There are not that many Indonesian fine-dining restaurants on the island and Bejana has been added to this important list of those that serve the most-favoured authentic dishes from across the archipelago. This is a swanky styled restaurant that manages to deliver a comfortably relaxed atmosphere.
Situated on the edge of a cliff face, Bejana has three levels overlooking the ocean and is tastefully designed with some Balinese’s accents and traditional elements of local craftsmanship.
The menu focuses on a range of very popular dishes from many of Indonesians’ regions The Indonesian rijsttafel is a good way to savour a mix of regional Indonesian favourites. Each of these is served in small portions and began for me with gado-gado, Sundanese salad and Asinan Jakarta, a sweet and sour pickled seasonal fruit. For the main course, my sample dishes were soto pesmol, a tasty spiced coconut and seafood soup originally from Jakarta and ikan woku, spiced barramundi with red bean parcel and lemon basil from North Sulawesi. Other choices are sambal udang from Kalimantan consisting of king prawns and tomato-chilli relish, and kalio daging, a delicious beef dish from Padang that had been slow cooked in spice and coconut milk.
To end this enjoyable culinary journey through the archipelago I was served kue Bali comprising of assorted Balinese mini cakes such as dadar gulung, klepon, lak lak, lapis, wajik, talam jagung and tape ubi goreng. A glass of Bejana’s exotic signature cocktail consisting of vodka, homemade spice syrup and lemon juice really complemented the whole experience.
Bejana
The Ritz Carlton, Bali
Jln. Raya Nusa Dua Selatan Lot III, Sawangan
Nusa Dua, Bali 80963
Tel. +62 361 849 8988