Bambu — Restaurant in Pulau Bali

I’ve sung praises for them since year 2015. But in year 2022 I think their hospitality is just horrible.

They didn’t allow to book even a week in advance coz it was full. We were asked to walk in so we did & managed to get a table.

We were given only 1.5 hour to dine from 6 to 7.30pm, despite it wasn’t full house.

For our food, the fish and beef were obviously using similar or almost the same sauce… It tastes the same & the waiter didn’t bother to tell us. Well coz someone ordered beef & it’s expensive why should I stop them right?

The same noodle wrapped with beef I had was poorly done & dry. I compared the old picture this was pure dry. The cocktails are just juice, barely any alcohol taste & it isn’t cheap. Should just order lemongrass juice, price is also cheaper. Only the veggies & dessert were worth a mention.

They were slow in serving our orders, by the time we wanted dessert it was somewhat past 7pm. And the waiter took him hand up to see his watch as if I was late. Proceeded to take our order coz “we were not late”.

I don’t even understand why they kept selling me to order more alcoholic drinks when they don’t even want us to be there after 7.30pm.

They try really hard to push people to order expensive things in a short period of time. Maximise profit & expect you to get lost quickly.

I ordered warm water & the guy who took my order did not mention there will be a charge if that is ok. Most places don’t charge. Another waiter took it off the bill when I made a remark.

It’s just ridiculous the way they try to milk money out from customers without providing the best service. Or at least the waiter who serviced us needs better training.

For this I will stop singing my praises for Bambu. I have nothing but pure disappointment from this money making joint rather than showcasing...

Having been here before, we were really looking forward to having dinner here again. But oh my what a disappointment it was. The waiter asked us if we liked spicy or not. So it was spicy for me and mild for my gf. Starters(softshell, giant blue river prawn). Softshell portion size was haute cuisine unfortunately that was the only thing haute cuisine about it. The prawn was average to good. For the mains we had the yellow fin tuna and ayam pedas. Again the waiter asked if I wanted it spicy and I told him ofcourse as it is ayam pedas(will get back to this shortly) In the meantime the guy sitting right behind me started video calling and at was loud music from the other end at first. We noticed other people sitting further away also disturbed by this. The mains arrived and the ayam pedas was not pedas at all. It tasted very bland, my first thought was chicken nuggets. I let my gf taste and that was exactly her first thought as well. I complained to the waiter and he explained yes this is because of our western customers. Who are you trying to fool with an excuse like that as he asked about the spiciness twice. His solution was to give me some sambal. Pretty awful solution if you ask me. In the meantime there was still this ongoing video call and it was destroying the nice atmosphere(it's a really nice and tranquil place) this restaurant has. We complained to the staff and the told us the would do something about it. But the didn't. Which was my que to leave. Money not well spent but worse a precious evening on...

The most aesthetically striking feature of this restaurant is the internal design which gives you a sense of being in a private open aired gallery floating over a glistening body of crystal water. This is the type of place where you’d like to film a music video, but of course, not today.

Today, we’re experiencing modern Indonesian dining, an experiment of flavour combinations across a fine dining setting. There are a number of vegetarian options available on the menu but I opted for the rice flour dumplings which are filled with spring onion, chili, garlic and ingredients I am not overly familiar with; ebi (dried shrimp/prawn) and jicama (more well known as a Mexican turnip). The dumplings were very delicate and while unfortunately tended to stick together, were served on a capsicum puree making it look like a beautiful piece of art.

My main course was really something special, crab with wok tossed noodles with chili, leeks and ginger. This had great aromas and just enough heat (although on request you could ask for hotter). I always worry about ordering crab as you want to ensure you are able to taste the sweet crab mean and not be overpowered by the accompanying sauce. This dish was spot on.

I also ordered a side of the silky eggplant but the textures felt not quite right for me.

The service from the wait staff at Bambu was what I would call “overly attentive”. While nothing was too much trouble, every sip of wine or water was very quickly...