eat! Ubud — Restaurant in Bali

Tulen is special.

The place is unassuming in both location and decor but it's managed to capture the soul of cuisines and essence of hearty eats somehow. It's simply one of the best I've tasted in Bali.

Situated around paddy fields 10 mins drive away from the main tourist stretch of Ubud, the small restaurant has an unobstructed 360 picturesque view of the skies and village. When we were there, the paddy are short so the fields are filled with water, creating a mirror image of the clear blue skies dotted with fluffy clouds, very pretty. While we eat, rice farmers plow the fields alongside herons, we could have sat there all day with that view and breeze. The music is tasteful - someone in management knows a bit about music, I guess - I particularly like the blend of deep disco played when we had lunch there. Nothing like a good soundtrack to go with the space (restaurant) and content (food), it really completes the experience without overpowering the senses.

We heard good things about the food, which prompted our visit. But I didn't expect, of the 10+ dishes we ordered, almost everything came out impressively delicious.

We were hungry and ready to splash out a bit for a big lunch. Bali does that to you, doesn't it? The prices are not exorbitant (Look, we are Singaporeans, average family resto prices about $5 for soups to $20 for a 250g steak, so no brainer.. makan!) and the menu looks too interesting to miss out. So we ordered a bunch of stuff to try.

Lawar is a must from the Bali starters and they have infused grilled duck in their version, there's a duck congee bebek bubur (usually u get ayam, so this is a must try) and soto kambing. Since I've not have my babi guleng fix yet since arriving Bali, I ordered the Babi Tulen, their version of the classic Balinese dish. I was craving pork and under the restaurant manager's recommendation, we ordered the confited Pork Belly served with mash too, apparently it's that stage of their babi guleng before it goes to roast, ok.

But wait, what's this? Did I see Parmigiana Tripe, a comfort food dish originated from Parma in a non Italian specialised resto in Bali? Gotta try that with both the Raviolis on the menu.

We also ordered a bunch of stuff from the vegetarian menu for the no meat eaters at the table  - raw curry, grilled bok choy edamame salad, ooo watermelon gazpacho, more raviolis and Sayur Urup these deep fried long beans mixed vege with shredded coconut croquettes with vegetarian lawar on the side.

We also ordered their Vegetarian Burger - I think this is a star in the making - made from an oyster mushroom patty, chickpea zucchini pancake, rosemary roasted potatoes on the side, served with vegan mayo.

The beers and kombuchas were served quickly once we sat down to order and while taking in the view and chatting, the food also followed swiftly enough.

First thing in the mouth, the lawar with duck on the belinjau crackers with fresh cut chili and a squeeze of lime, already got me in the party mood. The burst of flavours! I couldn't stop. All the starters are on the table by now so I just got round the dishes. The duck congee is satisfying even the most dissenting Cantonese tastebuds I can put on. It was thick like cantonese juk but with the kampong flavours of the bubur - tumeric, fried shallots and roast duck elevates the dish to a more exquisite version of an everyday street food, I'm already having favourite dishes in my mind! The flavours go very well together, as by now, we were just mixing dishes, somehow crossing local with continental cuisines. A mouthful of the tripe, then some succulent confited pork belly with mash, a bit of bok choy edamame salad, raw curry with ravilolis, the soups... my plate looks very happy. And I really can't narrate more other than to say, everything is honestly delicious.

Then came the mains (hahah, you would have thought we would be filled by now, but NO!). Babi Tulen for me and Vegan Burger for my date. Anyone would have thought they can only have one pork belly dish in one meal must come to Tulen and...

Love the food, atmosphere and the music

During my short stay in Ubud, I went a few times in Tulen and every time equally enjoyed the food and the atmosphere. It is situated at a really nice location not more of 10 minutes away (by scooter) from the main street, overlooking the rice fields and having its own outdoor art gallery paying respect to the hard-working Balinese people (really cool!).

I really loved their goat shank soup which I ordered every time :) Every main dish I tried was quite tasty and creative. It is obvious that they take care to provide the highest-quality ingredients.

The staff was every time really welcoming and polite and desserts are to kill for. If you come for lunch, I propose to finish it with one of the deserts and wonderful coffee (espresso & Raw chocolate peanut cake or Tiramisu were my choice:)

Mix all of that with a really great funky, soulful, disco music and you get a place where you want to come back every time...

The best selection of vegetarian, gluten free and gluten 'light' options I've found in a resturant that also serves meat. There really is something for everyone. The gluten free, vegan burger gives the impossible and beyond burger a serious run for their money. I actually went back for it the following day!

I first went with a group of friends, all having different food preferences, intending just to get one meal each, but we just kept ordering because the food was so tasty and clean we wanted to try everything, including deserts! We were also able to do so because of the very reasonable prices.

A perfect place for an afternoon of relaxing away from hot busy streets. Set in the paddy fields, designed beautifully and actual quality music playing ( so hard to find these days and often a deal breaker for me). A lovely breeze let's you relax outside with out melting on...