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2013-12-08
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Met some friends at I Love Bali for some Turkish food (I'll have to come back for the Indonesian stuff). It's definitely not a walk-in place, and you should probably arrange the meal ahead of time.OK, so Gado Gado is not Turkish, but we asked for something with vegetables and apparently the Turkish don't do that. So we got the Gado Gado. First time for me having this dish, it's boiled vegetables like potatoes, green beans and some other greens, with a hard-boiled egg and some prawn cakes. There'
OK, so Gado Gado is not Turkish, but we asked for something with vegetables and apparently the Turkish don't do that. So we got the Gado Gado. First time for me having this dish, it's boiled vegetables like potatoes, green beans and some other greens, with a hard-boiled egg and some prawn cakes. There's a peanut sauce you're supposed to slather it in. I'll admit to not really being a fan. The veggies were pretty bland on their own, and smothering them in peanut sauce just made everything taste like peanut sauce. OK, C
After the salad came this stuffed mackerel, which I did like.
Here's a close-up so you can see more of what's going on. The mackerel has had its insides removed. Then they were minced, and mixed with herbs and raisins and some other things. Then the fish skin is stuffed with the mince and seared until crispy. A little lemon on the result adds a nice bold touch. I was impressed. Great, A-
After the fish we got some fried Turkish cheese. The cheese itself wasn't melty even after the frying, it was more crumbly. It came in two forms: one had sort of a wonton wrapper with the cheese & chopped cilantro inside. These were just fantastic. The second form was a sort of cheese stick, with the same filling; I liked the wonton ones better, but both were really good. Great, in fact, A
I have less of an idea of exactly what this dish was. Little fried pastries with minced meat inside, covered in sour cream and ketchup. These were less exciting than the cheese. The pastries themselves were a little bland and not really crispy or hot enough. And I don't know if the ketchup is authentic but... c'mon Turkey, ketchup? Really? Good, B-
I don't particularly like mussels and I don't really know why anyone else does either. They're best when tender and, to my mind, all sauced-up. This dish was really banking on the direct appeal of the mussels themselves. And they were chewy and bland. The rice they were served with was also bland and a little bit overly mushy. OK, C-
Although the fish and the fried cheese were great, the Mersin chicken stole our hearts. I was pretty full at this point, but I just had to chow down on the chicken. The herbs and marinade for the skin were very tasty, it was cooked nice and crispy, the chicken on the inside was tender and juicy. Everyone at the table raved about it, and when they asked us at the end of the meal how the food was, the chicken was the first to be mentioned. You have to order this in advance but I suggest that you do so. And the rice it comes with is good as well. Excellent, A+I was quite impressed by the food here, and I will definitely come back for the Balinese cuisine. The restaurant is dark and cramped. It's a little disorganized (we were on-time for our reservations but still had to wait for a table). The food takes forever... our dinner was 3 hours long! And there's no alcoholic drinks but you can BYOB. It's true HK private kitchen fare, and you've got to be able to chillax and live with that. I found it great, A.
Other Info. :
About $200/ head + what we spent on beer from the 7/11.
(The above review is the personal opinion of a user which does not represent OpenRice's point of view.)
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