[Travel/ Food Guide] Itinerary to Bali, Indonesia (巴厘岛，印尼) 2023

Touted as one of the best travel destinations in Indonesia- Bali is famous for its sheer natural beauty, exciting nightlife and culinary delights. The hospitality is extraordinary, whether you are traveling solo, with a partner or with children; there is always a perfect room/ hotel to fit your requirements. It's easy to travel to Bali from Malaysia, AirAsia offers direct flight from Penang/Kuala Lumpur to Bali. The public transportation in Bali is erratic so renting a car or motorcycle would be a wiser option (unless you plan to chill in the hotel room/ villa. But do consider which area you are staying at as the traffic in Bali can be (extremely) terrible (we basically spent hours on the road a day). Finding an accommodation with strategic location and signing up for day tours can be very helpful.

Renting A Car in Bali:

It's easy to find many car rentals over the internet but we recommend looking for reliable service providers. Indonesian is famous for notorious scams, make sure you take sufficient, clear and visible photos of the car condition before accepting and signing the agreement. Or you will put your deposit at risk; ours tried to "scam" us by saying we dented the car but in actual fact, the dent was already there and fortunately, we had photos to prove it. We booked ours through Traveloka and the service provider- Jayamahe was okay only (quite bad in management and the car condition was mediocre/ one of the the cars ran out of battery and we had to contact them to switch another one for us). 

1) Ulekan @ Canggu

Pork-Free

Address: Jl. Tegal Sari No. 34, Canggu Berawa Bali, 80361, Indonesia.

Business Hours: 11 am to 10 pm. Opens Daily.

Contact Number: +62 821-4594-8624

Price is subject to 16% Service Tax

Ulekan Bali Facebook Page

Uncle J Cook Book @ Bukit Mertajam, Penang.

A stone's throw distance away from the bustling Icon City, Pusat Perniagaan Sentral Jaya is a newly developed business center at Bukit Mertajam (also near to Auto City). Uncle J Cook Book is one of its first tenants, ever since its opening, business has been brisk. Huge crowd can be spotted on holidays or weekends. The restaurant offers an unusual fare, ranging from the familiar Western food and Chinese dishes to uncommon Balinese and Portuguese delights... confusing? Wait until you talk to the servers, they will lighten up your days by replying something totally irrelevant. Anyway, budget-watchers should be prepared on the hefty price tags as some of the dishes do not come cheap.

Nona Bali Restaurant @ Sungai Pinang, Jelutong, Penang.

Finding authentic Balinese eats has never been easy in Penang but with the opening of Nona Bali, Penangites can now have an easy access to some authentic Balinese dishes. This is indeed, an interesting and delightful addition to the food scene in Penang. Walking into the restaurant is like going through a portal where it is possible to feel transported to Bali especially with the Balinese Dolls decorating the shelves and Balinese Drawings adorning the walls. Their menu could be overly simple and limited for some but they are definitely offering some of their best to the diners. Prices are on the higher side for their Ala-Carte dishes but their Set Lunch is definitely worth every single penny. However, I thought the place worth a second visit probably more for novelty instead. Nona Bali Restaurant is located at IJM Jelutong Promenade, where the Ubah Bird was previously held.