Golden Monkey Ubud — Restaurant in Pulau Bali

Golden Monkey Ubud is one of those rare places that instantly wraps you in warmth—from its welcoming service to the rich, familiar aromas drifting from the kitchen. Tucked into the heart of Ubud, this Chinese restaurant blends classic recipes with modern flair, all while maintaining a cozy, relaxed atmosphere that makes you want to stay a little longer. The menu covers all the Chinese favourites—think dumplings, crispy duck, kung pao chicken, and sweet & sour pork—but everything is crafted with noticeable attention to detail. The flavours are bold but balanced, the ingredients fresh, and the portions just right for sharing. Their dim sum is a must-try: delicate, flavourful, and served steaming hot in traditional baskets. If you’re a fan of comfort food that doesn’t cut corners, this place delivers.

The décor is stylish without being overdone—earthy tones, warm lighting, and subtle Chinese design elements that give it both elegance and comfort. Whether you’re dining indoors or sitting on the terrace surrounded by greenery, the space feels calm and inviting.

Staff here are genuinely kind and attentive. They take time to explain dishes, check in at just the right moments, and make sure you’re well taken care of without ever being intrusive. You get the feeling that hospitality really matters to them.

If you're in Ubud and craving beautifully executed Chinese food in a setting that feels both refined and homey, Golden Monkey is a standout. Whether you’re out for a quiet dinner, sharing dishes with friends, or celebrating something special, this is the kind of place that leaves you full, happy, and looking forward to...

I ordered Kung Pao Prawns - I don't know what I got, but it wasn't Kung Pao! This is one of the most well known Chinese dishes worldwide, it is almost impossible to get this wrong, yet somehow they did. Kung Pao sauce is supposed to be sweet, sticky and spicy. This was bland, savory and thin. Tasted like gravy I would put on my roast dinner back in England (only not as nice!). Also, every Kung Pao I've ever eaten had battered meat - yet none of the Kung Pao dishes here had a crispy coating (other dishes do, strangely enough).

Kung Pao comes with cashew nuts - I counted 3 shrivelled halves of cashew nut in total. At least the prawns were cooked well and the vegetable fried rice was tasty. But it's unacceptable to advertise Kung Pao and get something not even remotely close. Either a huge mistake was made or they have no idea what it's supposed to taste like. I've been buying Kung Pao prawn for over ten years, it's never been made like this. To make it worse, it's REALLY overpriced. I pay £11 back home, and that's in the UK! This cost around £13.

There was another place nearby that used to do great Kung Pao but it closed down years ago. I live in Ubud so I know all the restaurants pretty much. This is one of the most expensive in the centre, you can get better food for half the price in numerous places. If I wasn't so tired after taking my food all the way back home, I would've gone back and asked for a refund. Looks like my search goes on for a decent Chinese in Ubud.....

The 2 stars are for the service - all their staff was...

Very dissapointing service! When we walked in, the resto was slow with only 1 table eating, no other customer walked in for the next 30 minutes. However, our order took so long to cook. When we asked the waitress when our food will arrive, she just replied "oh makanan di meja sebelah belum sampai (oh the food in the next table haven't arrive yet)". Okay??? Like they have been there for quite some time before us yet their food are not complete yet. Then after a while, we asked again to another waitress for our order, she asked directly to the kitchen "makanan table xx masih lama kah? (Is it still long for table xx food to come out?)". The kitchen replied "iya masih lamaa! (Yes, still a long time to go!)" in an annoyed tone. Mind you, we sat right next to the kitchen opening and understand every single word since we are Indonesian too. I feel like it's just very unfitting for the service to be like this if you want to charge $$$ for your food and service charge. Another thing that bothered me were how they served the chinese tea. Usually in a chinese resto, they will serve you 1 big sharing teapot with some cups for each customer. This resto, I think is quite confused, cause they serve us 4 sharing teapot for 4 person, so each person got a big teapot??? Got our table filled full with fricking teapots even before our food arrived. Should have went to a random babi guling place, would have been treated better by the staff and way wayyy nicer food for 1/16th price...