This newly built Hotel – Beach Resort is situated at the location of formerly known Sahid Hotel (the same owner signed the hotel management contract with Starwood Bali Resorts Collection managing Sheraton Bali Kuta Resort, Le Meridien Bali Jimbaran and The Westin Ubud, as explained by Ms Titin Rohayati – the Digital Marketing Manager of the group), just right in front of the worldly famous Kuta Beach, connected to Bali’s hottest shopping destination – Beachwalk, a hub of retail, dining and entertainments.

Entering this magenta sleek interior design of Feast Restaurant located at the first floor of the hotel, I was stunned with the wide array of buffet dishes beautifully arranged around an open kitchen with live-action cooking scene offering authentic global cuisine to the hotel guests as well as for the walk in visitors..like us! I am telling you, this is not just an ordinary buffet in a 5-star  hotel. It’s a remarkable interactive dining experience with the abundance of fresh ingredients and surprise balinese menus such as : Lawar Bali, Rujak Bali created by Italian Executive Chef Rossano Renzelli with whom I was fortunate to meet him personally and talked about his glorious food and amazing team behind him.

my favorite entrée! Avocado Salmon Salad, yummo!

Macaroon! my fav dessert after chocolate

A special feature at the Feast culinary journey is the Color Your Plate concept they introduced to the guests to enhance your diet commitment or simply for more healthy lifestyle option, by adding colorful foods  to your meals. Eelco Bohtlingk, the F&B Manager explained guests should look for special mark on the dishes menu card during their stay. Benny and I love everything green on our plate, so finishing these scrumptious Fresh Tuna Pomelo Salad I guess have just rejuvenated our muscles and bones!

Sheraton Kuta has another dining venue on the rooftop deck level, offering traditional Italian cuisine at Bene, and if you feel like inspiring cocktails in the breathtaking view of Bali strait and Kuta Beach, you should go to The Lounge, located at the lobby level. Guests at Feast could also enjoy the dining alongside Beachwalk patio overlooking the Kuta Beach..Don’t forget to bring your shopping appetite as you might want to stroll along the Beachwalk with more than 200 luxurious retail shops and entertainment afterwards.

The Lounge @ Sheraton Kuta

What    : Feast – Pan Asian, global cuisine
Where : 1st Floor of Sheraton Bali Kuta Resort, above Beachwalk
Price    : Rp 250,000,-++ per person for dinner buffet (worth every Rp – belly doesn’t lie), à la carte is also available

Sheraton Bali Kuta Resort
Jalan Pantai Kuta, Denpasar, Indonesia
Tel : (0361) 8645555
Find them on :
- Twitter : http://twitter.com/KutaConcierge
- Facebook : http://www.facebook.com/SheratonBaliKutaResort

All photos by Benny Risanto – www.passionoftheday.com , www.risanto.com except the Color Your Plate card is courtesy of Sheraton Bali Kuta Resort

To date, this blog post of My Top 5 Favorite Beaches in Bali has hit more than 65,666 views (Thank you all!), making it the most read post beat the Dreamland Beach Tragedy post. Both of these have also received lots of ‘spicy’ comments, either on the way I tell the story to the I-am-begging-you-please-pretty-please to reveal the a Far far away beach location. Having been preoccupied with my main freelance job and now have Baby Geo in our life, this secret beach reveal has been put aside.

The reason why I don’t write the location and the name of the no.5 Far Far Away Beach is because I don’t want the Dreamland Tragedy happen again. For instant, Padang padang Beach who used to be  one of a nap time beach for me and Bart back then has also now been on top of the list of Bali visitors. It’s like every secret beach is not a secret anymore now because everyone tweeted it, facebook it, foursquare it, pin it, the social media list could go on…oh, and one more: path it!

So here it is : White Sand Beach aka Virgin Beach, on Prasi Village, stretch along the Candidasa coastline, in Karangasem Regency, another off-the-beaten-path beach hidden between Prasi and Bukit Bugbug cliffs. Like any other secret beach in Bali, you need to get through a rough track towards the beach where it can become very muddy after a heavy rain. But once you get there, it all worth it..

My first visit to Virgin Beach was in 2004 where everything about this place felt magical, deserted, out of this world, postcard picture scenery. As the time goes by and people started to notice this piece of heaven and with the help of social media pictures, this hidden spot soon became just another popular beach in Bali with usual scenes : tourist and their guides, tourist cars, umbrellas, shops, more umbrellas, and cafes..This is not the pristine white sandy beach I’ve discovered anymore and became the no 1 most frequent asked question for the location by my dearly beloved readers..And with the big developer planning to build a high-end resort complex in this area, I’m telling you this is your last chance to enjoy the beach peacefully…

How to get there:
From By Pass Sanur, turn right on By Pass IB Mantra, pass Kusamba Village. When you get to Klungkung regency and pass the Goa Lawah, you will notice an intersection : take the Amlapura direction. Once arrive at Bug Bug Village, this means you are almost there. It’s a bit hard to find where to turn off the main road of Candidasa, but do notice on your left side (if you are from Denpasar) a balinese black stone gate elementary school SD Imbas Gugus 2, turn right on the small bumpy road, just across this school. A small wooden sign hanging and almost fall ‘White Sand Beach is ‘almost noticeable’!

Candidasa

Parking space : Two options. The one near village temple, spacious, but you need to walk approx.700m (to the beach and back!) Or park near by the beach under the coconut trees and watch out for the Coco-BOOM!

Trip duration : 2 hours drive from Denpasar. Hire a driver is advisable, so you won’t miss the turn-off from the main road of Candidasa.

What & Where to eat : fresh caught fish, icy cold Bintang, fresh coconut. First warung from your left: Ibu Maria (and she still hasn’t fixed the broken wooden toilet door since 2004!), but my favourite Warung Wayan Gede (two cafes to the right after Ibu Maria’s)

Near by tourist attractions : Goa Lawah temple and bat cave; Tenganan Village for Bali Aga community (the original Balinese); Amed – the fishermen village, Water Palace at Tirta Gangga (20 minutes northeast of Candidasa) and enjoy the beautiful scenery of rice paddy terraces.

Note :
- This post is based on my last visit in 2011 and we haven’t been there again ever since.
- All photos are by my husband Benny ‘bartcatapult Risanto, please do check out his beautiful photography work on www.passionoftheday.com
- Thank you all for being patient with me during this long hiatus of pregnancy and maternity, our beautiful son Geo just can’t wait for his Bali’s secret beach adventure. I hope you enjoy the White Sand Beach, Virgin Beach..

                                                                                                                            I need a lift, please…

Here are my 3 things in Ubud I love :

Cultural identity

Ubud managed to keep its identity and integrity among the continuously expanding Bali with the unstoppable built luxury resorts and hotels, and other trendy clubs that mostly happening in Seminyak and Kuta. Even among the existing upmarket hotels such as Four Seasons, Como Shambhala, Aman Resorts, Alila that stretch along Sayan and Kedewatan village, you can still breath the strong cultural atmosphere here in Ubud. Like in any particular day, you could find yourself sipping your hot espresso and eating gluten-free cupcake and grilled panini next to a village Odalan ceremony right in front of your eyes where you are sitting at an open style mini cafe with a free wifi, browsing the world wide web on your iPad. It’s a harmonious collision between a tradition and today’s lifestyle. In Ubud you are part of its life, not the spectators, more than just visitors, nicely blended I should say. People come to Ubud to learn about the natural medicine and healing or learn to paint from the local painters, to meditate and yoga, in brief, to experience the real Bali.

Photo courtesy of Localista Cafe – Jl. Suweta, Ubud

Are there traffic jam and tourist chaos scenes in Ubud? Yes there are! Specially if you make yourself stuck between Ubud market, Suckling pig Ibu Oka, smoked duck Bebek Bengil. Monkey Forest, and shops on Hanoman streets (try to park your car here – it’s hopeless..), but still  you would love Ubud and this town will always be your little getaway.

Culinary delights

Who could escape a culinary journey when one is in Ubud without (again) suckling pig Ibu Oka, the pork ribs of Naughty Nuri, the balinese cooking class at Cafe Luna, the Michelin cuisine of Mozaic Restaurant. The old style and legendary cafes and restaurants still attract the loyal visitors while the newly built petit bistro, bakery, coffee shops with free wifi belongs to expat europeans or Jakartans are trackable on some location-based social networking website for smartphones on the Where-to-eat recommendations.

My all time favourites : Nasi Ayam Kedewatan or Mardika (they are next to each other) which is the famous balinese spicy chicken rice, and Ibu Rai Restaurant offering Asian & western dishes with its crispy Pizza Margherita and crunchy mouth watery Vietnamese Roll… My new Ubud craving : Localista Cafe located on jl. Suweta, next to Rio Helmi Photo Gallery (yes, yes…near the famous suckling pig Ibu Oka) with its signature and yummiest cupcakes I’ve ever tasted in my entire whole life. Relatively new, this place has fast become a buzz for Ubud lover. Try their carrot cake, dragon fruit, lime and vanilla, strawberry cheesecake, tiramisu, mulberry, caramel (I could go on..), mamma mia!

Green green grass of town

Bali for me has the most colourful nature and landscape than any other provinces in Indonesia. When in Seminyak, Kuta, Uluwatu the pristine blue water of white sandy beaches will take your breath away, then the Jimbaran Bay has one of the best sunsets in the island bursting the orange sky. But staying in Ubud means living in serene green surroundings with magnificent green rice terraces, lush gardens and hills, more rice fields, banyan trees. Imagine waking up in the morning and listening to the river flows beneath your hanging-on-a-steep-hill villa, you might be staying in one of the beautiful homey villas overlooking Petanu, Ayung, or Campuan rivers..

Writer Elizabeth Gilbert has found Ubud as her sanctuary of Love marking its place on Eat,Pray,Love story. I have these three above reasons to love Ubud…

This is my submission for the ’3 Things in the City’ I Love contest by Velvet Escape, Traveldudes and Wimdu.co.uk

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank all my blog readers for the love and support during this year, I know I’m not as productive as I used to be, but I’m hoping to write more about the beauty of Bali in the year of 2012. There are just too many places and spots that still haven’t been revealed and told! Please stay with me as I’m revealing Bali best kept secrets…

One of Bali’s most favorite culinary spot in Jimbaran area is the by the sea side seafood restaurants, either in Muaya Beach, near Four Seasons Resorts, or the other spot in Kedonganan. For some people, seafood dining is not a very cheap option, the price for one kg of shrimp could reach Rp 170,000 and you don’t just order rice + shrimp when you eat seafood. And because most of the restaurants lining up at these spots have the kitchen located near the sitting area, it is not surprised your hair, your cloth will smell like a grilled fish  when you get back to the hotel.

We are glad to find this one and only cafe called Wali Beach Cafe, located at the end of Kelan Beach, with a spectacular view of fishermen boats, white sand beach, children playing on the sand, so tranquil and far from the busy streets with big buses of tourists and most importantly..it’s grilled fish smell and smoke free! Giving it’s very special location, Wali Beach Cafe is an ideal place to hold a special event, ie. wedding, party, group dinner, as they are ready to set up the place and make it your celebration spot, like..our wedding that took place here a while ago. It has a very romantic background setting with spectacular sunset to enjoy after our wedding ceremony.The sky was magical that day…

Sunset

Table Setting preparation

Table Setting

Fire dance

Price is relatively lower than those cafes in Muaya and Kedonganan Beach, plus WBC has some set menu options to choose should you wish to book the place for your event with limited budget per person. I would strongly suggest to make a booking at least one day before if you are going to enjoy seafood at WBC. This is not a touristy seafood resto, and not too popular either, so you want to make sure when you call to book, that they provide only fresh and catch of the day fish or shrimp. Sometimes it’s a bit tricky in Bali, they always say the fish is fresh, but you know they’re not – only by looking at them before they grill them.

Bali and its culinary spots are growing…By the time I write this post, Bart just told me there are now two new restaurants, adding more competitors to WBC.

Surfing

WALI BEACH CAFE
Go straight down to Jl Uluwatu II,
Pass Bali Intercontinental Hotel, Kasih Ibu Hospital,
Look for blue sign board of WBC on the left side of the road.
Jl Segara Madu
Kelan Beach
Tel : (0361) 743 5460

Bali recently hosted a big event of ASEAN Summit in Nusa Dua (Obama came, caused traffic jam and long delayed flights and chaos at the airport), several related activities and festivals were being held, and at the ASEAN Fair attended by President SBY, the Indonesia Air Force Aerobatic Team called JUPITER marked the Opening Day with incredible air show, a team of 6 Flight instructors fly the Korean KT-1B Woong Bee painted in national flag colors : red and white! Jupiter AT was founded in 1996 from their Yogya Air Force base airport-Adisutjipto, with several times change of team member, airplane, the current team of six is now a solid one showcasing their ability to wow people on the ground with often-scary maneuvers!

Bart was lucky enough to be allowed taking photograph before the team took off Bali airport, hang out with the pilots and even experience the cockpit on the ground..

Previously maneuvering on British Hawk Mk.53, trained by “The Australian Roulettes”, and now flying on Korean KT 1 – Woong Bee

Smoke-trail, in action! The Jupiter Aerobatic Team maneuvers..

Until the next roll and spin!…

Photo courtesy of Jupiter Aerobatic Team

Find Jupiter Aerobatic Team on :
Twitter : http://twitter.com/#!/JupiterAT
Facebook : http://www.facebook.com/JupiterAerobaticTeam
Blogspot : http://jupiteraerobaticteam.blogspot.com/

Living in Jimbaran area means you have a very easy access to the beautiful beaches in Jimbaran, Nusa Dua, Uluwatu. Just to name a few : Muaya Beach, Dreamland (that has a new baptized name : ‘new Kuta Beach‘), Padang padang, Bingin, Suluban…and most of the spots are reachable by my speedy motorbike in 10-15 minutes max of time. But to be able to walk to the beach from my house? Interesting!

So here I am holding tight to the dog lash as Nero, the naughty black dog tried to drag me along the bumpy road on this particular street inside the residential complex of mine that leads me to the entrance gate of the luxurious Ayana Resort on Jalan Karang Mas Sejahtera, then you continue the walk to the countryside road to the right. What I thought would be a nice peaceful beach walk with a pair of cute dogs turned out to be a 5K (not so Fun) Run with four barking dogs as Jeff’s friend, Gunawan joined us bringing more tails to the team…The four dogs (specially teckel-rottweiler brown Bimbo!) stopped every 10 min for pee-stop, give them water as they’re drooling and dehydrated and rest under the tree break…This must be the hardest day in their lazy Bali dog’s life.

Just when I thought I would also need a pee-stop and rest under the tree break, the ocean breeze greeted us and right below the large parking space in front of Pura Segara, from this hill you will see this blue water with curling waves hitting the beach..Wowww!!!!Awesome!!! How do we get down there??…Hike down the off-beaten path, my friends..Make sure you wear non-slippery shoes or sandals. It is not a beach finding path as usual. Tegal Wangi is not really a secluded beach, but it is much less popular than other ones along the Uluwatu coastal lines. There were litterally me, Jeff, Nyoman and the 4 tail boyz playing with joy in the water, when you see dogs barking and run happily and shaking splashing their tails,on the beach, you know, it’s a good day…A good sunny day in Bali, just right on my Jimbaran backyard!

The view from the top is amazing!…and local fishermen were there just to catch some small fishes for family brunch

Not only that! This backyard gem has two ‘ocean jacuzzi’ you could only see it when it’s not a high tide. God must have thought I need an affordable luxury leisure time in Bali when He created Tegal Wangi beach! When I came back with my Bart for another jacuzzi time at Tegal Wangi Beach, we made sure we bring a root loofah and coral stone to scrub each other’s back and rough foots..It’s love bird time on the beach! Unfortunately, when the high tide is on, you will not be able to see these two beach basins, it is actually dangerous to stay inside the cave where we usually throw our stuffs and lay down on our sarongs, as the big waves will soon hit the cave and suck everything back to the ocean in seconds!

And so the backyard hidden gem search continues…

All photos by : http://www.risanto.com/photography/

Related posts :
- Bali Lover – Jeff Kristianto
- Balangan beach – hand basin beach
- Impossible beach ever
- A me time at Geger Beach, Nusa Dua
- Reasons why I dislike Dreamland Beach
- My 5 favorite Beaches in Bali

Jalan Uluwatu 1 is now very fast filling up with new cafes, restaurants and warungs. Soon we probably refer the eat street to this particular area of Jimbaran. Tamarind Kitchen is relatively a new face on this street, the restaurant is actually situated on the second floor, with wooden pillars and cozy table settings.

Cuisine : Tasteful Indonesian, Western & Asian Food – homestyle cooking
Signature dishes : Grilled beef ribs topped with Indonesian Sambal, Tempe & Veggie Spring Roll, Homemade style Apple pie
Opening hours : 11am – 11pm (Come for an icy cold beer enjoying the hill breeze and green lush view on sunset time!)

It's a Family Feast! That Balinese style stir fry green bean is my fav!

I would suggest to boost up the visitor numbers to this great location they have by putting more promotion & ad on social media, and other medias. Tweet it, Post it!

This place will forever be remembered for me & Bart, as we tied the knot on this above sea level spot of our neighborhood,Jimbaran. Thank you to Pak Fogi, Pak Erwien and Pak Tude for the beautiful place, great food, and unforgettable moment at Tamarind Kitchen on a bright smiley sunny day in March 2011…When Mountain loves Beach story continues…

Flowers & purple mood table settings by my multi-talented amazing mom..

Above sea level nuptial – When Mountain guy loves Beach girl..

TAMARIND KITCHEN
Jl. Raya Uluwatu 1, Br. Tegeh Sari, Jimbaran – Bali 80361
Telephone : +62 3617903118
Home Delivery available for Jimbaran area

Bart was on a photo assignment one day, and was given this specific place in Bali called Serangan Island or popularly known as Turtle Island to do this photo hunting. The instruction was clear : Journalism Photography, NOT merely an artistic photo of a nature beauty. It was the sunrise time, and the sky slowly begins to lighten, Bart can not help but stunned with the amazing typical orange color that forms a sunlight’s path through the atmosphere giving golden reflection on Serangan Island mangrove swamp. The photo assignment was probably not successfully delivered, but he was stupified with this reclamed island beauty has to offer, he went back on the the same day, to take more beautiful pictures on Sunset!

Back then, Serangan Island was popular with local snorkeling tours, and the site of an important temple, Pura Sakenan. This used to be a separate island from Bali was once reclamed by a huge hotel resort and casino project but was stopped at the time of the downfall of the ‘you know who‘..The failed development project left not only a significant change and destruction of the environment, ie. mangrove forest but also to the local community’s life there. A restoration project is continuously being conducted on this island that is now not an island but can be reached just a few hundred meters off southern Sanur’s coastline when you notice the long causeway opposite Lotte Hypermart on By Pass Sanur.

Related post :
- Sanur Village Festival 2009

Top 5 Foods to eat in Indonesia

5 Terrific Indonesian desserts for the sweet-toothed!

Ogoh Ogoh is a giant beast creature made of bamboos,papers, styrofoam, with sometimes metal frame for the huge and robust shape ones. It’s a work of art done by youth villagers community called Sekaa Taruna (you will therefore notice each group of parade carrying the sign of respective Sekaa Taruna/ST), and making Ogoh ogoh does also mean a togetherness among the Balinese youth community, a competition among Banjars – village community, and a business!

I’ve been experiencing Nyepi and its Ogoh Ogoh Parade for 10 times now, due to some circumstances Bart & I decided to cancel our Gili Meno trip and just stay and book a nice clean minimalist hotel room just in the heart of Denpasar city change our Jimbaran air a little bit and relax, and do nothing!

From the classic Ramayana and other Hindu epic heroes, to demon faces, even the funkiest and cartoonic ones, people is always enthusiast waiting patiently for Ogoh Ogoh parade. Like I said before, for the Banjar community this means a competition. For the locals watching it, it’s a free street entertainment! For the tourists this is one cultural event not to be missed. For the street vendors this is business..Moi? I keep telling myself I needed to get out of the island on Nyepi Day, had enough of these beasts, but here I am with @bartcatapult still amazed with the creativity young balinese do mixing traditional culture with current colorful crazy designs..

Here are more shots from Bart from the 1933..errr..I mean 2011 Ogoh Ogoh Festival on Jalan Teuku Umar, Simpang  Enam, Denpasar a while ago.

Related Posts :
- Bali lost its project for Nyepi
- Nyepi Day – Like & Dislike