February 27th, 2011 – On what started out to be a stormy day, turned out to be nice family outing on Jalan Petitenget!
It was pouring rain in the morning and I was sure I was going to be stuck at home for yet another day. The rainy season has been quite intense this year in Bali. During breakfast, mom even had to pull my chair in as I was going to get soaked with the strong winds and the heavy rain in our outdoor kitchen.
The skies cleared out and after my morning nap, we headed out for family day 🙂 Mom and dad had been meaning to try Biku restaurant/Tea House. One of their friends had recommended the place, especially the Carrot Cake, which was the best he’d ever had. Given that mom has a major sweet tooth, we had to go check this out! A real yummy dessert in Bali – that is definitely something she had to discover!
We hopped into a taxi and upon arrival at the restaurant, we were greeted by a smiley waiter. It was quite busy so he asked if we would mind sharing a table or if we would like to sit outdoors. Finally, a table cleared out and we were seated at a large table for 6. He brought us a large wooden high-chair (still no straps) and a toy for me to play with – Bonus points for this guy!!
Soon after, they moved us to a smaller table for 2, which was fine by us – more intimacy for our family-time together…
The menu was varied and provided many choices for my parents, who were eager to get a good taste of ‘western flavours’. They were starting to get tired of Indonesian, or Italian (which was their default for take-out food lately). They opted for the Biku Deluxe Beef Burger (45 000Rp) and the Homemade Shepherd’s Pie (50 000Rp), and they ordered a side order of steamed vegetables for me (15 000 Rp) (not too hard they asked, so that I would be able to chew them with my 4-teeth gums!)
Since the resto was quite busy, service was a little slow. While we were waiting for our food, mom took me for a walk around the resto, which has a nice Antique style decor. There is a section with couches, and the whole place feels very cozy with little trinkets displayed along the shelves. At the front of the establishment, there is also the Ganesha Bookshop of Ubud which displays old, rare as well as modern books.
Finally, time to EAT! I was starving by now. Not so much because the service was slow, but also because we had a late start to our family day. When my vegetable plate arrived, I scorched down those carrots, green beans, and zucchini which were steamed to perfection (not too hard and not too soft), with just a hint of salt and light flavouring – Yummy! Oh yeah, there was also cauliflower in the plate, but they’re not my favourite, but they were good too…
I started to get so excited by the food, that I started standing and crawling in my high-chair to reach my veggie plate! Since the chair had no security straps, dad found a fix and used his belt to keep me seated during the meal.
Dad’s burger arrived – it looked delicious…and it was! I think I ate a quarter of his beef patty, it was so yummy! It came with sautéed mushrooms, a sweet onion jam and pickles on the side, a little bowl of ketchup and was accompanied by a nice house salad. Let’s just say the plate was almost sparkling clean when we were done eating 🙂
The shepherd pie came in a hot ramequin (good size) and was also served with a house salad. I also enjoyed this dish, the mashed potatoes had that homemade feel (but were less smooth than grandma’s back home) and the beef was tasty. It had slightly too much Savory (Sariette – in French) flavour for mom’s liking. No worries, dad helped to finish her plate and she finished up both house salads cuz the dressing was so yummy. Wow, I don’t think I’ve seen my parents clean their plates off so neatly in a restaurant – Ever! They were obviously able to satisfy their cravings here!
Unfortunately, we were too full to taste the carrot cake – so we ordered a piece to take home 🙂 Both mom & dad agreed that it was de-li-cious!
This lovely tea house/resto has a great ambiance, friendly service and delicious food. For those who enjoy tea-time, they also offer a tea service, with a layered tea-platter of sandwiches, small quiche, scones and small desserts at 75 000Rp/person (min. 2 persons, I believe). From what we could see, it looked quite ‘traditional’ and tasty. For those who are interested, you may also request a tarot reading while you enjoy your cup of tea….
I have a feeling we’ll be coming back to this place 🙂
Food: ****1/2
Deco/setting: ****
Service: ****
(out of 5 stars)
No. 888 Jl. Petitenget
Kerobokan, Bali
+62 361 857 0888
Little Sumo Girl 