Bali Runaway (Day 1) - Naughty Nuri's

I was going to name this post Quickie @ Bali but thought of horny people on the search engine made my reconsider. That title actually fits my post as this short trip to Bali in October was completely unplanned and thrown together at the last minute. Exactly 5 days before the trip.

There are 2 Jetstar flights out of Singapore daily. I took the one that departed at  10.40am. Luckily too, as my friend went a week after me using the 6.30pm flight. When he cleared customs, it was off to the hotel and to bed! The flight takes around 2hours 50 minutes over open water. During the flight, the attendant will give you 2 slips of paper to be filled out and handed over to the Indonesian Immigration and customs.
I took the time to catch up on sleep. I seriously need to reconsider my career.

Le partner, whom shall be referred to as Ant, co-ordinated his flight timing with mine and flew separately. When I arrived at Denpasar International Airport, a huge crowd was waiting to clear immigration. If you are arriving from any South East Asian countries or ASEAN, skip the visa queue and head to a queue labeled ASEAN countries visitors. It was on the right side of the hall when I visited. It took me 35 minutes to reach the head of the queue. Only 1 counter was open with 2 officers stamping away . I heaved a sighed and plastered on a smile when I reached them. They returned a weary smile when I greeted them in Malay. Making small talk at the risk of the passengers behind me stabbing my back, I asked if this was normal? I felt like I was at LAX all over again. The officer informed me that this is not peak season. During peak season,the airport sees 10,000 people a day!

Note to self, never visit Bali during peak season.

By the time Ant and I met up we were 1 hour late from the designated pick up time. The number of place cards were dizzying when we exited the departure hall. After scanning, we found Centra Taum's driver who had a smile even though he did wait quite a while. We shared the hotel transport with another couple who, coincidentally, sat next to me on the plane.

The ride from the airport to the hotel was around 40 minutes as it was in Seminyak. I had my reservations about the hotel because I bought the hotel stay through Groupon Malaysia. My doubts flew away when we were ushered into the lovely place. It was away from the main noisy Seminyak roads but yet not too far away. Read here for Centra Taum's review.

Teaser photo

After getting briefed by the receptionist, our bags were brought up to the hotel room. The journey and heat made us sleepy and we decided to take a nap before heading out to dinner.

As first timers in Bali, we underestimated sunset. By the time at 6.30pm, it was completely dark. Feeling adventurous and not quite hungry yet. we decided to walk to explore and then go to Naughty Nuri's Warung for their famed pork ribs. Super bad idea.

The roads are badly lit and there were numerous construction on the shoulder of the road, leading to gaping potholes. There isn't much of a sidewalk to begin with and I was silently praying that I didn't get run over by a motorbike or fall into a hole. We passed W Bali and Potato Head in 10 minutes walking distance from the hotel. Potato Head would be on my to-do list the next time around.

After getting our bearings and encountering a particular dark stretch, we decided to hail a cab. If you have been reading my blog, you would know I am not particularly fond of cabs. Even more so after the robbing attempt in Hanoi. Ant said to give it a try and we hopped in.

Never start a cab journey without (1) asking to turn on the cab meter; or (2) haggle the price. If you are heading around 1-5km away, cab drivers usually ask between IDR10,000 to IDR30,000. If they turned on the meter, it's around IDR18,000 for 5km.

There was a queue outside Nuri's when we got there. IMO, it's better to go there during the day as the surrounding shops would be open and more to see. When we were there at night, it really looked daunting, compared to the hipster environment during the day.

I realised that shops away from the shopping stretch of Seminyak close early..

The queue was the other side and smokey.

Anyway, we ended up sharing a table at Nuri's. We felt bad intruding on a family's dinner... Nuri's would be great if you have a group of people. You could share the portions and you could have a table to yourselves.

Ant had the recommended rack of pork ribs while I had the bebek goreng (fried duck). In Ant's opinion, as he was the pork rib connoisseur, he felt Tony Roma's was better. I disagreed. I could never go through an entire rack at Tony Roma's as the pork smell could be quite overpowering. At Nuri's the pork ribs were slightly charred and the BBQ sauce was just nice. Plus, Nuri's was at a half the price.

The famous Nuri pork ribs with porn corn in the back. Porn Corn is grilled corn with a glaze of BBQ sauce

My fried duck leg was total yums.When the portion came, I admit that I was a tad disappointed at the portion. However as I worked my way through it, there was more meat than expected. Duck usually has a slight gamey taste but the light coating of tumeric powder did away the taste.  The skin was cripsy and the meat was still soft. It was not too oily even though it was fried to a crisp. Dipped it in the preserved onions on my plate and I was satisfied!

Bebek goreng - crispy fried confit with vegetables and rice

We ended the meal with pisang goreng - I know, I know. I can get it in Singapore and Malaysia too but was hankering for some sweets.

Naughty Nuri's Warung
Address: Jalan Batubelig, 41, Kerobokan Kelod, Kuta, Bali
Phone: (62) 0361 847 6722
Email: mail@naughtynurisbali.com
Price: SGD$$