吃飯了嗎？

Mozaic

The best part of southeast-Asian cuisine is suppose to be its local street-eats. But wife doesn't particularly like the spicing of Indonesian cuisine, and random food stalls are no-go with the fetus to worry about. Weren't particularly impressed with the hotel's restaurant for dinner. On the other hand, we didn't want to settle for some random tourist-trap place in town, either. So I decided to splurge and booked dinner at the supposedly nicest Western-style restaurant in town, and hired the hotel's shuttle van to take us there and back.

The restaurant was surprisingly large. The front of the house was just recently expanded into a lounge bar with low-slung sofas and tables and offering drinks and small plates. The outside sign also mentioned catering, cooking classes, and other offerings available. In the back was the lush outdoor dining area which was the primary restaurant seating on this pleasant evening. The crowd consisted mostly of monied tourists and well-heeled expats, so we blended in well enough. The primary garden space being mostly full, we were seated at an open-air pavilion looking down into the garden. That was fine with us, the pavilion roof and lights providing just a little more illumination than the garden, which was only dimly lit with a few atmospheric bulbs strung across the trees and candles on the tables.

First they brought out a tray of local ingredients like lemongrass, keffir lime, rambutan, etc. and explained that the menu would utilize each of the ingredients in turn. Despite that, the cuisine still felt quite Continental, maybe Nouvelle Cuisine, but not quite as aggressively fresh & local as Californian restaurants (foie gras? really?). Nevertheless, it was a fine meal and fits well with the whole Four Seasons vacation theme. Next time we'll do more seek out the local hole-in-the-walls, although that may be tough to do in touristy-Bali.

• Appetizers

  • Sashimi of Tasmanian Salmon; in Fresh Grapefruit Yuzu Jelly, Citrus and Pink Grapefruit Sorbet

  • "Sere" Grilled Yellowfin Tuna; in a Crab Bisque, Curry Corn Ragout and Lemongrass Relish

    

• Fish Dish

  • Hers: Seared Deep Sea Scallops; Earthy Beets, Liquorice Gelée, Smoked Milk and Black Olive Powder

  • Mine: "Daun Laksa"; Tempe Crusted Seabass Fillet, Baby Potato, Garden Vegetables, and Spiced Laksa Broth

    

• Savory

  • Crispy Seared Duck Fois Gras: Seasonal Plum Sorbet, Plum Gastrique and Candied Rosemary

  • Daun Korokeling: Rabbit Tortellini; Curried Green Beans and Parmesan Emulsion

    

• Mains

  • Wife's Main, Substituted: Beef Steak instead of Victoria Rack-of-Lamb
    Vanilla Caramel, Braised Belgian Endives, Pickled Peach and Almond Emulsion

  • Jeruk Purut; Kintamani Suckling Pork
    Kaffir Lime Leaf Dressing and Gelée, Spiced Almond-Fennel Salad

    

• Desserts

  • Imperial Mandarins Souffléed with 'Guanaja' Valrhona Chocolate
    Mandarin Reduction, Turmeric Agar Agar and Fresh Yoghurt Sorbet

  • Markisa; Fresh Passionfruit Cream Baked In Phyllo Pastry, Cardamom Caramel, Milk Agar Agar and Coconut Sorbet

  • Petit Fours: Sweet bites of chocolate and coconut things.

    

Mozaic Restaurant
Jl. Raya Sanggingan, Ubud, Gianyar - Bali 80571
Indonesia
+62-361-975768

Four Seasons Bali, Sayan

By booking via Taiwan passports we got a detached villa for the rack rate of a in-building suite. Each villa features it's own deck and plunge pool. Despite the tightly packed villas, privacy is protected by the lush surrounding vegetation.

One could have breakfast delivered to the villa, or take it in the restaurant. I wanted to take advantage of the morning hiking tour of the resort grounds, which meets at the main building, so we went to the restaurant, same table where we had dinner the night before. In daylight we had an expansive view of the resort grounds, with a pleasant breeze, and our pick of anything off the breakfast menu as part of the meal package. We were actually relatively modest in our indulgence, compared to others in the restaurant. A dash of keffir lime in the Hollandaise sauce of the signature Sayan eggs benedict. Egg yolks a little overcooked, but wife doesn't like for her eggs to be too raw anyway. Meanwhile I was pigging away on my banana pancakes, washing it down with lots of local coffee, and we shared big plates of fresh fruit and yogurt.

I was off to the river trek tour while wife lingered over breakfast. The resort was laid out to preserve as much of the original fields and villages as possible, and the tour route showed off the local touches. Glad to have worn my Doc boots and waterproof shell for some of the narrow, muddy paths. Climbed up to this spot for an ideal view of the resort's grass-roofed villas set amongst the working fields.

Our two-night stay in Sayan also included an afternoon tea-set. Would've liked to take it later at FS Jimbaran the next day, so we could spend more time in Ubud, but they wouldn't allow the transfer. The tea set on the terrace was a good way to relax after spending the morning in Ubud town, but not particularly worth rushing back for, in and of itself. But it was probably for the best to have a reason to return to the hotel early, instead of letting the pregnant wife walk about all day under the hot sun. The dessert plate contained raspberry cake, mango sorbet with fresh fruit, coconut and chocolate cake squares. And more Toraja coffee, of course.

The next day we ordered in for breakfast and ate out by the villa pool. This wasn't your typical room service as the full breakfast menu was available to order. The spacious restaurant was nice, but enjoying a big breakfast spread in our own little world was definitely more of a special intimate experience.

After an oily Balinese message, we had lunch at the cafe next to the riverside swimming pool, overlooking the stream of rubber rafts floating by, each full of tourists in their bright orange life vests. The Bali tuna carpaccio appetizer was overlaid with kemangi lime pesto, rucola salad, and puffed capers. The main was an Asian "Chicken Scaloppine" grilled chicken breast with curry sauce. And there was even dessert Es Rumput Laut, with spheres of tropical fruit and pandan jellies in a coconut-milk soup. A refreshing conclusion to our time in Sayan.

Four Seasons Resort Bali At Sayan
Sayan, Ubud, Bali 80571 Indonesia
+62 (361) 977577

Ayung Terrace

Our two-night stay at the Four Seasons Sayan resort included an on-resort dinner in the package. After the five-hour flight and fighting through the crowded airport then crawling through Denpasar traffic, a quiet dinner on arrival seems just the thing. Especially with a cold, tasty local ale (for an extra charge).

The throw-in dinner isn't going to blow anyone away with its gourmet cred, but to their credit they did offer a safe and sanitized taste of the local flavor. The gado-gado salad of string beans and other vegetables is dressed in a spicy, peanut-based sauce. The pregnant wife didn't appreciate the strong flavor of the exotic spices but that just means more for me, as she munched on the bread instead.

My main was nasi goreng, with fried Prawns and chicken sate. Wife was a little disappointed to find fried rice for a four-star resort meal. But I enjoyed the localized flavoring of a seemingly familiar dish. Especially combined with spoonfuls of the various sambals that accompanied the meal.

Dessert was sweet tapioca soup with jellies, an Indonesian dessert that's also within our comfort zone. The ginger sorbet on the side was a cool palate-cleanser. Good coffee on the side, too. Unfortunately the wife couldn't partake in that, either. But all was forgiven upon returning to the luxe villa for the evening.

Ayung Terrace
Four Seasons Resort Bali At Sayan
Sayan, Ubud, 80571 Gianyar, Bali, Indonesia
+62 (361) 977577

Mitsui Japanese Cuisine, Honkan

All the fancy restaurants now stay open during Chinese New Years vacation days hoping to capture business from the families all-together during the long holiday but nobody willing to cook. Mitsui Dunhua would be nominally more convenient for us, but that one was booked solid, so uncled got a reservation at the original site. The decor isn't quite up to the standards of their newer restaurants, but we had a large, comfortable private room with enough room for everybody, with a splash of sunshine to liven up the space, compared to the basement dungeon of the Dunhua location.

The abalone salad is a standard starter for the high-priced set meals and we've had it a few times before, but the abalone was particularly tender today, perhaps being in season?

The sashimi was thick and impeccably fresh, as always. Haven't had uni at Mitsui before but it was up to the same quality standards of the other sashimi. Salt-grilled Hokkaido furry crab was full of savoury and sweet meat, splashed with a squeeze of lime, another must-have. Thin slices of tender wagyu beef in a tangy, spicy sauce made for a good counterpoint for all the seafood.

The beautiful tai-fish was simply salt-grilled with crisp skin and juicy white flesh. This and some good white rice fed the kid quite nicely. Wife and I was worried about him making a fuss at the family table and were going to leave him home with the nanny. But Mom felt bad leaving him behind and promised she'd help to look after him. And he turned out to be really good! Looks like we've got ourselves a little foodie here. When he was full and bored, a trip up front to check out the live fishtanks kept him entertained until the end of the meal.

三井日本料理
台北市中山區農安街30號
02-2594-3394
http://www.mitsuitaipei.com.tw