freespiritfood Spirited food from far & wide

Les Bistronomes Bliss #canberra #bistro

Beautiful lunch for early Mother’s Day celebration at Les Bistronome – a gem hidden away at the Campbell shops in Canberra. Chef owner Clement Chauvin has created a little haven of French cuisine.

https://www.lesbistronomes.net/about-us

Lunch degustation of 5 course for $65 per person was deliciously divine …matched with Canberra local wines from #Clonakilla and Lark Hill.

Great produce, great atmosphere, great service and great food! Would love to go back for the dinner degustation next time.

Warm, inviting with great service…Les Bis as it is affectionately known in Campbell, Canberra

Thanks to my family for such a lovely Mother’s Day weekend!

Salmon with leek fondue and beurre Blanc with caviar

Beef bourguignon …melt in the mouth beef cheeks with paris mash and a jus to die for!

Chocolate mousse with coconut sorbet and force dried cherries

May 21, 2023May 21, 2023

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Easter Feasting and Grazing. #easter #feasting #pearlbeach

A lovely Easter holiday at Pearl Beach, one of our favourite Sydney getaways. Lazy beach days as summer turns to autumn here, walks, swims and a book fair to keep us all stocked up for reading. Blissful family time and healthy grazing and feasting as well.

Here are some photos of our some of our lunches so far. Promise to post recipes in weeks to come.

Caramelised Fig, Avocado and Toasted Walnut Salad

BBQ Swordfish with Pepperonata, olives and capers.

Tortilla, fresh prawns, pesto mayonnaise and toasted Turkish bread

April 9, 2023

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High Five for Hujan Locale #ubud

It was lovely to drop back in to Hujan Locale in Ubud for a family lunch last Sunday. With the mix of colonial and Asian touches of decore, the backdrop of a traditional Balinese family compound and sunlight and beautiful breeze streaming in to the upper dining room, it is still a beautiful space made even better with their delectable cocktails and food.

True to Will Meryck style, the menu featured fresh seasonal Indonesian ingredients and at Hujan Locale, the menu ranges across specialities from various regions, with strong nods to Malaysian and Chinese flavours and styles.

The style is certainly more Pan Asian but the focus is on great Indonesian ingredients and is very different menu to that at Nusantara., so is a very good option as a contrast.

We began with the superb slipper lobster dumplings in a tangy tomato sauce.

Slipper lobster dumplings at Hujane Locale

The Crispy While Fish (Tilapia River Fish) served with a green papaya salad., lettuce leaves, and a tangy tamarind sauce …which followed was stunning in its presentation and deep fried in a way which separates the bones from the fillet making it easy to share and enjoy. The combination of the crispy fish, the sauce, papaya salad wrapped in lettuce leaves was delicious.

Whole Crispy Tilapia at Hujane Local, Ubud

We tried the light vegetable curry cooked in a mild coconut sauce with yellow rice. Lovely as a side and/or a vegetarian option.

We finished our lavish lunch with the spectacular whole pig hock cooked in a sweet “Babi Kecap” style sauce, with steamed buns, cucumber and spring onions. The expertly deboned and shredded the pork at the table adding a sense of theatre to the occasion.

Definitely another High Five for Hujan Locale at Ubud. Here’s a link to my first review 7 years ago when it was just a new kid on the block.

March 23, 2023March 23, 2023

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Shiny New Night Rooster #ubud #speakeasy

The shiny new Night Rooster by the Locavore Group is easy to pass by without noticing but once you are through the door you could be in a New York style speakeasy. A projector throwing up a slideshow of evocative words and images on the smoky glass front is the only hint of the adventure that awaits inside.

Entrance to new Night Rooster, cocktail bar in Ubud

Now situated at 5 Jalan Gootama, just down from Jalan Raya Ubud, the new shiny Night Rooster is decked out with plush seating, bookcases with an artistic assortment of paraphernalia and a great looking bar. With skylights reminiscent of Bali villa roofs and a mirrored ceiling the ambience is inviting and interesting.

You could be anywhere in the world here, and the new updated version is a step up from the original version of Night Rooster as you will see if you compare the two!

Shiny new Night Rooster, cocktail bar in Ubud

Cocktail action at the new Night Rooster in Ubud

Plush lounges and armchairs at Night Rooster in Ubud

As are the famous Night Rooster cocktails featuring local ingredients which tantalise the sense with taste, smell and stunning presentation. Old favourites such as The Ashes are joined by newer creations including

The classic Ashe’s cocktail at Night Rooster, Ubud

Kiss of Death cocktail with passionfruit, Mezcal, chilli tincture and passionfruit jelly on the side.

Antidote the cocktail at with arak, gin, snake fruit and snake fruit powder adding crunch to the occasion

Mbok Njendul ..the vanishing lady with medicinal herbs, rice water, gin and hops with a rice cracker

The Fool cocktail at Night Rooster includes the aroma of smouldering tobacco leaves

The new Night Rooster is the perfect pre-cursor to dinner at one of the great restaurants nearby like Nusantara, Hujan Locale and Melting Wok. I would of course say Locavore too, but they are about to turn into Herbivore whilst the new LocavoreNXT is created.

March 19, 2023

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Back to #Nusantara #ubud for Indonesian delights

We’ve been back to Nusantara Restaurant in Ubud for their outstanding Indonesian menu twice in the last 6 months and each time the experience seems to get better. As with their other establishments such as Locavore and Night Rooster, the Locavore group continues to deliver excellence in all that they develop and deliver.

At Nusantara for example they have added foam baffling to the underneath of the tables which means the acoustics are much improved, although this has never spoiled our dining experience too much before.

The menu remains true to showcasing the best dishes from across the Indonesian Archipelago with seasonal adjustments to feature ingredients available at the time.

The Berbagi Rasa shared complimentary tasting platter of seasonal snacks is always a great way to start dinner. This time it featured delicious Rujak Cemcem.

Some of you who have travelled to Bali might have come across the bright green drink Loloh Cemcem made using Cemcem leaves. The leaves have been used in Balinese traditional medicine for their antioxidant and antibacterial effects and some studies have shown their potential for this. Needless to say we were much more interested in the taste of Nusantara’s Rujak Cemcem, featuring cemcem leaves marinated in chillies, sea salt and shrimp paste.

Here are some photos of the Berbagi Rasa platter and accompanying descriptions.

Berbagi Rasa – complimentary shared snacks tasting platter at Nusantara Restaurant Ubud

Having been here many times, we alternate between the set menu (usually when we take friends for the first time) or ordering our preferences from the a’La carte menu. This time there were four of us allowing us to share and taste many different dishes from across the various regions of Indonesia. Definitely a feast for our tastebuds!

A feast for our tastebuds at Nusantara Restaurant in Ubud

Here is a list of the dishes we enjoyed including descriptions from the menu:

Babi Masak Dompu (Pulau Sumbawa, Nusa Tenggara Barat)
Pork belly marinated with chilies, shallots and garlic, roasted over an open wood fire, served with cassava leaves
Puyuh Betutu (Payangan, Central Bali)
Quail slow-cooked ‘the Balinese way’ with bumbu rajang and cassava leaves
Gulai Udang (Samarinda, East kalimantan)
Prawns braised with garlic, chilies, turmeric leaves, candlenuts, shrimp paste and fresh coconut milkBabi Bungkus (all over Papua)
Babi Bungkus (all over Papua) Pork shoulder marinated with garlic, chilies, galangal, lemongrass, ginger and pineapple, wrapped and grilled in ginger torch leaves over an open wood fire
Konro Bakar (Makassar, South Sulawesi)
Beef ribs marinated with shallots, garlic, cloves, cumin, star anise, nutmeg, cinnamon, burnt coconut and palm sugar, finished over an open wood fire, served with peanut sauce
Kangkung Bunga Pepaya (Manado, North Sulawesi)
Stir-fried water spinach, turmeric leaves and papaya blossom seasoned with shallots, chilies and shrimp paste
Nasi Liwet (Solo, Central Java)
High-grade Balinese heritage rice from Mas, Central Bali, steamed with pandan leaves, lemongrass, salam leaves and coconut oil
Three sambals:
Sambal Pentes (Payangan, Central Bali)
Shallots, garlic, chilies, torch ginger stem, shrimp paste and kaffir lime leaves
Sambal Rampah (Selong, Nusa Tenggara Barat)
Shallots, garlic, chilies, turmeric, candlenuts, turmeric leaves and kaffir lime leaves
Sambal Tuktuk (Tapanuli, North Sumatra)
Shallots, chilies, garlic, tomatoes, torch ginger, candlenuts and andaliman peppers

A feast for the tastebuds at Nusantara Ubud

To finish we shared the very Asian dessert dish featuring sticky black rice, mung bean flour cake, sweet potato balls, sago, young coconut and condensed milk….all served in a coconut!

Es Kembang Desa
Tape ketan, tape injin, selendang mayang, bola ubi, sago, young coconut, condensed milk and frozen coconut

The entire meal was delicious and every dish and each sambal brought new flavours and taste sensations. Beautiful food representing flavours from across the Indonesian archipelago- a way to experience the whole of Nusantara without leaving Ubud!

Here’s a link to my previous review of Nusantara from back in 2019, which brings back memories of all the great meals we’ve enjoyed.

March 19, 2023March 19, 2023

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Artful dining at Semar Kuning Resto #ubud

Semar Kunig Resto is just down the road from the famous Semar Kuning artist collective gallery in Lodtunduh village just outside Ubud.

It was a lovely day trip to soak in the vast collection of art on sale at the gallery which has works from about 150 Balinese artists ranging from modern to traditional styles. It’s a nice feeling to know you are buying art from a collective which exists to support the local artists. I even got a background bio on the artist of the painting I bought. After wandering the amazing collection of art and bargaining for our paintings we headed to lunch.

The restaurant is very well appointed, spotlessly clean and has lovely views of an adjoining rice fields peppered with colourful traditional statues and flags.

Entrance artworks from local artist collective

We were warmly welcomed with complimentary snacks and a cleansing tangy ginger drink. The menu includes excellent Indonesian food as well as western favourites. We opted for the highly praised local dishes which come with a delicious range of sambals, ranging from mild to super spicy.

The smoked duck and crispy duck were both delicious and Semar Kuning is particularly known for these specialities. The Nasi Campur and Nasi Goreng were also a hit.