Bali, Suckling Pig, Paradise Island.

I had forgotten how beautiful Bali is. When it was so close to 'home' (Surabaya - 30 minutes by plane), you kinda take it for granted. But this trip reminded me full force.

There's of course the beach. Kuta beach was cleaner than I remembered, still as crowded as ever though, but we had ample space to sit and take in the breathtaking view of the sunset.

There are the beautiful tiered rice paddies everywhere, and seeing the workers everywhere in this developing country remind you of where your food came from. And why it's so cheap.

But, of course, we're here for the food. Not to be outdone by Anthony Bourdain, our first meal in Bali was perhaps Bali's most famous dish - at its most famous restaurant, suckling pig aka Babi Guling Ibu Oka.

Tourists and locals alike flock to this place. Most of the seats are lesehan, which means you sit on the floor (on a pillow), barefooted. Even then we had to wait 20 minutes or so to get seated.

As soon as we walked up we were greeted by a suckling pig on a tray, where they are cutting the meat and skin off. Eye candy. We were already hungry, but the drool-worthy view made the craving even harder.
The "babi guling special" comes with rice, suckling pig's meat, crispy skin, deep fried skin, blood sausage, and urap made with green beans.


This Rp.25,000 (~$2.50) plate is satisfaction incarnate. What makes Balinese suckling pig so special is that it had been stuffed with herbs and spices and cassava prior to roasting over an open flame, making it so full of flavor. The meat is still rightfully tender, and the meat is only the start of it. There's the oily crispy skin, and the delightfully crunchy fried skin, not to forget the chunky and flavorful blood sausage and the spicy vegetables.

All this goes down perfectly with a bottle of Indonesian Pilsner, Bir Bintang (For those interested, Bintang is pretty light with a slight hoppy finish).

The only thing that might be a problem for some people is that Ibu Oka's suckling pig has now become less spicy (though you can get more chili on the side), perhaps to 'tone down' to tourist level of spice. Better for me I guess, since I could eat it without breaking too much sweat.

Either way, Babi Guling Ibu Oka is still one of the best (if not the best Balinese meal).

Baja Winery Bed and Breakfast: Villa del Valle

Baja is not all about the parties, the beach, and the food (oh and how we love the food), but they have also seen a surge in wineries in the Valle de Guadalupe area. Just like Napa and Temecula, besides selling wines and holding wine tastings, some wineries also function as a cozy bed and breakfast.

One such place in Valle de Guadalupe is La Villa del Valle, a beautiful British-owned bnb/winery and one of the very few such places in Baja so far.

Perched on a hilltop, this B&B provides a magnificent view of the valley.
It only has a pool and a vegetable garden patrons can walk through.

Our group had our wine tasting in the cozy and swank living room (leather covered couches and tables - PETA would go nuts).
The wines that La Villa del Valle produced are called Vena Cava, and we tasted two-three of them.
The Vena Cava wine is organic and self-sufficient. As such, their white wines also tend to be unfiltered. This gives their Chardonnay a cloudy appearance which may turn some people off, but in reality this wine has more flavor and depth than your typical chardonnay.

We were also served some small bites during the wine tasting, including this zucchini fritter with kumquat sauce.
We thought the kumquat sauce was not only great but also creative.

Another appetizer I really enjoyed was the ground ostrich meat wrapped in kale.
Staying at a b&b in a wine country means you'd have to drive rather far for outside food and nightlife, but naturally La Villa del Valle offers dinners. We were served a few small bites of appetizers during the wine tasting, and if they are any indication, dinner here should be quite good.

La Villa del Valle
Valle De Guadalupe, Baja, Mexico
www.lavilladelvalle.com

Lousin's Mom n Pop Arakadz(Armenian) Cuisine

Lousin's Arakadz cuisine caught my eye at the last Restaurant.com sale. Right in Pasadena by the 210, it was a (ok, two) stone's throw away from Caltech but I've never heard of it.

A lot of people now know about Restaurant.com - get a $25 gift certificate to restaurants for only $10 may seem enticing enough, but then you find out that they regularly hold crazy sales. The current sale is 90% off from 9/9/09 til 9/13/09. That's $25 for $1 if you don't want to do the math.

So most of the restaurants listed are usually not cheap and not that exciting, but occasionally you'd find some exciting places pop up temporarily, like FIG, so I've gotten into the habit of checking the list whenever the sale is going on.

Lousin's is actually quite the opposite of FIG. A hole-in-the-wall in a strip mall right by the freeway, we could hardly tell it was there when we arrived.

The place was empty when we came for lunch, with the exception of the wife who runs the place and two teenage girls who were probably her daughter and a friend.

We seated ourselves and got a paper menu. Besides the expected Armenian staples, Lousin's also offers $9.99 new york steaks and lamb chops and $2.99 turkey burger third pounders.

Oh, did I mention we came with a $10 restaurant.com gc off of a $20 order? Cheap? I felt like we were cheating them.

Lousin's is run by a lovely couple and yes, they are the only two working at the restaurant. Our lunch didn't end up being a quick one, but understandably the wife was doing the order taking and cooking since the husband did not come until later that day.
We also got a side of pickled cabbage on the house.
Leaving the steaks and burgers for another time, we shared some typical Armenian dishes, starting with the Beef Shawarma Plate ($6.99)
Served with a salad rice pilaf, this was a good-sized portion for the price. The shawarma was tender and well-seasoned and the rice was quite fragrant.

The lamb dishes are typically $1 more expensive than similar items, but we like lamb anyway so for the second dish we got the Lamb Shish Kebab Plate ($7.99)
This was also served with a pita, which we removed to show you the meats! Still well seasoned though not as tender and since it's also not dressed, it was a bit dryer than the previous. But this was still good with the grilled vegetables.

We also got the Lamb Loole Kebob Wrap ($4.99 -- the beef/chicken are 3.99)
Unlike the shish kebob, the loole kebob are made of seasoned ground meat. We were so full we couldn't finish this so we split it and took it home. I had my half for lunch the next day and it was still moist and flavorful. Luckily the wrap is not doused with salt so I didn't have to worry about the pita getting soggy overnight.

Lousin's is a nice place for a cheap lunch with solid food, though granted it wasn't that quick of a lunch, and they definitely deserve more business than they seem to be getting. Come now, help out the mom 'n pop shops!

Lousin's Arakadz Cuisine
336 N Allen Ave
Pasadena, CA 91106
(626) 793-9955