Friday, April 29, 2011

Ubud's Daily Deli

Pat and I scootered down a dark windy road, filled with "George of the Jungle Vines" in Ubud, Bali in search of dinner one rainy night. We came across a small market place on the side of the road that had many restaurants and stores. Pat, in desperate need of a cheese burger, went to a small shop called the "Daily Deli" and instantly had me come in to try their cupcakes. We got two cupcakes, that were more like muffins in that they had no frosting piled on top of them; a chocolate with a couple almonds on top and a vanilla one with a drizzle of glaze. 
(They had some display cupcakes that had some frosting, but i guess you don't get the sugary topping on them unless they are special ordered). 
The cupcakes were pretty good, even though they had no frosting. They tasted almost more like muffins in that they were not as sweet as the typical cupcakes us American are use too, but they definitely satisfied our taste-buds. The texture was spot on and the flavors were very delicious. The girls working at the deli were super helpful and spoke very good English, which allowed us to have some extremely interesting and very informational conversations with them for awhile after we were done devouring our meals. This little deli was a great place to stumble upon, and allowed us to eat some food that did not consist of rice...finally and amen!  

Monday, April 25, 2011

Buddha Likes Cupcakes Too

Off a beaten dirt road near Canggu Beach is a grocery store, Canggu Deli, that is filled with quality meats, produce, snacks and baked goods. And, of course I had to get a cupcake from the bakery! 
I got a vanilla cupcake topped with little heart sprinkles. I dont know what else to say besides it tasted like a typical vanilla cake, with a stiff, thick, sugary vanilla buttercream. But I will tell you that Buddha seemed to like it! 

Monday, April 18, 2011

Bali Bakery

Since 1994, Bali Bakery has filled the island's air with their freshly baked bread, contemporary pastries, steaming hot beverages, and breakfast through dinner menu. The fancy schmansy, no photo's allowed bakery was filled with mouthwatering treats that made it hard to pick out a couple to try. 
The bread that lined the shelves in the first part of the bakery looked absolutely fantastic (plus the first place we could find in Bali that had whole grain bread!!!) We got a Corn Bread Roll that was soft and airy, and with every bite you got a mouth full of warm corn. 
Of course, I had to get a cake ball, which was about 3 times the size of most cake balls you can find in the states. The larger size of the cake ball was a VERY good thing- you got to taste the cake center a lot more and the chocolate shell was not as thick and not overpowering unlike the cake balls I have stumbled across in US bakeries. 
Pat dove in at the chance to have a traditional chocolate chip cookie. This cookie was extremely hard and crunchy, which is one thing i cannot stand. It was like biting into a stale cracker, and with the surprise nuts inside, it only made it more crunchy! I love me some slightly undercooked warm ooey-gooey cookies, and this was completely opposite. And who knows how long the cookies were sitting in the jar before i bit into it... not recommened! 
Lastly, we got a ever so rich, Chocolate Praline Pastry. This dessert was like a rainbow of flavors and textures exploded into this little pastry-there was chocolate, white chocolate, praline, gelatin things (yuck!), cake, mousse, chocolate bits, etc. All in all, it was pretty good, until i bit and felt a piece of gelatin slip into my mouth, because switching from mousse to having to chew something that wont break down is just not my thing. 
Bali Bakery is definitely a bakery inspired by European and American bakeries, in what they offer, style of shop and in prices. And with four locations on the island, you will have no excuse not to try Bali Bakery. 

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Indonesia's Purimas 3 Cake & Bakery

On our second day in Indonesia, we scootered down the busy jammed packed roads of Southern Bali, and stumbled across Purimas 3 Cake & Bakery. This bakery was packed with rainbow colored bite sized pastries and cakes that looked like they came straight from a 1980's grocery store (oddly, in a very lovely way).

 We got a bunch of different baked goods to try out ranging from chocolate glazed doughnuts to bright green Angel Food Cake. 
The doughnuts were extremely soft and fluffy, and with the crazy humid heat the chocolate glaze was melting a bit, which made them even better. There were many pastries that were a buttery flaky dough, almost like a croissant, filled with different things such as chocolate and some weird custard-like filling that I could not even begin to describe. 
They were good, but nothing spectacular. This bakery was pretty  hyped on the gelatin jell-o like squares, which I cannot even stand the idea of eating, but people were buying them like Charlie Sheen buys crack. 
Purimas 3 Bakery was a fun place to try out, but nothing keeps you running back for more. Well, the fact the adorable girls looked like people that work at the Haunted Mansion in Disneyland and that each pastry was around $1,700 Rupiah, only $0.17 USD, kept me a bit intrigued. 

Monday, April 11, 2011

Bali's Kue Chocolaterie and Bakery

For the past two weeks, I travelled around Bali, Indonesia exploring temples, rice fields, and eating my way around the country in search of traditional Indonesian bakeries.
 One night in Ubud, an art based city basically in the center of the country, we found Kue, a Chocolaterie, Bakery and Kafe (FYI: they spell everything wrong in Bali, and i know its not Kafe, but Cafe). This small bakery was filled with pastries, truffles, and fresh breads, they even had some Gluten-free and Raw options! 
Pat and I chose to buy an assortment of different chocolates.
We got a White Chocolate Green Tea Chocolate that was fantastic! The matcha powder was a perfect match with the white chocolate; so good we ended up going for 2nds! The Espresso Chocolate truffle was, again, amazing, it tasted exactly like a prefectly pulled cup of espresso, and topped with a crunchy espresso bean! Next was a Candied Ginger Milk Chocolate, that was not too overpowering of ginger and it melted in my mouth. We also got a White Chocolate with Rose and Cardamom truffle, a flavor combo I have never devoured before, but had to give it a try and to my surprise to worked awesome together. And last but not least we had their tradition chocolate truffle that was pretty darn great! 
All of their chocolates had the most amazingly gorgeous flavors, and the middles complimented the crunchy chocolate shell perfectly. The flavors worked perfectly together and did not over power each other, which many places I feel cannot accomplish! 
We are guilty and got seconds of most of all the chocolates, and would of gone back for thirds! Kue is one of my favorite bakeries I tried in Bali, and cannot wait to go back to try out their breads and other pastries!!