Bali Day 2 - Balangan Beach, Ku De Ta, MÉTIS Bali

On offer in one of the bain marie trays during breakfast on our second day in Bali was "baked beans". I was curious - would the Balinese really be able to make decent baked beans? Baked beans can be highly controversial. In my opinion, Heinz baked beans are your nice standard baked beans, great on toast for a quick breakfast or as part of a nice big fry-up. I've tried home brand ones, and other brands like SPC, and they're just not the same. Something not quite right about the sauce. Of course, homemade or "homemade" (how can they use the word "homemade" in a restaurant, I've often wondered? Do they employ someone to sleep out the back?) beans are highly superior, especially if they include tasty additions like chunks of ham or something. I really wasn't partial to the Canadian version of baked beans, finding it far too sweet as it generally contains molasses. Having said this though, I did quite enjoy the Feves au Lard from La Binerie in Montreal when we went down there for a good old fashioned Quebecois meal one night, though it's definitely a 'sometimes food' unless you have magical teflon arteries.

Breakfast day 2 - fried noodles, bacon, freaky chicken sausage, steamed veges, herbed potatoes and "baked beans"

So, I admit I was sceptical about the Balinese version of baked beans, but after the success of the delicious pumpkin pie and the fact that breakfast was indeed already paid for and all-you-can-eat I thought I'd give them a fair go. Unfortunately I like to be able to actually chew my baked beans, and not save them in my pocket should I need to stone someone to death so these particular beans didn't quite do it for me.

I was however very impressed with the chicken sausages on this morning. They had cut into the ends so that when they cooked, the ends curled up. Sadly it was much nicer to marvel at than actually eat. Never mind, the noodles and veges were tasty so I went back for more of those until I had eaten far too much (my modus operandi with buffet breakfasts when on holiday - you never know when you may next be eating! Plus it's always good to keep stretching out your stomach so it's ready for the inevitable gorging when you discover some amazing new restaurant.)

Balangan Beach - can you spot the fisherman on the cliff?

After hitting up Kuta we were then picked up by Ch in the afternoon for a trip out to Balangan Beach which is one of Bali's surfing beaches in the Bukit Peninsula. It was the perfect way to spend a hot afternoon, cooling off in the ocean and then relaxing and chatting under an umbrella on the beach. At some stage we heard a loud rumbling noise and couldn't figure out what it was, but when we returned to Seminyak we discovered that it had been raining heavily in our absence! This was the only rain there was during our holiday, and we miraculously missed it by heading to the beach. Clearly the gods were smiling on us.

Ku De Ta - popular amongst the miniature martian pirate gay community

After showering and getting somewhat more dressed up than we had previously been, later that night we headed back to Ku De Ta for dinner with more friends. I didn't actually document this (due to very dim lighting, not because I was too shy to pull out the camera in the company of many people I'd only just met, honest), but we enjoyed some really very good gyoza, sushi rolls, sashimi and oysters, all washed down with a beautifully refreshing margarita.

Métis Gallery & Restaurant (photos taken from Métis website)

Next stop was THE place to be in Bali that night - the grand opening of MÉTIS Restaurant and Gallery. It really was not the event to attend if you were having a fat day or a bad hair day, as being surrounded by Russian models, even very sweet ones, is not really a self-esteem boosting exercise. Entertainment for the night included cancan dancers and a magician (complete with that spaced-out wooshy magician music), but we were more entertained by the decor and clientele.

MÉTIS Restaurant and Gallery replaces Kafe Warisan, which I was not familiar with but has apparently been a Bali institution for many years. The location is quite stunning, as you can see in the photographs above the restaurant has a lovely warm earthy tone and overlooks sweeping rice paddies. It was a little difficult to get a good appreciation for the place when we were there given the hordes of people and the fact it was set up for the opening party, but I could sense an underlying calm feel to the place despite the craziness of the night.

Métis Gallery & Restaurant opening party

Reviews of the restaurant are currently very limited given how new it is, but it appears that the menu is quite extensive, favouring classic French dishes, and the food is superb. However, I have to agree with one reviewer that "describing a dish as containing the restaurant’s “legendary foie gras” when the paint is barely dry on the walls, was a little presumptuous". If I am not feeling too stingy next time I'm in Bali (my stinginess seems to increase exponentially the longer I stay in a place where the cost of living is much less than what I'm used to) then I would like to get back to METIS for a relaxing meal, and perhaps see if this foie gras is indeed the thing of legends.

After kicking on at a house party, C and I decided to call it a night and get a taxi back to our villa, via a 24-hour eatery called Soho (we were in need of late night sustenance... where's a kebab shop when you need one?). What ensued was a very longwinded argument with the taxi driver about the price, resulting in us not only not going via Soho, but being dropped off at the wrong location of our villas (they have two nearby locations). The staff at the other place were happy to drive us to the right location, so we were able to actually get home without too much hassle but we still had hungry tummies. Room service had finished for the night, so we asked at the front desk what our options were and it appeared there was only one - McDelivery.

They called for us and we put in our shameful order, then began to wait. And wait. We waited so long that we both ended up falling asleep, only to be woken by the phone some time later. Well, I was woken by the phone, scrambled around to find a robe, and then answered the door to our delivery man. It was now over 90 minutes since we had placed the order, and the food looked and felt like it had been in transit since this time. The funniest part were the two drinks, which were in normal Maccas cups but had also been placed in their own plastic bags to catch any spills as the delivery man hooned around on his motorbike. Clearly he was a real hoonyhoonster because the bags contained most of the drinks and the cups were just in there for show. I saved the drink bags to show Caroline the next day (she was still blissfully asleep), chucked the food in the bin and went back to bed.