Let me start by saying that my partner and friends we were travelling with prefer to eat the local cuisine rather than food we can get in Sydney restaurants. That said Ubud is a foodies' heaven and it takes a real skill (or bad luck) to find a crook place. We managed to do so two years ago on a day trip when we went to Faraway café for what turned out to be far and away the worst meal I have had in Bali.
As I've said in a previous post, Batan Waru is a favourite and we were never let down by the quality of food and service. Abu Rai on monkey forest road just up from the footie field (towards the markets) is another stunner with very reasonable prices and a huge selection of food (including western). Lunch was always easy to get a table but nighttime was a different matter. Same same for Casa Luna. Our best meals however were at Indus where for around R200.000 we were able to indulge ourselves with food that would be three times the price back home. The fresh salmon on a wasabi infused potato mash was heaven on a plate. So much so that I had it again on our second trip though after I saw my partners seafood risotto I was wishing I had ordered it ! Rather than integrating the seafood into the rice, the seafood was placed on a bed of saffron infused rice. The mouthfuls I managed to scrounge were outstanding. Despite being as full as the proverbial goog we still had the famous lime tart for desert. Just as well we did a lot of walking or would have had to buy a bigger sized wardrobe.
Speaking of buying clothes, I don't know who owns all the Billabong and Polo outlets in Ubud but they must be facing financial ruin. There are way too many shops selling the same thing and though we were there when the streets were packed with people there seemed to be little in the way of people buying. One standout exception is Portobello. There are two of these women's clothes shops on monkey forest road and they are fabulous if you want to get something that is suitable for all age groups with an amazing range of colours. I bought a linen mix wrap around dress (R300,000)in a gorgeous green and it took all my self restraint not to buy it in other colours. Animale however was empty and a quick look at the styles and prices was enough to explain why. Who buys clothes there now they have gone all asymmetrical and unflattering?
I don't know if I've added much to the collective knowledge of the forum but I always find it enjoyable to read other peoples posts if only to relive my own experiences.
Thanks for reading.