A moment ago, Bali Food Safari arranged a photo competition for foodies called Ultimate Foodies Getaway 2016 where from 1st September to 1st October 2016 everyone can submit their best food photos to get a chance to win Epic Culinary Getaway in Bali for 4 days and 3 night.
For the photo competition, Ultimate Foodies Getaway offered 3 nights of best luxury accommodations, 3 Bali Food Safaris of Jimbaran, Ubud & Seminyak in 12 restaurants with 36 dishes also other fun activities in 4 days for two lucky winners with their plus one from 14th to 17th October 2016.
Being one of the judges together with Simon Ward the owner of Bali Food Safari, Chef Marinka and I Wayan Juniarta from Jakarta Post, it’s an honor for AnakJajan. The number of submission exceeded our expectations, AnakJajan got to say that the judging process was challenging since there were lots of great submissions but finally we got our winners @NVICL and @EATVACATION, first one is by judges’ decision and second is by voting.
In this post we’re going to share with you all of the fun activities in Ultimate Foodies Getaway from 14th to 17th October 2016 but before that let’s talk about Bali Food Safari first.
What is BALI FOOD SAFARI??
Created by a passionate foodie Simon Ward, Bali Food Safari is a food tour that offers a unique way to discover the culinary of Bali like no other food tour, yes it’s a mystery dining food tour.
Available in three different areas of Bali, Seminyak, Ubud and Jimbaran, Bali Food Safari will bring you to 3 or 4 different restaurants to sample 12 delectable hand-selected dishes in one night.
Since there will be 12 dishes for tour participant to try, they have adjusted the portion of meal into shared, tasting plates and tapas style dishes so participants will have some space left in their tummies to enjoy the eleventh and twelfth dish, so you don’t have to worry 😀
The food and restaurants are well curated by Bali Food Safari, you’ll never know what you’ll get and where you’re going. It keeps you wondering but that’s the fun part! AnakJajan got to say that it’s a unique, fun and memorable way to explore the city and discover hidden gems in Bali. You can check http://www.balifoodsafari.com for more info.
UFG 2016 Day 1 – Seminyak
Let’s start with the diary of UFG 2016. On the first day, along with the judges and winners of UFG 2016, we flew to Ngurah Rai airport via Garuda Indonesia.
Our accommodation for the first night was The Samaya Seminyak – Bali. We stayed in the One Bedroom Pool Private Villa, a spacious 220 sqm villa with private swimming pool, jacuzzi, comfy bed, complete amenities and facilities. Definitely an awesome yet luxury place to stay for the first night.
The Samaya Seminyak – Bali
Jl. Laksmana, Seminyak Beach, Bali 80361
After checked in, we had a gathering at The Breeze – The Samaya Seminyak for welcoming speech accompanied by wine and champagne by Moet Chandon overlooking Seminyak beach.
Thereafter we started our first Bali Food Safari mystery dining food tour at Seminyak.
Bali Food Safari Seminyak – Venue 1
The first venue selected by Bali Food Safari was a beautiful beachside restaurant where we got to enjoy amazing golden sunset moment.
Wagyu Sirloin Steak, Cafe d Paris & Asparagus + Tempura Zucchini Flowers with herbed goat cheese fillings and romesco sauce + Char Grilled Morrocan Chicken with egg plant caviar and coriander yoghurt
Seafood Paella
saffron & seafood scented rice risotto with tiger prawn, scallop, clam & chorizo
Ayam Bakar
grilled spicy spring chicken, sweet soy greens, sambal matah and steamed rice
The dishes from first venue were tasteful. It was such a great start, all of the dishes were executed nicely in just the right portion. The seafood paella was packed with sea flavors and seafood were very fresh and sweet, the Ayam Bakar was very addictive and full of flavors thanks to the char-grill process and sambal matah. But the winner would be the Tempura Zucchini Flowers, the tempura batter was so light yet crunchy and the addition of romesco sauce made it even better.
Bali Food Safari Seminyak – Venue 2
After having a pleasing starter at the first venue, we moved to this newly opened hip izakaya and sake bar.
Spicy Tuna Bites // Red Snapper Sashimi with Crispy Shiitake
Baby Squid Tempura with Jalapeno, Lime Salt and Wasabi Aioli // Chicken Gyoza with La Yu, Soy and Ponzu Sauce
The dishes served were also amazingly delicious but the most memorable one would be the Red Snapper Sashimi with Crispy Shiitake, it was SO GOOD!! The red snapper was seasoned beautifully in this addictive sweet, sour and light dressing complemented by the crispy texture from shiitake mushroom.
Bali Food Safari Seminyak – Venue 3
The third venue was a spacious restaurant with cool and modern decor surrounded by the lush green plants. The restaurant specializes in South American dishes with Japanese twist.
Wasabi Tuna Tar Tar // Chicken Bulgogi // Squid Ink Rice
The squid ink rice was certainly one of the top highlights from our Seminyak Bali Food Safari. Served with deep fried squid, aioli, lime and ikura/ fish roe, the rice was savory and it has this kind of addictive wok-fry aroma in it, we simply cannot stop after the first spoonful.
Bali Food Safari Seminyak – Venue 4
To end the meal, we had a dessert sampler in this beautiful roof top that happens to be the tallest spot in Seminyak. It was a sweet ending for the first day.
Bombe Alaska
strawberry sorbet, strawberry compote, flourless vanilla sponge, Italian meringue
Pina Colada
coconut, pineapple, baby coriander
Black Forest
deconstructed black forest cake with cheery, chocolate and raspberry
UFG 2016 Day 2 – Ubud
On the second day, we moved to Ubud and the accommodation was Kayumanis Ubud Private Villa & Spa, an intimate hideaway in the green heart of Ubud, Bali.
It was such a serene place to stay with amazing view of tropical green forest and gentle flow of Ayung River. Our spacious private villa consists of one bedroom with separate living pavilion with private swimming pool and garden.
In Kayumanis Ubud Private Villa & Spa, we were pampered in such a warm welcome and luxury facilities including massage session and Jamu & Sambal cooking lesson.
Kayumanis Ubud Private Villa & Spa
Jl. Raya Sayan Br. Baung, Ubud, Sayan, Ubud, Bali, 80571
Bali Food Safari Ubud – Venue 1
To satisfy our hungry tummies, the first venue of Bali Food Safari in Ubud was this beautiful Thai food restaurant overlooking the lush green forest scenery. We had three dishes, Tomyum Soup, Pad Thai and Thai Fruity Fish, all of the dishes were flavorful and packed with spicy sweet sour flavors typical Thai food, very well balanced with fresh ingredients.
Tomyum Soup // Pad Thai // Thai Fruity Fish
Bali Food Safari Ubud – Venue 2
The next stop was a restaurant with home-style contemporary Asian concept in intimate setting and warm hues. In this place we tried four dishes and there were two memorable dishes for us, the comforting Shiitake Mushroom Soup with unique cooking presentation using siphon brewing technique and Fois Gras Nigiri Sushi with generous cut of foie gras cooked in sweet and savory sauce it made our tummies happy.
Potato Salad // Shiitake Mushroom Soup
Chicken Salad
Foie Gras Nigiri Sushi
Bali Food Safari Ubud – Venue 3
In the third venue, we had a set of degustation menu made with the best local ingredients inspired by European gastronomic trends. The dining session was memorable, both the food quality and technique were spot on. Double thumbs up for the chef for the great presentation and complex yet tasty dishes, also double thumbs up for Bali Food Safari for choosing this hidden gem as one of our dining venues.
Tomato
marinated heirloom cherry tomatoes with beetroot basil creme, lavender oil, yellow watermelon, parmesan crisps and basil sorbet
Crab
black rice kreopoek with Sumatran crab and coconut mayonnaise
Beef
Australian black angus beef tartare, confit onion, quail egg, potato crips, potato soil and Americain mayonnaise
Salmon
cured Tasmanian salmon gravlax, daikon cress, radish, pickled cucumber, wasabi creme and sand
Bali Food Safari Ubud – Venue 4
To end our mystery dining food tour, we had a Chocolate Dessert Platter under the stars and twinkling lights. The dessert platter was stunningly delicious, rich in flavors with various textures from crunchy till soft and smooth, it was PERFECT dish to end our night.
UFG 2016 Day 3 – Jimbaran
On the third day, we moved to Jimbaran and visited this beautiful chapel Puri Temple Hill and soon to be open restaurant, Opia.
The reason we visited Opia is because Chef Marinka and Chef Nic from Opia are going to have a friendly cook-off challenge. It was a fun experience helping the chef to create 3 different dishes from appetizer, main course and dessert within limited amount of time.
Our accommodation in Jimbaran was Banyan Tree Ungasan – Bali, a luxury resort located 70 metres above sea level on the tip of Bali’s southern peninsula and close to the island’s famed Uluwatu Temple. Our villa was the 403 square metres Pool Villa Garden View with 10m infinity pool, private jet pool, spacious living room, kitchen and amazing pool and garden view from bedroom, it made us speechless!
Banyan Tree Ungasan
Jalan Melasti, Banjar Kelod, Ungasan, Bali 80364
In the afternoon, everyone gathered at Ju-Ma-Na for Champagne pairing session with Moet Chandon, it was a fun afternoon trying all the different champagne.
Bali Food Safari Jimbaran – Venue 1
Our first venue in Jimbaran was definitely one of the memorable venues where we dined while enjoying beautiful sunset ocean view. The chef did a great job in creating three scrumptious dishes, the presentation was simple but it tasted DA BOMB especially the smooth creamy yet comforting Egg Custard with aromatic truffle oil in it.
Egg Custard
mushroom & prawn ragout
Tuna Tataki
beet root tartar, kimchi fermented of cabbage
Yellow Cherry Tomato Soup
milk froth, dungeness crab salad
Bali Food Safari Jimbaran – Venue 2
Bali Food Safari chose this hip beach-club and restaurant for our second venue with Modern Asian-inspired concept where we had three dishes, Coconut Salad, Betel leaf Prawn Salad and Lamb Curry.
Coconut Salad // Betel leaf Prawn Salad // Lamb Curry
Bali Food Safari Jimbaran – Venue 3
Finally the highly anticipated meal, local cuisine at a newly opened restaurant specializes in Balinese cuisine. We were greeted by “sambal” platter with crackers and then Bebek Bakar Mekudus, a slow cooked grilled duck with tender texture and delightful smoky aroma, so flavorful and satisfying, one of my top favorite dishes from Bali Food Safari.
Bebek Bakar Mekudus
Bali Food Safari Jimbaran – Venue 4
Our last venue from Bali Food Safari Jimbaran was an awesome pick where we had three genius dessert creations. The most memorable one would be the Bali Breakfast that looks like sunny side up egg but it’s actually a combination between whipped coconut, frozen passion fruit and sweet runny mango, the creaminess of coconut and sweet sour flavors from mango and passion fruit complemented each other nicely. THANK YOU Bali Food Safari for choosing this gem as the end of our meal.
Bali Breakfast
Cocoa 99 with mint ice cream
Slow Baked Apple with Black Pepper Ice Cream
UFG 2016 Day 4 – Jimbaran
On the last day, we had a leisure time at the resort before checking out, time surely flies so fast when you are having fun.
Overall, UFG 2016 was a huge success!! Being part of this important event is such a huge honor for AnakJajan. Best of luck for Bali Food Safari and also the next Ultimate Foodies Getaway. Let’s travel deliciously!!
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