!

The first time I traveled to Bali was in 2008 with Natalya, during which we did plenty of the “touristy stuff” like visiting temples, exploring rice paddies, hiking through waterfalls, riding elephants, and warding off monkeys.

Now that I live in Singapore, I can get my Bali fix with just a couple hour flight away! My friends often head to Bali for the surf, and I decided to tag along on one of their trips. We had gone to Canguu Beach one morning to catch some waves, but after an hour of struggling to stay on the board, I decided I was working far too hard on my vacation.

I swam back to shore and wandered the coast until I saw a big sign for a Balinese Cooking Class at one of the beachfront restaurants, Sate Bali. It was like the mother ship calling me home. The class began at 10am and lasted 4 hours, and we made a ridiculous amount of food. There were two other women taking the class with me, and there were plenty of leftovers for all of us to bring back home.

One thing to note — unlike other travel cooking classes I have taken, the one at Sate Bali did not include a market tour where you actually shop at the local markets. The class is held at an actual restaurant during its closed hours and all the ingredients are already on hand and already minced, chopped, etc. So really, there was not a whole lot of cooking for us to do. There were two chefs running the class and it felt more like we were in the audience of a cooking show. We mainly observed and sometimes would help mash up stuff in the giant mortar pestle… but it was more for the photo op than to actually help. So if you are looking for a lazy cooking class — this is definitely the right place to be.

During my Penang Cooking Class a couple months later, I realized just how much work it is to prep all the hundreds of ingredients that Southeast Asian cuisine deems so necessary. All those sauces and pastes have a minimum of 10 raw ingredients and tradition forbids the use of a food processor. Other than the Mee Goreng, I am highly skeptical I will have enough motivation to make any of these dishes at home from scratch. But knowing how much work it involves, I do think dining out at a Balinese restaurant is certainly worth the money!

For the full menu and recipes, click on the links below.

Also check out the other travel cooking classes we have done: Chilean Cooking Class, Peruvian Cooking Class

Recipes by Chef I Nyoman Sudyasa of Sate Bali

Tum Ayam (Steamed Minced Chicken in Banana Leaf)

Pepes Ikan (Steamed Marinated Fish in Banana Leaf)

Sambal Matah (Lemongrass and shallot sambal)

Mee Goreng (Fried Noodles)

Be Celeng Base Manis (pork in sweet soya sauce)

Jukut Mecantok (Assorted vegetables with peanut sauce)

Dadar (coconut pandan pancake)