Our full review of the New Living [across the orad
from original location] will be published in the next
few days. This review was from the original one in 2001:
At home, we eat in the Dining Room, but for food like
this I’ll eat it anywhere! It is an unusual name
for Kerobokan's newest class restaurant. The Living
Room has been designed to have that comfortable relaxed
feel of home. It achieves that, and then some!
It is a large spacious pavilion, open on three sides
on to a delightful garden where you can also eat if
you prefer. Open enough to always seem to catch whatever
breeze is coming off the sea at Petitenget, situated
as it is a little way back behind the temple. Only ever
spoilt by the over-loud music.
If you want a refreshing start to your evening, then
try their Mixed Fruit Cocktail, a lasse style drink
that suits the environment! To select your entrée
is a real problem. The food at The Living Room has to
be described as International. Normally a big turn-off
for me, particularly here in Bali where some places
attempt to present full menus of ten different countries.
Here, however, it is only individual dishes and amazingly
enough all seem to have been done very well.
Frogs Legs with Crispy Basil have been sauteed in chilli
and ginger. Thai Chicken & Crispy Noodle is shredded
chicken with toasted noodles in a honey and roasted
sesame seed vinaigrette. An Asian Crispy Bouquet consists
of miniature spring rolls, stuffed beancurd and not-so-crispy
wontons with hot chillis and a sweet and sour sauce.
Vietnamese Spring Rolls are a mixture of finely sliced
vegetables that have been combined with glass noodles
and the juice of limes, then wrapped in a wet rice paper.
Wonderful! Even better is the Chilled Tuna with Herbs
& Pepper Crush, fillets of tuna that have been coated
with a mixture of crushed peppers and herbs and served
with soy based sauce.
If you want to be Balinese then there is Sotong Serei,
marinated baby quid in lemon grass vinaigrette that
is then served in a banana leaf. What a great variety
of tastes! And it doesn’t stop there, there is
much more to come!
If you fancy a plate of noodles, then how about Beef
`Kwey Teow’? Singapore flat noodles, sauteed with
Pok-Cho & oyster sauce. Or Fried Egg Noodles with
BBQ Pork served with Chinese cabbage and mushrooms.
Tenderloin Beef Ginger Sauce, is one of the best beef
dishes [as apart from normal steaks] that I have had
in Bali! Perfectly cooked slabs of tender beef covered
with a sticky tangy ginger sauce, and accompanied by
a mixture of spiced fettuccini and finely sliced vegetables.
The price [Rp.38,000++] suggests local beef, the quality
suggests imported. Who cares from whence, it is sensational!
The Pork Loin with 5 Spices is served with mashed potatoes
and a ratatouille of vegetables. Wow, does this pack
a punch! For all of you that like your food with a bit
of a kick to it, this is for you! Slabs of firm but
not tough pork loin in a fiery red coating! The mash
balancing it nicely.
A Grilled Baby Snapper comes with either a Malay Sauce
[served with corn rice and turmeric sauce] or with Balinese
Spices [served with both white and turmeric rice]. Either
way, the fish is fresh and firm. Wok-fried Black Pepper
Prawns, are king prawns cooked Chinese-style with spring
onions.
The dessert menu is limited, but an Exotic Fruit Crepes
stands out! Mint crepes filled with seasonal fruits
that have been glazed in orange, pineapple juices and
Kahlua!
A small but excellent wine list gives you the choice
of 8 whites and 14 reds from France and Australia. Bottle
prices that range from Rp. 175,000 – 575,000 are
good value for money. Even six wines are by the glass,
although they insist on serving the red ones cold!
A perfect location for a relaxed meal, on a summer's
evening. But isn't that every night, in Bali?
|
