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JAHE RESTAURANT, BALI PAVILIONS
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Jahe Restaurant at Bali Pavilions, Sanur, Bali, Indonesia
If you’re looking for a romantic introduction to Balinese cuisine, there’s no better place than Jahe Restaurant at Bali Pavilions. Bridget McNulty loved every bite.
Text Bridget McNulty
Photography Mark Peddle
The weather is too hot to eat much during the day in Bali, but as soon as the sun sets your appetite will rise… And what better way to satisfy it than to give it a feast of Balinese delights, created especially for this warm and wonderful land?
The setting couldn’t be more perfect. Individual pagodas hung with sheer white curtains in a candlelit garden that’s softly scented with showers of jasmine flowers falling from the trees. Heavenly.
We chose to complement this setting with a Balinese set menu, giving us a taste of all the island had to offer. To start with we had Gedang Mekuah, Young Green Papaya Soup, a light and zesty broth with a hint of chilli and chunks of green papaya cooked to a deliciously soft potato-like consistency. The flavours were surprising but perfectly harmonized.
This was followed by a dangerously spicy Sambal Be Tongkol, Tuna Salad with Spicy Balinese Sambal, which appeared as a delicious mound on a round of banana leaf. The flavour hit all at once – fresh tuna, spicy chilli, fresh lime and something unidentifiable but distinctly Indonesian. Simply superb.
Next came an array of dishes to be eaten all at once – Tum Tahu, Tofu and Shrimp wrapped in Banana Leaf, Rendang Sapi, Slow-cooked Australian Beef Tenderloin in Indonesian Red Sambal with Coconut Milk, superb Traditional Balinese Beef Sate on Lemongrass Sticks, squid stir fried with mixed vegetables, and Bebek Betutu, Balinese Style Roasted Duck wrapped in Banana Leaf.
The highlights were definitely the Beef Rendang, which was a robust peanut beef curry with tender chunks of extremely tasty meat, and the Duck, which had been marinated, roasted, wrapped in banana leaves, and steamed. The result was soft and flavourful meat with a deliciously crispy skin. Served with Nasi Pandan (steamed rice with pandan leaf) and traditional crackers, the meal formed a medley of flavours and textures as varied and vibrant as the island itself. To end off this sumptuous feast, we had Dadar Unti, traditional Balinese crepes, filled with palm sugar and coconut. The bright green crepes were the perfect end to the meal – fresh, sweet and satisfying, without being too rich. We ate our dessert in silence, gazing out over the candle-filled garden and trying to soak it all in, to commit this meal to memory.
It was our first real taste of Balinese cuisine, and we loved every mouthful.
Back to Bali Pavilions
The setting couldn’t be more perfect. Individual pagodas hung with sheer white curtains in a candlelit garden that’s softly scented with showers of jasmine flowers falling from the trees. Heavenly.
We chose to complement this setting with a Balinese set menu, giving us a taste of all the island had to offer. To start with we had Gedang Mekuah, Young Green Papaya Soup, a light and zesty broth with a hint of chilli and chunks of green papaya cooked to a deliciously soft potato-like consistency. The flavours were surprising but perfectly harmonized.
This was followed by a dangerously spicy Sambal Be Tongkol, Tuna Salad with Spicy Balinese Sambal, which appeared as a delicious mound on a round of banana leaf. The flavour hit all at once – fresh tuna, spicy chilli, fresh lime and something unidentifiable but distinctly Indonesian. Simply superb.
Next came an array of dishes to be eaten all at once – Tum Tahu, Tofu and Shrimp wrapped in Banana Leaf, Rendang Sapi, Slow-cooked Australian Beef Tenderloin in Indonesian Red Sambal with Coconut Milk, superb Traditional Balinese Beef Sate on Lemongrass Sticks, squid stir fried with mixed vegetables, and Bebek Betutu, Balinese Style Roasted Duck wrapped in Banana Leaf.
The highlights were definitely the Beef Rendang, which was a robust peanut beef curry with tender chunks of extremely tasty meat, and the Duck, which had been marinated, roasted, wrapped in banana leaves, and steamed. The result was soft and flavourful meat with a deliciously crispy skin. Served with Nasi Pandan (steamed rice with pandan leaf) and traditional crackers, the meal formed a medley of flavours and textures as varied and vibrant as the island itself. To end off this sumptuous feast, we had Dadar Unti, traditional Balinese crepes, filled with palm sugar and coconut. The bright green crepes were the perfect end to the meal – fresh, sweet and satisfying, without being too rich. We ate our dessert in silence, gazing out over the candle-filled garden and trying to soak it all in, to commit this meal to memory.
It was our first real taste of Balinese cuisine, and we loved every mouthful.
Back to Bali Pavilions
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