Imagine tears flowing through the outer corner of your eyes, sweating through every pore of your body, and no longer able to identify your taste buds ━ all because you eat a few spoons from your plate. Does that sound like torture to you? Well, it happened to be the first thing I objected to every time we landed in Bali, sometimes straight from the airport, before checking in to the hotel.
The Balinese cuisine Nasi Pedas (literally translated as spicy rice) has only been famous for a decade. It started from a roadside food stall called Nasi Pedas Ibu Andika. However, due to its growing popularity among us spicy-loving Indonesians who fly to Bali almost always with an itinerary that includes Nasi Pedas, you can find countless warung (roadside food stalls) selling it, especially around the touristy areas of the island.
Nasi Pedas food stall premise resembles the Asian deli or Nasi Padang restaurants. First, you get your standard white rice served on a rattan plate to accompany the Balinese side dishes behind the glass display – from seafood, tempeh, and chicken cooked in various ways to plenty of veggie-based dishes. Lastly, ━ the final addition to the plate is the show’s star, the mind-numbing sambal. A concoction of different types of chilli, including plenty of bird’s eye chilli and chilli pepper, the sambal, is “Oh Lord, it’s spiiiceeeyyy!“
You can say no to the sambal and enjoy the already-flavoured dishes without it, but I swear the sambal brings the flavours and your whole eating experience to a different level. And let’s not forget. The heat is also enhanced ━ or worsened (depending on your view) ━ by the year-round tropical Bali weather.
If you decide to have the sambal (good on you!), I advise eating a few crackers in-between to help elevate the burning feeling and continuously sip the nationally loved Teh Botol.
Nasi Pedas Ibu Andika
I don’t have a favourite Nasi Pedas warung per see, but the ones with “Ibu Andika” name on, and plenty in Bali, would be a safe bet. The food is cheap, but bring cash and leave extra as a tip to boost the local economy.
Lastly, if spicy food is not your forte (even if it’s), and it’s your first time eating Nasi Pedas, I would strongly encourage you to return to your hotel for some R+R sesh, you know, just in case.
Nasi Pedas Ibu Andika Jl. Raya Kuta 120C, Bali, Indonesia. It's located in front of Supernova / Joger.
Follow me on Instagram@KultureKween for more recent updates.
