BaLi BeLLy

Bali Belly isn't always bad. Balinese food can be spicy, sweet, scrumptious and all around leaving you craving more... In April, one dreary morning, I was perusing the NYT online section and came across an intriguing article of people who photograph every morsel of food that goes in their mouth; I thought it was kind of cool. I even thought for 2.5 seconds that I could actually do it too. However, I could never be one of those people who documents every. single. thing. I. eat. Not that I'm embarrassed by what or how much I eat, I just simply forget. Well, and the fact I'd find it awkward to whip out a camera before I put something in my mouth.

Awkward Scenario #1: at a party, "excuse me, could you hold my drink while I take a photo of this brownie bite. Excuse me again, I'm about to eat a cream puff... wait one more time before I nibble on this pop corn...."

Awkward Scenario #2: out to dinner, "Hi, I don't remember your name, but don't mind me... I just photograph all my food first, nbd."

Awkward Scenario #3: yeah, i haven't thought too much about it, but I'm sure there are a lot of awkward scenarios. I detest attention.

Yet, in Bali, I was absolutely fascinated with their food. So much so that in one day I took photos of most things we ate (I may have left out a chocolate or popsicle or two.)

Breakfast in Ubud:

At our last-minute find in Ubud, our $100 per/night spa-hotel included breakfast. When we woke-up in the morning we took the umbrella provided us on our front porch and made our way to the outdoor restaurant. They presented us with a menu full of incredibly appetizing food. It was painful, I didn't know what to choose! It ends up my banana pancake decision was unnecessary since we got to choose one thing from each section.

I chose a freshly squeezed watermelon juice, banana pancakes (heaven), an omelet with bacon and a pallet cleanser of papaya, pineapple and watermelon pieces topped with yogurt and honey.

I think we both vowed not to eat the rest of the day. Are you surprised that didn't happen?

Lunch on the road:

for a lunch snack we shared a can of soft-shelled crab Pringles. We really wanted to try the seaweed ones as well, but decided to save those for another day. Alas, that other day never came. I guess I'll need to go back to Bali!

After our wander in Pura Tanah Lot, we came across a lady making gnocchi-type goodies on the street. She let us sample one and we quickly forked over .75 cents for our own banana leaf-cupped bunch. They had coconut milk in the center and were topped with freshly shredded, non-sugared up coconut. If we hadn't been in the car when we finished them, we probably would have gone back for more.

Dinner in Kuta:

That night, we ate on the roof of our hotel again. I got spring rolls and lemongrass chicken salad (all for $5). It was fresh, it was spicy, it was totally worth it.

Other day samplings:

After a morning of sunbathing an reading (contented sigh) we had a lunch of sushi and
Balinese noodles by the pool (to the hefty tune of $8)

That night we found the true Balinese banana pancakes. It's like a crepe filled with fresh bananas cut length-wise and freshly grated coconut that is drizzled with vanilla. (Naye got it with ice cream on the side for good measure.)

The last day we were in Bali, I ordered some noodles in coconut sauce. Instead, I got this soup but didn't complain. It had mushrooms, tofu and prawns floating in the spicy, sour noodle soup. Yeah, my nose was running a little bit.

Then, there is my new favorite fruit. I'd seen it around Bali but had no idea what it was (still don't.) When we were in Ubud it came as part of our Welcome fruit platter. I cut it open only to discover that the creepy snake-like skin is very dry and thin. The inside of the fruit is sectioned off like large garlic buds, each with a seed inside. It's crunchy and sweet like an apple but a little more dense. Bonus! it doesn't bruise, it's easy to share and it takes like something on a tropical island should.

*the weird phenomena: despite the fact that I ate 20x more than i normally do in a day and I didn't work out at all, I lost weight. Proof I really need to vacation more and apparently live outside the U.S. I think GNC puts something in all our food. X-Files, can you get on that conspiracy theory? thanks.