There are expats and there are expats. One of the true originals in this modern era is Jean from San Francisco, the owner of TJ’s Mexican restaurant on Poppies Lane I.
TJ’s will have been here 20 years in July.
Jean first came to Bali in 1970 and in 1975 started a backpackers restaurant called Kubu Krisna serving vegetarian food. In 1984 the original restaurant was remodeled to become TJ’s. Jean partnered with Nigel and Caroline from England and told me they had never eaten Mexican food until she had them over one night for her special homemade dishes.
In those early days of course Kuta looked way different than it does now, Jl. Legian was a dirt road and Poppies Lane was a track covered in palm fronds that just finished at the beach.
Like Poppies Restaurant and Made’s Warung, TJ’s is famous locally and is definitely a place to try. I love their beef tostada, which for those not familiar with Mexican food is a large crispy tortilla with lettuce, beans, beef, sour cream, salsa and other items. Its delicious!
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Nick: Jean obviously this is a Mexican restaurant but can you tell me a little more about the cuisine?
Jean: California style Mexican. We take a lot of things and try to please vegetarian and meat eaters. We get fresh ingredients and make our own dishes, its not pure Mexican but with a Mexican flavor. We’re currently working on adding an Asian element.
Nick: What is your specialty?
Jean: Nobody can beat our chicken enchiladas, they’ve been selling for ages. Chicken fajitas and fajitas in general have now become are specialty. Botanas are small appetizers are very popular.
People absolutely love our Mango cheesecake and it is the most popular dessert. We have a good selection of chocolate desserts too for the chocoholics.
Our margaritas have a reputation and the strawberry, lime and mango are the most popular.
Nick: Where do you get your recipes from?
Jean: I design all the new foods. Our philosophy is we have to taste all our food everyday, that’s an absolute necessity.
Nick: What are some of your principles for your food?
Jean: What I truly try to do is to keep things as fresh as possible and import as little as possible.
I keep a few interesting salads on the menu as we Californians can’t get along without our salads.
Nick: Tell me something about your staff.
Jean: Some of our staff have been with us 20 years. I am the head chef and we have other chefs.
The reason I have a restaurant is I like cooking. If we are super busy in order to maintain the level of service our customers deserve we use college students who have worked with us before.
Nick: Why did you choose this location?
Jean: Location. It was originally a backpacker / vegetarian restaurant which I was running on my own.
I missed Mexican food and did not want to clash with Poppies or Made’s Warung because they were good friends of mine. I’ve known Made since she was 16 years old and was running the warung with her sister.
Now people have copied our menu, its happened many times.
Nick: What is it about TJ’s that makes people want to come here?
Jean: We always tried to keep it quiet and make it a place where people would want to come and sit, especially in the afternoon.
The place was built from the ground up. It took 3 to 4 months to build after reconstruction from the old place.
People having dinner head to the tables I the back area. Some people like the lounging style too. The ponds help to cool off the place so that will always be here.
We have many tables for couples, unlike the warung style where everyone sits and long tables. The garden area is only open if its busy.
Nick:What helps create the ambiance?
Jean: Great music, my partner spends a lot of time mixing music. Great food at reasonable prices, good music and the ambiance.
Nick: What special events do you have?
Jean: We don’t do gimmicks, no happy hour, no party night, just good food and a a pleasant atmosphere.
Nick: Why should a visitor to Bali come to TJ’s
Jean: We don’t supply razzamataz. Romance is easy here. For fun bring your own good time. Mexican food goes very well with beer and margaritas which are conducive to a good time.
There are plenty of things on the menu for people who don’t think they like Mexican food eg. Stuffed baked potatoes with melted cheese which are very popular.
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I recently ate at TJ’s and again it was great.
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Here’s the link to the article in the Jakarta Post about the minute quake in Bali..
http://www.thejakartapost.com/detaillatestnews.asp?fileid=20040427154731&irec=2
mmm yummy I liked it too.Can’t remember what I had, I can blame that on the delicious margaritas!! Trying to imagine Poppies Lane like you described 20 years ago. It must have been like Paradise.
Can’t think of a better match than mango and cheesecake.
The first photo pretty much reinforces Jean’s philosophy - good food in a relaxed atmosphere - very relaxed, so relaxed the cares of the world are put aside. And I love the colors - bright without being overwhelming.
Howdy Nick ,
Great to hear ya still eating ya way through Bali.
Im recovering well.
See ya soon hopefully
Cheers Mick
NICK!!!!!!!
Where are you? I am bored at work & it seems not much is happening on any sites today! So traumatic for me to be at work & have nothing but work to do!??
I’m to find a postal mailing address to thank Cathy and Nigel for their marvellous hospitality, preferably to send to TJ’s. And yes, the mango cheesecake rocked with the Balinese wine!
G’Day Nick,
Excellent interview mate. Jean is certainly an amazing character. Tj’s is without a doubt the best Mexican food in Bali.