Bali Part Three: Food as the Focus

If there is one universal thing in this world it is food. So to me food is the best way into a culture, a way of accessing another way of life through what and how people eat. Food can take us beyond the simple history of a culture and help us to experience its deeply significant desires of flavour, transgressing the boundaries of being an outsider and for that small moment having a real taste of place and belonging.

The Balinese cook with passion and pride, a way of life that is based on the value of sharing. I was lucky enough to hear the stories of a Balinese cook. The way she spoke about her families’ eating experiences I almost felt jealous. Her life seemed so loving and uncomplicated, she used food as a way to bring everyone together and to learn, which just isn’t so common nowadays in the West.

You rarely see a Balinese person eating out at a restaurant - maybe a Warung or food stall, otherwise they eat at home with their families.

The heart and soul of Bali village life is the morning markets. The food decked out in bamboo hand-woven baskets, and a rainbow of women wearing different coloured sarongs. The closest you get to takeaway in Bali is buying sweet and savoury rice dishes Burbur and Nasi Campur, all wrapped in shiny banana leafs for portability and bursting with Bali flavours of shrimp paste, soy and chilli from a woman who has prepared this all her life - a contrast to the brown Mc Donald's bag handed to you by a antsy teenager.

Food grown in Bali is smaller - the leeks look like shallots, the brown onions look like French eschalotts. Apples look like tiny pears, bananas are the size of a finger, and eggplants are the size of a cucumber. But you know what they say, good things come in small packages - not to mention the smaller it is the more condensed the flavour. If there’s one thing the Balinese value most, it’s their fresh produce. And I would too! It is exceptionally good quality.

Spending time in Bali, it’s apparent how spiritual the people are. Stepping over offerings of rice and flowers on the streets, taking in the smell of clove-scented incense in shops and being told you’ve passed good luck because of a sale made in the morning. They take it very seriously. This adds to the charm and nurturing nature of the country, which works its way into how they eat their food, always sharing with other people.

The Balinese are all about the rice. It is in fact the main part of a meal. Unlike here where meat takes the stage, in Bali it is seen as a simple condiment partnered with dishes such as Sambal or maybe a curry and freshly cooked veggies.

I think the future of Bali is in its food. From its old-school shack restaurants and villas to the newly refurbished restaurants that act as bridges, sophisticated food in Bali caters to European pallets of duck, butter and truffles. Whatever direction, food will be the focus, and I think that is a beautiful thing.

By Samantha Coutts.