Top 10 Foods You Must Eat In Bali

Bali, Indonesia By

Balinese food gets me excited every time we come back to Indonesia’s most popular holiday spot. I get excited about unpretentious flavours and time-tested spices that result in mouth-watering food that I just can’t get enough of.

While other Southeast Asian cuisines may offer a similar selection of dishes, many foods in Bali have a unique twist with tantalising flavours.

Next time you are relaxing in Bali, you simply must try all ten of these. 

Bali tip: Explore further and catch a fast ferry from Bali to Nusa Lembongan (click to check latest price).

1. Pisang Goreng

Let’s start with dessert. Because nothing is sweeter than my all-time favourite – fried bananas. Bali has such a variety of bananas from the small, sweet varieties to the large ones that look like a weapon. The different types make fried bananas a treat each time. Served with honey or palm sugar syrup, a little bit of flaked coconut or vanilla ice cream or just plain from the roadside stalls, nothing is better than Pisang Goreng. 

Golden delicious fried bananas with palm syrup and coconut

2. Mie Goreng

A classic Indonesian staple of fried noodles is often served with vegetables and a choice of chicken, shrimp or pork. Sometimes it served with a fried egg on top, chicken sate sticks, prawn crackers and peanut sauce. Oh, and don’t forget the pickled vegetables. Josh’s favourite.

3. Nasi Goreng

Similar to Mie Goreng, but fried rice instead of noodles. This is the most popular staple of the Balinese. They literally eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Rice is grown all over Bali, so there’s no shortage of this grain all year round. I don’t think I’ve ever had a bad Nasi Goreng in Bali – every chef knows how to do it justice, from the 5 star resorts the roadside stalls. So simple yet so delicious.

We’ve eaten it so often but ironically we never got around to taking a shot. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

4. Sate

Unlike its Malaysian counterpart, Indonesian sate is not satay. Mashed chicken is blended with an array of spices, melded onto a stick (usually lemongrass) and barbequed. Unless written on the menu, it probably won’t include peanut sauce While we prefer the chicken sate (sate ayam), Indonesia specialises in fish sate (lilit ikan). 

Chicken sate
Chicken satay

Recommended: Get discounted tickets to popular Bali attractions:

5. Babi Guling

Bali’s most famed dish – the suckling pig. Pork is rubbed with turmeric, stuffed with a spice paste (usually coriander seeds, lemongrass, lime leaves, salam leaves, chillies, black pepper, garlic, red shallots, ginger and lesser galangal) and then roasted on a spit over coconut husks or wood until super tender.

Beware when ordering this – it’s nose-to-tail dining, so you might receive an obscure piece of pork on your plate.

Tip: It helps to have a few meals ready to eat (MRE) as a backup, in case you find yourself somewhere remote or the food is not to your liking.

This was too delicious to photograph. So here’s a photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

6. Nasi Campur

A local favourite, Nasi Campur means “mixed rice” and usually consists of small portions of vegetables, fish or meat with a mound of steamed rice. There’s no 1 “right” combination of flavours, so it’s rarely the same. That is what makes it so fun – you never know exactly what you’re going to get. Think of it as an Indonesian antipasto. 

Sorry, I ate this too quickly. There was no time for a photo. So here’s a photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

7. Bebek Betutu

Smoked duck is probably one of the more unique dishes in Bali. The duck is rubbed and stuffed with a mix of spices, wrapped in an areca palm leaf or betel nut bark and smoked with the embers of rice husks. Most restaurants require one day’s notice since cooking takes around 12 hours. 

Cooked this dish ourselves (with a little help) at a cooking class in White Rose Resort, Legian.

8. Mini Rijsttafel

A mini rijstafel is a meal to be shared. Rijsttafel is a Dutch word that literally means “rice table”, a name that has stuck since colonial times. Depending where you order, it usually comes out all at the same time and contains a mixed selection of Balinese and Indonesian delicacies like Bebek betutu (smoked duck), chicken with sambal, prawns, pork & chicken sates, sayur urap (mixed Bali vegetables), potato croquettes, tempe, tofu and yellow nasi tumpeng (rice cone).

9. Spring Rolls

Who doesn’t love crispy spring rolls? Filled with mixed vegetables and minced chicken, served with a peanut sauce or a sweet chilli sauce. A winner every time.

10. Gado-Gado

“Mix-mix” is one of Indonesian’s best-known dishes. Essentially it is a vegetable salad bathed in a classic peanut sauce. While it’s a cold salad, I think it would taste awesome warm too. At its base are boiled long beans, spinach, potato, corn, egg and bean sprouts coupled with cucumber, tofu and tempe.

You can try these Balinese foods almost anywhere, from budget to upscale restaurants, from roadside food vendors to luxury hotels. But whatever you do, make sure you tick them all off.

I particularly love that most ingredients in these dishes are sourced locally so they’re as fresh as can get. Spice mixes are made by hand. There’s little reliance on processed ingredients. 

Spices used in a Balinese cooking class.

You might just discover a new favourite flavour sensation or realise it’s not your cup of tea. That’s the beauty of being adventurous with food. But one thing is for sure; once you’ve conquered all these Balinese dishes your tastebuds will be dancing like never before.

Need a place to stay while eating in Bali? Check out our full list of recommended hotels.

Need a taxi from Bali airport to Ubud? Plan ahead & check the latest discount prices here.

Reader Comments...

"I respond to every comment by direct private email. I look forward to your feedback" -

Love this post... Bali was one of our favorite destinations and you are spot on their food is high up there on my list of favorites!! Reading this has me drooling and wanting to go back. We haven't been with the kids. Maybe now is the time ;)

Amber Jun 30th, 2015

Awesome! I love trying different types of foods and Bali seems to have dishes as popular as it is! Among the non veggies, I loved the look of Sate and will definitely try it on my next visit there. And about the veggies, the good old Spring Rolls are my all time favorites. Nothing beats them, here or anywhere.

Raghav Iyer Jul 9th, 2015

Oh wow, you hit every single one of my favorite Balinese foods! The only one I wasn't crazy about was babi guling, which was usually so spicy that my tongue went into shock. But the Balinese duck? Heaven.

Linda @As We Saw It Nov 2nd, 2015

Hi Erin and Josh, thanks for sharing the list. Out of curiosity, what do you think about the more authentic Balinese dishes like Lawar, Nyat nyat, Fish head soup, is there a chance you would give those a try too?

Bayu Amus Nov 8th, 2015

Thank you for the great list...they all look delicious We have yet to visit Asia and one of my concerns is that my husband is allergic to nuts :-( would he survive there ?

Nathalie Mar 20th, 2016

I would add fried tiny black eels. They look horrible but taste great:-)

marta Jun 17th, 2016

Satay and gado gado are by far my favorites!
x

stephanie Jan 29th, 2017

You forgot to mention Kangkung ! Fell in love with it on the 1st trip to bali & have it every time i go back. Miss my Bali food
so must be time for another trip ;)

Sue Robson Mar 27th, 2017

This is a great list! The thing I started making from scratch was chocolate syrup. Best chocolate milk ever!
Regards Hannah Flack

Hannah Flack Feb 27th, 2020

Cool, I've been looking for this one for a long time

Qazkzbioca Mar 29th, 2023

+ for the post

TobiasFlats Apr 1st, 2023

very interesting!

Timothy Neera Nov 17th, 2023

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