When Sam and I were getting ready to leave on our epic vacation our good friend and food enthusiast wrote us out a list of foods to try in Thailand and Indonesia. Each list was tucked into its respective Lonely Planet guidebook and came along with us everywhere we traveled.
On the Indonesia list was ‘babi guling’, roasted pig, and our friend explained that he had always wanted to try this dish but hadn’t been able to yet. Sam had been marinating the idea of throwing one last giant beach BBQ the Thursday before graduation (June 2nd) and suddenly babi guling sounded like a gift from God himself. The plan was to find a place that would teach us how to cook it, but babi guling is a process that requires more time than any of the cooking classes allot for. A whole pig is stuffed with chili, turmeric, ginger, galangal, shallots, garlic, coriander seeds, bay leaves, etc., is basted with turmeric an and coconut oil, and then skewered over an open fire where it is roasted. So we opted to just find a place to sit down and enjoy the dish.
Our guidebook mentioned a place in Ubud, Ibu Oka Warung, as THE place to order babi guling if you are anywhere in the area. So I checked out the map and noticed it’s right around the corner from where we’re staying. Awesome, right? I consult Lonely Planet, and follow the map of Ubud but there’s nobody there. As we walk away, I notice the sign says Oka Warung which I feel confidently is the new and possibly improved listed place in Lonely Planet, Ibu Oka Warung. Perhaps it had sold out and was closed? We decided to come back again another day and express our interest, as usually you need to order a day ahead.
Yesterday Sam and I took a long hike and hit up the best fried duck in Ubud, and on our way back to our hotel we stopped by this babi guling place again. On our way up the hill Sam asks me if I’m sure this is the right restaurant, and I tell him if he doesn’t trust me, he is more than welcome to look at the map. Ever the glorious boyfriend, he trusts me and when we arrive at the restaurant, the owner tells us they don’t cook babi guling at the restaurant but her brother cooks it and brings it in when people order it. Of course, she would be happy to cook for us and serve lunch the following day at 1pm so long as we put down a deposit. As we walk away I tell Sam that I have a bit of a funny feeling about the whole situation which I neglected mention before, but we’ve already paid so we figure we’ll roll the dice and see what happens.
So Sam and I were anxiously awaiting lunch today as we did some last minute shopping and bought our long-coveted large salad bowl. We walked up to the restaurant and Sam was killing time looking in the guide book while they prepared our dishes. He suddenly looks up, grinning and puts the book away. What? I ask him. Nothing, nothing, I’ll tell you later. Fear grips me, there must be something wrong with our food. Sam noticed some horrible thing and he won’t tell me otherwise I won’t eat. I am petrified and tell him so. He immediately promises me there is NOTHING wrong with the food, and I ask him to type out the situation on the ipod and pass it to me. He takes a moment and hands me his ipod. “The restaurant in the book is one street over. And we came in here demanded a dish that may or may not even be on the menu.” This suddenly made sense as to why the owner mentioned that her brother makes the dish and she would bring it in. No wonder the name was slightly different in the book and on the sign. It turns out I misread the map and turned up one street too soon. No wonder this place is empty all the time. I did make sure that babi guling was on the menu so we were not some horrible American tourists demanding food that was not really served there.
We giggle. Then eat some amazing roasted pork and have a fabulous meal of it.
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