Bale Udang - Ubud, Bali

I took a long drive from trendy Seminyak to green and serene Ubud. I thought it would be the perfect quick get away before I had to back to my temporary nest in Legian. Half through the journey, my tummy started to rumble. Obviously a stale Pain au Chocolat could not hold my hunger for long. I needed something more substantial. Rice, to be precise (I blame my Indonesian root in this case). I searched the nearest restaurant on trip advisor through my mobile and I came across to Bale Udang. There is another Bale Udang in Kuta apparently, but I don't think I would not survive that long.. 

The Reception Hall

Bale Udang Ubud is a pretty place, I find. I appeared to be quite new. It's a large compound with one main reception hall where the hostesses welcome guests, followed by another smaller hall with tables and chairs and a bar. But I think the main attraction are to dine on one of the bamboo huts above massive fish pond, or al fresco. I chose one bamboo hut all for myself ... Awesome. I'm liking this place more and more. 

I didn't wait too long to order the food. I asked for fried prawn dumplings, fried rice with salted fish and lime juice without sugar (just to make me feel a little less guilty as I was about to devour starter and main course altogether.. Yes, I was that hungry). While I was waiting for my food to arrive I connected to the venue's Wi-Fi. Wow.. Impressive!! The connection was really good. Thumbs up to Bale Udang! Oh.. and each hut has power socket too.. so I could charge up my gadgets while munching. Whoop .. whoop.. 

The food did not keep me waiting too long either .. All served nice and hot in less than 20 minutes! Overall, I think I got very good value for money here, in comparison to average pricing in the rest of Bali, anyway. Friendly and efficient service, nice ambience and generous portion of food that tastes good. I could not have been happier. 

Ok, if I can be critical, the fried prawn dumpling could do with more prawn, as it was overpowered by mixed vegetables filling. I barely taste any prawn. But it was still a pleasant starter to share (not that I shared it with anybody at the time). 

Full and content I wander about the compound. I would imagine this spot is family friendly, ideal for family gathering, leave the kids to play around with the fish (under parents supervision, of course) and introduce them to nature that they rarely see especially in big cities. So, there's a recommendation for you if you happen to be in the neighbourhood :) And by the way, if the adults fancy dunking their feet on the water, they can too... Nothing wrong with being childish from time to time.

If you have a slight concern about slow service because of those individual huts, you don't need to worry. There's staff post in between huts, so you can get their attention quickly but just waving at them. 

Bale Udang Ubud

Jalan Raya Goa Gajah, Banjar Teges Kanginan, Desa Peliatan, Ubud.

Bali - Indonesia

Opening Hours: Daily from 11 AM - 10 PM

Phone: +62 361 978 754

Website: www.baleudang.com