Eating at Billys on the Yellow Brick Road

A lot of travellers to Bali will remember the small gang between Jl Padma and Jl Melasti as a dirt road. Now it is all asphalt, much wider and named Jl Sahadewa. Years ago when they were preparing the gang for asphalt, heaps of yellow sand and rock were dumped everywhere. Then, everybody called it the Yellow Brick Road.

Now on Jl Sahadewa there are numerous restorans. Candika spotted Billy’s Bar & restoran and to there I was dragged for a bit of tucker. I was sure glad she did because ya gotta check this place out. It is incredible!.

Billy’s is structured like a Bale (basic Balinese structure), and even though there are shops either side and to the rear, it still has that open-air pavillion feeling. A stone floor (at first glance I thought it was slate!) with thick bamboo struts supporting a steep thatched roof give Billy’s a ‘real’ Balinese atmosphere. And, the chairs…..they are unbelievable!. ‘Business Lounge’ size, wide bamboo pole chairs with cushions so thick that as soon as you sit in them, your nose is the same level as the table!. It’s a great mixture of tables and chairs.

A few low Japanese-style long tables with scatter cushions are popular with patrons, and if Billy’s had designed the whole decor in this fashion then it would have been superb. But hey, I ain’t gonna knock this place!. The young Balinese staff are hilarious and definite comics in their own right. They are always joking and teasing the patrons and of course this is reciprocable. This for me, gives it real character.

Billy’s Bar & Restoran
Jl Sahadewa (Between Jl Melasti & Jl Padma)

The menu is brilliant with heaps of choices. All manner of seafood cooked in a variety of styles, and, most cooked in those delicious Balinese spices. The Indonesian fare is varied with dishes from the islands and a lot of Bali specialities. But, it is the poor chook that gets a hammering at Billy’s. Chicken with hot mustard & Cream sauce, Chicken with Dill and Chilli peppers, chicken sauted and chicken fried and sambal chicken. There are a lot more. Ya gotta feel sorry for the chooks who live near Billy’s!,

Candika decided on the Chicken Panggang (Rp20,000). The whole back of a chicken marinated in Balinese spices and then slowly grilled over hot charcoals. Served with a Nasih Putih and a side salad, Candika never stopped eating until the plate looked like it had just emerged from the dishwasher!. She then did the old KFC trick of licking her fingers and then topping it off with an iced Ginger tea. Somehow I think Candika enjoyed the meal!,

As for yours truly, I was in a more investigative mood and felt like giving the chooks a break for the night and selected the Satay Campur (Rp19,000). Various meats continuously brushed with Bumbu Bali and gently charcoaled over a medium heat. Served with Nasih Putih and a bowl of very crunchy peanut sauce, the whole meal was a jaw-tester. Hey, I don’t mean the meat was tough. On the contrary, it was superbly tender. It was the size of the meat pieces. Unlike normal restorans where one satay stick is almost equivalent to a mouthful, at Billy’s each piece of meat was a ‘gobstopper’!. An absolute pleasure to devour.

Atmosphere: Warm & Super-pleasant.
Food Quality: Top Notch!
Service: Friendly and very efficient
Rating: 8.5

Billy’s Bar & Restoran is one place I would recommend to any traveller. Just for a drink and a laugh, this place is great. For a meal, this place is beautifully insane! Check the place out!!.