RESTURANTS
(WARUNG)CAFÉ ENHAY- in Jalan Benesari it is about 300m up from Adhi Dharma Hotel. It is on opposite side of Mini mart and about 10-15 meters up from Mini Mart if you are going towards poppies 2 (official address Komplek Bendesa 6-7 jl Benesari kuta) the menu here is very cheap (45,000 RP or $8 for SIRLOIN STEAK/chips/veggies) ‘basic' dishes like Nasi campur where 18,000RP. Breakfast is very good (we ate breakfast here every day as the breakfast at the hotel was dismal) and they do a very good American type breakfast and a ‘all day brunch'(until 2pm) plus the Indonesian type for about 22,000-30,000 ( depending on extras) all breakfasts come with fruit platter or fruit juice and yes it is fresh ( you order it and then you see the staff come and get the fruit out of fridge and u can smell the fruit being blended) if u want to be health conscious ( or are diabetic) just ask for ‘no sugar syrup' as all the restaurants seem to put it in the juices. Staff very friendly helpful and pleasant and they speak very good English. Don't worry about the ‘mascot' Ganky he is a sweet 14 yr old dog...he is quite well behaved and he is free of rabies. They do all the Indonesian favorites and the western ones too (chicken burger is to die for it is freshly minced chicken patty cooked over the coals) and the deserts are yummy. They do snack items like jaffles spring rolls soups and kiddies aren't forgotten with special delights like baked beans heaped onto buttery mashed potato. Will make sandwiches etc with brown bread if required. We ate 90% of our meals here
BALI AUSSIE on Jalan Melasti about 300meters down going away from the beach on left side of road. Good food and very reasonable prices (Surf and turf most expensive item at 95,000RP or $11au) make sure you book early for the Sunday 'no fear party' as it is popular...for 90,000RP u get a good feed lots of fun...cheap drinks/cocktails... Good company and the Balinese band singing Cold Chisels ‘Flame trees' and other Aussie hits was the highlight of an excellent evening. It is easy to spot this place it is bright yellow and green with the good old aussie flag EVERYWHERE and there is always lots of aussie there (tourists and expats)
DOUBLE D LOUNGE AND BAR (jl Legian 168) just down from Adhi dharma cottages and kopi pot. DD also has wifi there- good ‘pub grub' with choices like spring rolls steak/club sandwiches through to steak with veggies. Good prices 40,000rp for club sandwich banana split 19,000rp Bintangs 12,000 small bottle. Huge screens inside and out showing a variety of sports. Most evenings there is a band (usually local but good) and there is also ‘sexy dancers' after midnight. Very good staff comfortable seating and well positioned on jl legian to sit and watch the world go by as you sip Bintangs in a/con comfort. Renovations where starting about a day before we left and they said it would take 3 weeks all up to complete.
INDIAN KING TANDOORI (JL BENERSARI NO 40 LEGIAN KUTA) very small in size BUT big in flavors and their food is delicious and cheap. There is another in Seminyak but we didn't go there as the kuta one was just near us. NAAN BREAD was 9,000RP Most dishes 26,000RP-33,000RP and u get a FREE SOUP (changes daily we got dhal) this has been open since 2008 and was always full. VERY FRESH ingredients used and they will do as mild or as hot as u want.
SURYA CHANDRA (jl legian NO 83) on right side of road going towards Kuta square about 150m from the memorial- FRESH SEAFOOD (it is on display on ice outside so u can see what u are getting) We had a giant fish platter (220,000RP) this had WHOLE CRAB (split in half) HALF A CRAYFISH (with herb/lemon on it) A LARGE PIECE OF THICK TUNA STEAK (char grilled) 4 TIGER PRAWNS (huge ones) 4 FISH SKEWERS AND A MOUNTAIN OF HANDCUT CHIPS with lime segments and tartar sauce on the side. A SEAFOOD BASKET (battered and fried fish prawns squid crab stick and chips) FOR 105,000RP. Both where too big to eat alone but sharing them both between us made for a very satisfying meal (glad we didn't have lunch that day)
SUPERMARKETS
BINTANG (PUSAT BELANJA SEMINYAK) local supermarket (at local prices) on two levels. Bottom level is like Coles/Woolies with gift wear items pharmacy pet supplies (including birdseed for stressed birds that contains seaweed and chamomile) and a toy store. Upstairs are clothing shoes crafts tools plumbing supplies hardware and stationary. Very good to go to as it is cheap and good range. Two interesting things we saw was (1) if you buy pharmaceuticals (antacids etc) the attendant gives you a slip that you take with you to the checkout and they bring the goods over to the checkout. Interesting thing number 2 was across the car park a security guard standing outside the ATM's booth with a MACINE GUN (hum okay don't think I will get robbed here)
CARREFOUR Sunset Road, Kuta there is 2 of these one in Kuta one in Denpasar we went to the kuta one. 4 floors of everything imaginable from clothing stores to a huge kiddiezone that would put the largest timezone to shame. You name it is there what ever brand or type of thing your heart desires. There is a large food court at the bottom. Just watch the escalators they are the ‘moving sidewalk kind' and the angle is steep so hold onto the rail
HYPERMART/ACEHARDWARE/MARTAHARIS/GALLERIA (on Ngurah RAI BYPASS any driver\cabbie worth his RP should be able to find it) THIS PLACE IS HUGE It is 4 large supermarkets/warehouses in the one place. Galleria is out the front and is separate to it and you need to walk around the outside of Galleria to ACE HARDWARE as it is behind it but once you enter ACE HARDWARE (think Bunning's meets city farmers meets target/Kmart with things like fully set up aquariums and medical supplies like crutches and bedpans also available for sale) you can walk through to HYPERMART-This place is mind boggling it sells EVERYTHING from usual supermarket items like food, toiletries, laundry liquid/ powder, bathroom cleaner pet food etc BUT ALSO clothing, shoes, auto accessories ( from the air freshener to the tires) and it HAS A FOOD HALL so you can stop and have ‘an intermission' again there is a variety of food on offer from hotdogs and chip's to local offerings like IKAN BAKAR ( yellow rice with tuna and veggies rolled in a banana leaf and grilled over a hot plate)to a complete meal like 'Nasi Packet' ( 2 pieces of ayam chicken steamed rice and a coke) oh and all the yummy delectable bakery goodies too. If you want to loose half a day go here. There is also a Martaharis and a plethora of other small stores like OSH KOSH and various accessories stores/computer stores/clothing stores around the outside of the main entrances.
DISCOVERY MALL/SOHO/CENTRO- Jl. Kartika Plaza, Tuban, Kuta again this was a complex of shops this is actually part of the Centro chain of stores we have in Australia (Cento Galleria Centro Westfield) SOHO is a sort of ‘mall within the mall' and it has mainly the UK brands like Marks and Spencer, Mothers choice etc and a few Yankee ones also. again there is about 4 floors to this (with again the top floor being ALL THAT ELECTRONIC/COMPUTER GEEKERY)the electronic shop up top had all the computer/electronic/DVD TV grabbers and cables etc(use these item to catch and burn DVD TV programs )the geeks will know what iam talking about lol Again the security guards had machine guns (taking staff with their shop takings to the bank etc)
OTHERS
VERY GOOD TRUSTWORTHY DRIVER/MONEY EXCHANGER
Just near the entrance/opposite to Adhi Dharma Hotel on Jl Benersari (were it is a dead end) was a guy who did the tourist bookings and money exchange. We found that he gave a very good exchange rate and he was honest (we did not use him for tourist bookings as we did not need to use him for this). He also had a number of drivers who he ‘subcontracted' driving to. We used his drivers on 3 or 4 occasions and they where all very trustworthy and reliable. His wife had a small shop that sold various goods like clothing/bags/hair accessories and they where all very helpful friendly and polite.
LOVE 2 KISS (LEGAIN ST no 70) If you walk with the traffic flow going down Legian street towards the Memorial it is 30m BEFORE poppies 2. It is a bright yellow store next to a even brighter yellow art store with a small sign out front with 'love 2' and a pair of lips(kiss) there is bright rainbow coloured skirts/tops etc hanging out front her name is Desak Nyoman Suartini another landmark to find it is there is a large Guardian Chemist on Jl Legian you walk past that and continue up
This lady has clothing (mainly women's) is a myriad of colors and styles and sizes from small to ‘larger lady' (I am a 22-24 and found clothing to fit) If your size isn't there she can make to measure. I spent a lot RP here and got so many clothes it is unbelievable (about 20 items) and she is the loveliest person I have ever met. She knows Australia well, especially Melbourne as all her children have been here to study (now are Doctors and Pharmacists) but ask for the owner as it is easier to deal with her.
CALENDULA CREAM- only available from Guardian chemists and it is expensive (150000RP ) but it is a godsend. Has marigold, lavender and other natural stuff in it. Good for heat rash, sunburn, cuts, scratches, mozzie bites and even bruising (we used it for all these things and it worked) the locals swear by it also(but put in fridge before opening as it becomes a bit runny with the heat). A small bit goes a long way (we brought 2 tubes and used it daily and still have 1 and a quarter tubes)
Our biggest encouragement to all is avoid multinationals like circle k, mini mart etc and buy in local shops as they need the money more then them also try to walk part of the way or walk there and get a taxi back you will see heaps more it even awesome walking in early morning just to look around when all is closed.