lazy lunches at warung batavia...

Monday 6th July 2009

a favourite place for lunch these days is at Warung Batavia. there are a few around but i like to go to the one just off Jl. Kunti II as it has a great selection of food on the menu and in the nasi campur buffet and i like the vibe, the staff and the furniture! Warung Batavia is different in that it serves Javanese food...and it's good. first things first...the drinks...served in giant mugs and you can't go wrong with an es jeruk which is a kinda orange juice served with ice, sweetened a little and just so refreshingly good that you have no problem polishing off the amount in the giant glassware.

then when it comes to the food, two favourites of mine are karedok and ketoprak.

karedok is a raw vegetable salad. it is made from cucumbers, bean sprouts, cabbage, legumes, thai basil, and eggplant and served with a spicy peanut sauce. at batavia you can request the sauce to be as spicy as you want and i like it hot, hot, hot!

ketoprak is another kind of raw vegetable salad but this one also has tofu, bean sprouts, bihun noodles and chopped up rice cakes in it. the sauce is slightly more peanut-y and again you can request how on fire you want your mouth (and stomach) to be when ordering.

both dishes are delicious and firm favourites of mine so that i specifically go there to eat them. you can actually see the guy make the dishes right in front of you and the ingredients are fresh and tasty.

this is a great little warung to hang out for a lazy lunch. you can sit and watch the world go by and yes it's a little more pricey than your average road side warung but worth every penny for the service, the food and the atmosphere. Not to be missed!

Warung Batavia,
Jl. Kunti II,
Seminyak.