Babi Guling, otherwise also known as suckling pig, is one of the must-have when you’re in Bali. Initially, we were kind of puzzled why this is so. A short chat with our taxi driver in Bali revealed that unlike the Muslim-majority Indonesia, a significant portion (more than 80%) of Balinese people in fact adheres to Balinese Hinduism, which explains the common consumption of pork here.
On our JetStar flight, I chanced upon an article in the magazine which recommended Pak Malen warung in Seminyak for a dose of Babi Guling.
Our first attempt to get a taste of Babi Guling failed as we were directed to Naughty Nuri’s, which is famous for pork ribs instead. On our second try, we managed satisfy our cravings!
Only a few-minutes drive away from One Eleven, Pak Malen is extremely accessible by taxi. One glance at the small establishment, where many of its customers are locals, assured me that we are at the right place.
There are only 2 kinds of orders you can make : Complete or Special. That’s it. Pak Malen have a nice way of making both of them sound awesome, isn’t it?
Complete | normal servings
Special | extra portions
Needless to say, we decided on ordering the Special – more meat! Each plate contains pork that is cooked in a variety of methods. Pork meat on a skewer, deep dried pork, grilled pork skin, pork with vegatables etc. Beware – the dish is spicy!
Enjoy the food with rice and complimentary soup that is again, spicy. While the food isn’t mind-blowing, it was a delicious and satisfying meal that I would recommend to others.
Make no mistake, Pak Malen is a casual family restaurant. The awesome little girl who took our orders spoke decent English to converse with us, writing down our orders on little post-its on our table. Our meal cost us roughly 100,000 Rupiah for 2-pax, inclusive of 2 bottles of soda. The warung is very near to both One Eleven and Amana Villas which we stayed at.
Address | Jalan Sunset Road No. 5, Seminyak, Bali