Warung Babi Guling Ibu Oka 1 — Restaurant in Bali

We visited Ibu Oka because it came highly recommended by several locals for its suckling pig. Unfortunately, the dish was extremely disappointing and we found the establishment rather dishonest.

We ordered the suckling pig special, but the dish that came was extremely different from the photos in the menu, AND some of the photos in the reviews. The "pork" was several thin slabs of white meat that was smeared with spices. However, the meat was very white, and had the taste and dry, grainy texture of frozen chicken breast - and a boiled rather than roasted one at that. The caramel brown skin we were so looking forward to was also conspicuously absent, replaced instead with 2 keropoks.

Confused, I verified with our server that the meat was indeed "babi" rather than "ayam", which they insisted so. When quizzed about the absent skin, it seems the server attempted to pull a fast one on us by insisting that the keropok was indeed pig's skin. Perhaps they had run out of pork and tried to substitute it with chicken thinking that we couldn't tell the difference as foreigners. Unfortunately, I live in a place where suckling pig and keropok is not uncommon.

If you look at the low-rated reviews, you'll see several photos similar to ours, which are very distinct from the photos of actual roast pork in high-rated reviews.

We barely touched the dish after a few...

One of the oldest, most traditional, roasted pork places you'll find on the island. Ibu Oka has been around for over 30 years on Jalan Sunset, and existed before then, at a different spot in the area.

At 11AM you can catch their roast in action. After that, you'll be handed cuts from the succulent pig. Fresh every day.

If you are new to this, try ordering the plate that comes with a little bit of everything - Pork skin, roasted pork meat, sausage, crunchy fried pork bits and rice. Soup is also served as part of the meal package and it was my favorite part. Clear broth with veggies, chunks of pork inside. Ask for their chili sauce and you’ll be handed diced green chilis in an oil as a side. The seeds are super spicy.

We paid about 75,000 for a set. Seems like you can eat more when you first see your plate, but by the end all the boys were stuffed, and I couldn't finish my food. We needed to walk back to our hotel to feel better.

Employees are very nice. Food arrives quickly in rattan baskets covered with a wax paper. Not vegetarian or vegan friendly.

Beer served here along with other soda beverages and waters. Best to...

This is my must eat when in Bali. Even when I stay far away from Ubud and make the trek here. My weakness for crispy pork skin, roast pork, gravy and sambal on the side. Anytime in Indonesia, I would look for it, not just Bali but even when in Jakarta, Lombok, Yogja. It’s not the cheapest but I believe it’s the pioneer. We arrived at 11am sharp and missed it by walking passed it as there was zero queue. We were the first to get seated. There’s 2 other outlets named no. 2 and 3. Tough times in Bali due to low touristy numbers but tough times do not last. I see some bad reviews here on google here. I don’t understand their basis of comparison. Mostly are foreigners who’s not too keen on Indonesian food and consider it bland. I don’t compare this to Chinese Siu Yoke even though they both are roasted pork. Compare babi guling to Babi guling yeah. Else it’s like apples...