Bali-Hai

Banana Pancake.
Altogether not a terrible way to start the day when complimented by some authentic rocket fuel Java and fresh fruit.

Arguably the best chicken satay, served on my own personal mini barbecue.
 Indonesia is the original 'home' of satay (spelled sate by the locals). 

Early evening activity enjoyed with KC, ES, and an amazing sunset.
Occasionally Mr. Travel Scrabble joined in on the fun.

The iconic South Pacific song was never far from mind on a recent jaunt to Bali.  I say jaunt (as in quick trip) because 26% of the total vacation time (actually 26.7% of 10 days, I actually did the math) was spent in transit between London and Taiwan, Taiwan and Bali, and Bali and Lombok (times 2). After extensive debate we decided that yes, we probably should fly back to London. I'm still questioning that decision.

While the trip itself was everything I’d hoped for, great friends, sunshine, beautiful scenery, local artisan shopping, and a bit of adventure – the one slightly lacking department was exceptionally tasty grub. 

Of my travels through Asia to-date I’d say Indonesian or specifically Balinese food was likely the most uninspiring.  The most traditional dishes are Nasi Goreng (aka Fried Rice) and Mie Goreng (aka Fried Noodles).  Influenced by a lot of different types of Asian food, the most distinguishable quality about Indonesian food was that it was, in a word, undistinguishable.  

That said, there were a few superior nuggets, the most of which were appreciated overlooking the Indian Ocean from the Alang Alang Beach Resort.  Most notable were their made-to-order fresh fruit cocktails, ala mango daiquiris, banana pancakes (which I ate 6 out of 8 mornings, KC eating 8 out of 8 mornings), roasted red snapper served with a garlic and ginger sauce, and one of the tastiest chicken satays I've ever had, served to my delight - on my own personal mini-barbeque.

Desserts on the holiday were limited to some questionable choices in restaurants. I had the most success with the local gelato shop on Monkey Forest Road in Ubud (cinnamon one day, passionfruit another).  

Would I go back to Bali again? Absolutely! Perhaps I might just do a wee bit more recognisance work before hand to hunt out the best places to get your grub on. I've no doubt they were there, but we were too busy doing (blissfully) absolutely nothing to really bother too much.  Funnily enough, fine with me.