Tastebuds rule on Bali safari
Imagine if you could watch the sun setting from a rooftop bar with a white wine in hand, eat Italian food cooked by a Michelin-starred chef, dine on seafood at an eclectic Brazilian- inspired bar and enjoy dessert at a luxury five-star resort - all on the one night.
This can all be made possible thanks to Bali Food Safari, a degustation meets progressive dinner across some of Seminyak's best restaurants
Established by Perth man Simon Ward seven months ago, the tours have since taken more than 500 tourists on a "journey of culinary discovery".
Guests can choose tours in Seminyak, Ubud or Jimbaran, selecting a three or four-stop tour beginning at sunset.
Each night's locations are chosen from more than 30 restaurants but remain a surprise until you're dropped off at each stop by your guide and driver, adding a sense of anticipation.
For our first stop, my boyfriend Sam Mitchell and I are taken to SOS Supper Club, four floors up on the rooftop of the Anantara resort in Seminyak.
Sipping on white wine, we eat guacamole and salmon tartare cones followed by delicious pork ribs, seafood and chicken satays, watching surfers enjoy the last waves of the day under a beautiful setting sun.
An hour later, we are ferried to our next surprise destination - a restaurant I never would have found on my own.
Solata is a small, exclusive fine- dining restaurant headed up by Michelin-starred Italian chef Ezio Gritti.
Sitting in an opulent room decorated with artwork from Java, Timor and Sumatra, we are served exquisite entree-size Italian food with an Indonesian twist, including carrot and broccoli souffle, spinach ravioli and a salmon fillet with potato puree.
With its soft classical music and museum-like decor, Solata feels a world away from the previous restaurant, and the next.
La Favela is an enormous, funky bar in the heart of Seminyak. Entering through a long wooden corridor adorned with plants and lanterns feels like stepping into another world.
It's hard to know where to look first - an outdoor dining area among the trees with teapots hanging from branches, an old Kombi van decorated with flowers, walls lined with colourful graffiti or a maze of several dining rooms with eclectic furniture.
The amazing decor is matched by the food and drinks menu. We love the vibe of this place and despite the fact I am getting full I manage to eat all of the tapas-style dishes, including barramundi with mushroom and broccoli and red snapper ceviche.
It's the kind of place we could stay all night, especially after looking at the cocktail list, but it is on to our fourth and final destination - Salt Tapas, owned by renowned Australian chef Luke Mangan and based at Sentosa resort.
The manager tells us that by this point of the evening, some diners are often too full to eat another thing.
But I've never been one to say no to dessert, so we tuck into a plate of crispy, sweet churros accompanied by a licorice- flavoured ice-cream.
For those with smaller appetites, I recommend the three-stop tour. But either way, diners will be treated like royalty and it is a wonderful way to sample some of the best restaurants in a place with a growing reputation as a foodie's paradise.
Just make sure you start the night hungry.
Rhianna King was a guest of Bali Food Safari.
FACT FILE
Readers of The West Australian who book the Bali Food Safari between now and August 31 will receive a free sunset drink on arrival. Enter WEST when booking your tour. balifoodsafari.com.
