Warung Batavia: Javanese food in Kerobokan Bali

Bali is loaded with varieties of Indonesian food and a favourite among people from Java is Warung Batavia, located at the top of Jl. Seminyak and Jl. Raya Kerobokan. Warung Batavia serves pre-cooked dishes in a nasi campur style set up. The dishes though, are Javanese. Batavia is the old name of Jakarta and this warung definitely leans away from the pedas (spicy) flavours to the manis (sweet) flavours.

Today I walked there with my umbrella. We had a pretty powerful storm lasting an hour or so. When I left the house Ana was sitting in the garden, scrubbing clothes in the rain. “Its raining!” I said. “Tidak apa apa.” (doesn’t matter) she laughed.

At Batavia there was one local customer and one expat. Open from 10am - 9pm, Batavia is a great place to bring an Indonesian friend. Take my word for it, don’t take your new girlfiend to Cafe Moka, she won’t like that stuff, wait an hour and go to Batavia. Today I ordered nasi putih (white rice) ikan laut (mashed sea fish on a stick), satay ayam (chicken satay), perkedel kentang (potato cake), kangkung (water spinach) and terung (eggplant). I also got a bowl of soup which contained a big chunk or fish, tomatoes and sour vegetables. It was enak (delicious).