Part 14 – The resort Michael Taylor stayed at in West Bali had two food-and-beverage outlets. One was a casual restaurant serving breakfast and local dishes at lunch and dinner. And the other was a fine-dining restaurant serving a mostly Western menu. On Michael’s second night, he decides to wander outside the compound to dine at an unpretentious little warung he saw on his trip to the salt-makers earlier that day.
Best Fried Rice in Bali?
On my way to and from the salt makers’ hut on Kelating Beach (see Travelogue: How to Make Salt in Bali, I noticed what appeared to be the rural Balinese version of a strip mall. There were several little stands selling I knew not what and a collection of locals that had arrived on motor scooters or on foot.
I asked my guide if any of stalls sold food, and he said, “Yes!” He recommended a little warung – Indonesian for café – called RM Marineo and introduced me to a middle aged woman, whom I assume was the owner. I said I would be back in a couple of hours for dinner.
Following a sybaritic spa treatment at Soori Bali, I was on my way back down that beautiful black sand beach toward the RM Marineo.
Colourful Menu
The colourful menu featured only 10 dishes. I settled on what seems to be Indonesia’s national dish, nasi goreng, or Indonesian style fried rice.
Every time the waitress emerged from the kitchen, she was carrying the same dish: fried rice topped with a fried egg and shrimp chips. And each time I thought it was for me. But each time it wasn’t.
All I can say is, this must be the house specialty because everyone else was ordering the same dish that I had ordered. And that included some of the neighboring shopkeepers.
After what seemed an eternity, the waitress emerged from the kitchen and headed to my table, placing that yummy looking plate of fried rice in front of me. I took one bite. And I knew why everyone else had ordered the nasi goreng.
I’ve had nasi goreng several times on this trip. But the plate of it that I had the RM Mairneo was by far the best – better, in fact, than what I’ve had at any of the five star hotels I’ve stayed at so far!
