TripAdvisor is full of recommendations for Warung Mak Beng which was established by “Mother”Beng back in 1941 and is run today by her grandson, continuing a long family tradition. Situated near the beach in Jalan Hang Tuah 45 in Sanur, this is the classic “one dish speciality” warung serving only its famous crispy fried ocean fish or Ikan Laut Goreng.
It has taken us a while to make the effort to get to this Warung, but I can assure you the trip is well worth the effort of travelling from wherever you are staying in Bali to try their renowned speciality.
The fish is crispy brown (almost burnt looking) on the outside but tender and moist on the inside and accompanied a the delicious fish head soup and spicy sambal on the side. My bowl of soup had little evidence of fish head, rather just big chunks of fish that had been stewed in the soup. The soup also had big chunks of cucumber which had absorbed the flavours of the soup and daun salam leaves (Indonesian bay leaves). The spice mix they use in this soup is divine and complements the flavours of the fried fish brilliantly. The day we visited the catch of the day was snapper served up straight from that morning’s haul from the fishing boats off the coast of Bali.
This is one of the most simple yet satisfying meals we have had in Bali on this trip, and I can understand why people flock here and why this Warung has been flourishing for so many generations.
At IR45,000 (AU$4.50) a serve, this Warung is a favourite with locals and Indonesian tourists but when we visited we were the only foreigners there. We came on a weekday for lunch and only had to wait a few minutes for a spot at a communal table. However, I believe the weekends can be very busy so you might have to wait a while for your table. It will be worth the wait especially if you like to eat like a true local!
Nice post