Mai3 Cafegan Vegetarian Cafe — Restaurant in Kuta

Had one of our best meals at the Mai3 Restaurant. It is really a hidden gem of a vegan and vegetarian restaurant. The food at Mai3 is so so good that we dined twice in 3 days and also packed some for our flight out from Bali. The owner, Ms. Lily was warm and very helpful with the suggestions on what to eat. It has a huge menu and no onion, garlic, eggs are used and very reasonably priced for the big portions they serve. The Kung Pao dish is a MUST Try - they substituted the oyster mushroom with tofu-tempeh for us and it was absolutely delicious. We had the mixed vegetables (cap chye) and basil rice on our first dine in. The food is freshly prepared, and most tofu/Tempeh they make in-house. It has ample seating and the indoor seating is a good respite from the heat. Every dish was a flavour bomb - MaPo Tofu (with their softest, delicious, homemade tofu), Nasi Bakar and the outstanding Mushroom Satay. They make most ingredients like tofu, tempeh, sauces in-house - which makes the food taste fresh and wholesome. The prices are very reasonable and portions are big. Everything we tasted was delicious. Highly recommend to visit this place to try authentic flavours of vegetarian/vegan Chinese and Indonesian food. Great service...

Nasi Bakar Betutu, Orange Sauce Mushroom Rice Bowl, Fu Yung Hai Tofu was my selections. It was sort of delivering slow food experience, since the flavor of the food crafted with bold seasonings or the indonesians called it "berani bumbu", in addition to its calming ambience making you no rush to savour the zest.

Its signature Nasi Bakar Betutu portion was made for two for a not so big eater, and its roasting technique with leaf really brings out various spices came to life (i enjoy turmeric, lemongrass, and aromatic ginger bold scent). Orange sauce mushroom was a bit sour rather than sweet, but when its combined with sweet sauce from fu yung hai, it balanced perfectly. I think they did not sauteed their Pok Coy with garlic, but a mere sesame oil.

Winning notes for me was their signature winter melon tea, it was so refreshing and i think it was my first time trying out winter melon beverages. Never even knew such thing existed before. Bought additional bottle for take out! Thank you Kevin, you were also very inviting and kind when explaining the dishes. It would be the first of many...

The name says vegetarian/vegan but I'm almost certain it's 100% vegan. We were so pleased with the tasty, fresh-made food and friendly service that we made a point to go back the next day for a takeaway lunch before heading off to the airport. Raflo gave us his mobile so we could place our order with WhatsApp, then he had it ready exactly 2 minutes earlier than the 25 minutes he quoted. He was so kind and genuine too. When we dined in he invited us to choose a game to play while we waited for our food, and to have a look at the lovely collection of Buddhas in the showroom. We had the jackfruit steak (unique, tasty, and served sizzling on a cast iron skillet), mouthwatering fried aubergines (ask for a side of chili sauce because it's so good), spicy potatoes, and pepper noodle (Yup we were hungry!) Then the curry noodle (okay but not super flavorful), potato wedges (fresh & tasty), and sweet & sour tofu/tempe (delicious). We'll certainly be back next time...