Bebek Bengil Ubud — Restaurant in Pulau Bali

Sorry I have to go against popular opinion here and say that the signature crispy duck is dreadful; just take a look in my photo below.

I was wondering 'well maybe that's just the way the Balinese like it and have convinced tourists that they should like it this way too' but I Googled the recipe for this (as I'm quite handy as a cook myself) and it says that as a result of its preparation, the duck should be very crispy outside yet still be tender and juicy inside. Perhaps the cooks at Bebek Bengil should read those recipes because they got crispy alright - it was crispy in spades, but not the other qualities.

Maybe it was because I wandered in at 3pm and was one of only about three diners in this absolutely massive restaurant (I'm amazed they can still get suckers to go in in sufficient numbers to pay the rental here to be honest) and the chef was pissed that I had interrupted his naptime so decided to incinerate my half-duck beyond edibleness. Maybe there were some leftovers they had to use up that were getting a bit ripe so they double-fried it; who knows. Maybe they took one look at me and thought 'he's a tourist and will never be coming back - give him the dried dead pigeon the night porter found in the gutter'. Or maybe this is what they actually think is the right way to cook and present duck.

All I can tell you is that what arrived at my table had been desiccated so thoroughly in their kitchen's customized de-flavourizing machine that each bite of duck 'meat' was almost like biting cardboard that had been dipped in sand. it was totally and utterly devoid of any juiciness and I had started composing this review in my head by the time I had got to the third bite (of the thigh - what should be the juiciest part of any poultry bird, but in this case was like chowing down on some duck jerky) and by the time I'd finished I think the theme of dry chewiness had been cemented.

These guys need to try some glistening and unctuous Cantonese roast duck; that is 1000 times better than this quackless, tasteless, overpriced charade. If the Sahara Desert manifested itself as a dish, this would be it.

Like I said - take a look at the photo below and that will tell you all you need to know about what you'll be putting in your mouth if you order this dehydrated crap.

Oh, it came with a tasteless and less then fresh beansprout and green bean salad and white rice. Meh.

The spring roll appetizer...

We came here today for dinner at 5pm because of their famous duck dish Timbungan. The menu did show it as a today special. However, when I ordered it, a staff said they did not have it without explaining why. They should remove this item from the menu if they did not have it. Being disappointed, I had to ordered the crispy duck one since the staff told me it was a must try dish. Here is our rating for the food. 1/ Crispy duck: 4/5 The duck was well marinated, neither too salty nor too bland. However the frying process made some parts of the meat burnt and really crunchy dry. The other meat part was ok, moist but not much meat to enjoyed since the duck was rather skinny. The red sauce was ok, not too spicy for me. The green bean and bean sprout salad was also ok. The steam rice was dry. Personally, I think this dish was just so so. Plus, the presentation was not really appealing to me. 2/ The Nasi Goreng vegetarian was good. My friend enjoyed it. He said the fried rice had a nice flavor. 3/ The Nasi Goreng with duck meat was also ok. They mixed small shreded duck meat with the fried rice. My friend who is a Balinese said this dish to him was a 4/5. At the end of the meal, I ordered their also "must try" Black Russian pie. Once again, they did not have it. I think I have picked a wrong day to come here. The restaurant has a gorgeous rice field view. The garden was also beautiful with statues lotus ponds and lush green plants around. It was a very well kept venue. I would give 5/5 for the atmosphere. In addition, staff here were also very polite and attentive. I would give them also a 5/5. Overall, it was just a so so dinner. If you really want to try their Bebek Bungil Timbungan, call them (WhatsApp) first before coming. Otherwise, you will be...

This is called the original crispy duck... the name itself is "gempar" (uproar) 😆 and we went in to try & if it doesn't taste as its claims, we will "robohkan" (demolish) the signage (since we always eat bebek in Indonesia.. even in Malaysia Indonesian restaurant). This review definitely gets 5 star 🌟 by a few factors; 1st - the atmosphere itself, you will feel you were transported to an extreme tranquil & peaceful environment. The area is so huge that you can choose to be seated inside wooden gazebo (pondok); or normal seating whether inside or outside.. and there will rice field that you can start snapping away to be posted in social media. As the name suggest, duck is the food you got to try - 2nd point. Take the crispy duck and try out other types of food. I also try out something different in their drinks and it taste really good! The names are creating curiosity & hence my options. Just a warning beforehand, book if you want to be seated at some special areas so as to not disappoint your expectations. One of the most important determinant of F&B industry is the attitude and service. With this 3rd point, the score with flying colours. They are not annoyingly near to you because they understand patrons will savour the delectable food in front of them but the moment you wave your hand, they are just around the corner to offer their assistance. That's wonderful.. this place worth even single...