Ibu Oka

This is one place I absolutely love about Bali! Being the food nut that I am, I had to go after reading Lonely Planet.

We were driven to a somewhat small village full of crafts and traditional Balinese houses. I expected some sort of roadside stall or very casual dining experience, but were dropped off by the road and were told to walk all the way up a little hill to a modest Balinese House. If I didnt see all the tourist buses and other taxis that stopped off at the same place, I'd think I got conned.

The original Ibu Oka restaurant was under renovations. So, the owner decided to set up the restaurant at their traditional Balinese house. Beaut idea! Not only did we get to eat delightful roast pig rice, but got a chance to see the real deal.

A traditional Balinese house is entered via a courtyard. -I'll do a post on this interesting set up soon. At Ibu Oka's..the courtyard porches were impossibly full of tourists. All just wanting the same serve of roast sucking pig. It felt like we were all guests being hosted to be big feast.

We even met two guys from Melbourne who told us they came to Bali every year and had to eat Ibu Oka's everytime!

The pig?...Roasted for hours in the courtyard kitchen. Skilfully cut and sliced, served in weaved baskets with an assortment of spiced vegetables and rice. I never tasted anything quite like it. Urgh..so good I wish I could have it for lunch!