In this article, we will skip the Babi Guling and Satay. These can be found in the ‘Balinese Dishes’ article https://www.balinews.co.id/bali-traditional-food/. Although these delicious dishes fall under street food, we will expand the Balinese street food dishes in this article. These are dishes you must try when you visit Bali! These street-prepared dishes, often served in banana leaves, can be eaten on the street or at the beach, or taken to your favourite spot on the island.
Bakso
Bakso is a delicacy consisting of a meatball or meat paste. This dish is known as one of the most popular street food dishes in Bali and comes from Indonesian Chinese cuisine. The translation of Bakso is airy meat or minced meat. This is because the texture of these meatballs is quite airy. The classic Bakso is made from beef, but there are also variants with chicken, pork, or fish. Because Indonesia is largely Muslim besides Bali, street vendors frequently sell the Bakso versions made from beef or chicken. During preparation, the meat is seasoned and rolled by hand into balls after which they are boiled in hot water until cooked. Bakso is usually served in a noodle soup or sliced in a noodle or nasi goreng but you can also buy them separately.
Serombotan
Serombotan is a spicy vegetable dish that consists of a mixture of sprouts, long beans, spinach, kale, bitter melon, and eggplant. These vegetables are cooked, cut into pieces, and flavoured with different kinds of sambal consisting of chilli, coconut, soy sauce, and herbs. After this, the dish is served with beans, peanuts or peanut butter, and grated coconut. Keep in mind that this can be a spicy dish!
Fishhead Soup
Not very well known, but very tasty! Fishhead soup is a spicy and lightly salted soup with pieces of fishhead. The entire fishhead is used for this including eyeballs, so be prepared for this. However, don’t let this put you off by this, as this local soup has an amazing and unique taste. This terrifying soup is served with rice, sambal, and fried mackerel.
Sweet Corn
Especially on the coast, many street stalls are selling grilled sweet corn. The sweetcorn is grilled or roasted whole on charcoal. The cabbage is greased in advance with butter and if you like covered with extra sauces such as chilli or barbecue sauce. Spicy sauces are a very good combination with the sweet creamy taste of the corn
Terang Bulan
Terang Bulan, also known as Marabak Manis, is a dessert pancake. The pancake is prepared on the street on hot baking trays. Before the pancake is folded over, it is sprinkled with the fillings after which given a little time to melt. These toppings usually consist of condensed milk, peanut, or sprinkles. But nowadays more modern fillings are also offered such as Toblerone, Oreo, Kitkat, red velvet, green tea or cream cheese. Terang Bulan is considered a snack to eat with loved ones but beware: for a snack, this sweet pancake is delicious but very filling!
Pisang Rai
This traditional Balinese morning snack is made from banana. The banana is wrapped in batter and boiled or steamed. After this, the breakfast dish is served with grated coconut. It is a sweet yet savoury dish with soft flavours and a combination of Bali’s two best-known fruits: banana and coconut. To make this dish even more tropical, some street vendors offer an extra sweet pineapple sauce with this snack. Perfect with a cup of coffee or tea to wake up in the morning.
Jaje Bali
Jaje Bali is the general term for a selection of different Balinese sweet treats such as cakes and pies. Many of these delicacies have a sticky substance. This is because they are often made from sticky rice and/or flour. It differs per market stall what this sweet selection of desserts consists of, but you can expect the before mentioned Pisang Rai, but also rice flour muffins, black rice pudding, Pandan pancakes, Pandan cake, and Spekkoek. These different sweet invasions are served with grated coconut and palm sugar.
