Bali Good-Babi Guling

The Babi Guling at Ibu Oka is a little sliver of heaven that both the locals and the sharper tourists share

If anything else, I'll give them points for their James Bond spirit of adventure.

There it was, a plate of steamed rice accompanied by another plate of roast pork and "condiments". The middle aged ang mo (Caucasian) couple of British origins merrily tucked in and was "mmm…ing" and "wow..ing" away as they chowed down the food. The "condiments", as the woman called them, were actually pork "spare parts" roasted to a crisp.

Yes, this very brave couple was trying their level best to enjoy their Balinese street side meal of Babi Guling.

This dish is not one of your up market Kuta restaurant offerings. This particular eatery is sited at an obscure road -side shophouse by the Ngurah Rai Airport bypass road in Sanur, Bali. But indeed, as Alex, my Indonesian makanmata warned, it is one of the top three Babi Gulings around, popularly frequented by the local working class. They start selling at 5pm everyday and will always be sold out by 7pm.

So it was with much curiosity that I asked the couple about their knowledge of local Balinese cuisine. "We askjeeves!" came the surprising reply ("askjeeves" is a popular content portal). They said that in the site, feedback on that stall was submitted as late as mid March. And it sounded good to them.

So did they like it? They said they did although the lady left the "condiments" alone as she did not know what they were. But the man wolfed the "spare parts" down and agreed that they were "interesting crisps". I suppose I wouldn't really know what it tasted like to them as they each also downed a bottle of Bintang beer with it. I mean, they were eating some pork, bits of grilled stomach, intestines, heart, kidneys….and whatever parts that came off while the pig was being roasted. It was quite unlike eating Scottish Haggis and if nothing else, the couple would be happily digesting their sense of adventure.

And if the couple is reading this (as I recommended Makansutra.com to them), I would like to suggest that they try a little stall in Ubud, the next time they are in Bali. Located just across from the Tourist Information Centre, Ibu Oka's Babi Guling is one of the best I have tried, so far.

A friend who had tasted it agreed that the pork was so was so tenderly roasted at Ibu Oka that it tasted like juicy chicken. Ibu Oka roasts the pig with a family secret blend of spices and chilli. Their little dip of vegetable sambal (chilli) is actually made from a mixture of fried grated coconut, chilli padi bits, lard and spices. This is added into the rice which sits under a serving of juicy grilled pork and spare parts and topped with a crispy piece of kulit (skin). The Babi Guling here is a little sliver of heaven that both the locals and the sharper tourists share, as they patiently jostle and line up to place their orders everyday. And all that, for a down to earth price of 6000rp (about US$1).