Bebek Tepi Sawah — Restaurant in Jakarta

My host introduced me to this lovely Balinese restaurant. I love the decorations and design on the paper table mat.

The name of the restaurant means "Duck by the Padi" because Balinese farmers keep the ducks to eat the pests and algae in the fields and fertilise them.

As the rice plant matures, they are then kept away to prevent them from eating the crops.

This means you have organically farmed rice and free range ducks! Big win for the farmers - and us.

This also means that the ducks are not as fat as the ones we usually eat.

The famous dish is the crispy fried duck. They also serve many types of chicken and fish, including soup.

I ordered the crispy fried duck, it was good, I liked the side dish as well. Indonesians can fry vegetables pretty well.

A word of caution though, this is Indonesian crispy fried, think standing deep fried gurame, so it can be a little dry and hard.

If you prefer something softer, go for the roasted or braised ones - ask the servers which is which is you don't understand Bahasa like me.

Desserts are also interesting with tropical fruits.

My meal was around IDR200,000 - about S$2+? I'd say this is an interesting place...

Hailing from Bali, the name of this restaurant chain is synonymous with famous nasi bebek in Indonesia. I remembered trying it for the first time in its home ground of Bali and sadly, was left disappointed with how ordinary the food actually tasted. Nevertheless, I decided to give it another chance. I visited this particular outlet in PIM2 and I ordered their signature nasi bebek crispy, gurame goreng and sate lilit. The bebek crispy turned out decent. I can taste the aromatics and as it was crispy as the name suggests. The duck meat was not too dry which unfortunately was the case in my first try. The long beans were packed with heavy seasonings and it was a little salty in my opinion. The gurame goreng was nicely deep fried to a crisp. The bones were crunchy and the meat was not overly dry. The sate lilit was a little on dimensional as I felt it the taste can be enhanced with some sweetness. The meat had a nice bounce reminiscent of meatball texture. The highlight for me was the red sambal which came with the nasi bebek. It was a flavor packed condiment with rich umami and strong aroma. Overall the food here was commendable albeit can be...

Best duck place in town. I always ordered my favorite dish - The Crispy Duck which is cooked to perfection. The duck portion is satisfyingly large, crispy on the outside and juicy inside. I always chose Nasi Merah rather than the White Rice (you have to pay extra for Nasi Merah) because besides healthier, the nasi merah is really delicious. The long beans side dish portion is also fulfilling.

Their Bebek Betutu is also delicious, a “moister” version of the Crispy Duck.

For those who prefer fish, their Gurami Ikan Bakar and Sate Lilit are also delicious.

Pricey with price ranging from 112k-139k for Main Dishes. Sate is...