Food and drinks in Bali – Typical dishes, costs and Bali belly

Bali has become a very popular holiday destination in recent years. Besides nature and the locals, many people also love Indonesian food. However, due to the arrival of many tourists and digital nomads, many restaurants have also emerged where you can eat typical trendy Western dishes. Even though many people visit the island all year round, people are still regularly felled by a Bali belly. Don't let this put you off, because there are plenty of tourists who stay here for months without any problems. Are you curious about what you can eat and drink in Bali? What does it cost? And how can you best prevent a Bali belly? We'll tell you in this blog!

Planning where to go in Bali? Check out our complete overview of Bali destinations by region.

What is typical local food in Bali?

Some of the well-known dishes that are typically Indonesian are Nasi goreng and Mie goreng. You can actually order this nasi and noodles in any restaurant and you can often also choose it for breakfast at your hotel. The locals also regularly eat this for lunch or dinner. But plain white rice, Nasi putih, with chicken or meat is also a common dish in Bali. 

In addition, the satay should of course not be missing. You can get not only standard chicken satay here, but also pork or beef. In addition to the satay as we know it: pieces of meat strung on a stick, they also have sate Lilit: a typical Indonesian dish. The meat is ground and then stuck to the skewer and dipped in the satay sauce. 

Pork is also quite popular here. There are several restaurants where they serve all kinds of pork. One of the best known is Babi Guling: roasted pork with a strong spicy taste. 

When you eat at a local warungs, you can often eat Nasi Campur. This literally means that you get a plate or basket with banana leaves with a ball of rice on it. Then you choose from different types of meat and vegetables. It actually looks a bit like how we know the store in the Netherlands. You then pay per selected part or by weight. 

A number of other typical Indonesian dishes, which we also know in the Netherlands, are Gado Gado and Rendang. You can often order these dishes for lunch or dinner in various warungs, but also in trendy restaurants. There are many more typical local dishes. Indonesian cuisine is quite extensive, but rice should not be missing from every dish.

Curious about our favorite restaurants in Bali? You'll find them in this Google Maps map of Bali with all our personal hotspots!

What else can you eat?

As I mentioned earlier, you can also eat a lot of Western dishes in Bali. There are many breakfast, lunch and brunch spots where you can eat smoothie bowls, sandwiches, such as avocado toast, and different types of pastries, such as croissants, cinnamon rolls, donuts, etc.

For dinner you can also opt for Western dishes, such as fries, fish dishes, various meat dishes, such as spare ribs and steak, but also pizza, pasta, you name it. There are also often other Asian dishes such as sushi, but you can also find Korean, Thai and Vietnamese dishes here. In the meantime, you can get everything you can think of in Bali. Rather, it is becoming increasingly difficult to find typical local snacks and dishes.

Wil je ook een keer echte Balinese koffie proeven? Bezoek een koffieplantage in Bali en proef ter plekke de beroemde kopi luwak.

Vegetarian food in Bali

Are you vegetarian or vegan? Then you don't have to worry when you travel to Bali. With almost all dishes in Bali you can choose from different types of meat, but also a vegetarian option. In Indonesia they eat a lot of Tempeh and Tofu, the perfect meat substitute. This makes it easy to avoid meat at local warungs. Of course, the trendy Western restaurants almost always have vegetarian or vegan options. For example, you can often choose coconut or almond milk for your coffee or dish. 

How much does food and drink cost in Bali?

In general, food and drinks in Bali are a lot cheaper than in most European countries. You can of course make it as expensive as you want. Do you choose to eat at a local warung? Then you might spend 2 to 3 euros for a dish and 1.50 for a drink. So you pay about 5 euros per person for lunch or dinner. Do you prefer to eat Western or in a trendy place? then the prices can differ from 7.50 to 20 euros. If you take an alcoholic drink with this, for example wine, you pay around 4 euros for a glass. So you can also spend 25 euros for dinner. This is entirely up to you.

What should you avoid eating and drinking in Bali?

In principle you can eat and drink many things in Bali. There are a number of things you should pay attention to:

1. You cannot drink from the tap in Bali. This can really make you very ill. So also note that when you sit at a warung, you cannot always drink the water that is on the table. To be on the safe side, it is better to order a bottle of water. In addition, you should also make sure that your ice cubes are not made with tap water. This doesn't happen often, but it can make you sick. You can often smell it on the ice cubes, it has a certain distinct smell. If you don't trust it, it is better to order a drink without ice. 
2. Be careful with raw fish. There are quite a number of restaurants where you can eat sushi with raw fish, for example. Raw fish can always pose a risk, even in another country. So you better be careful with this. This does not mean that you cannot eat sushi, but be sure to look carefully at where you do this.
3. The same applies to raw meat, which can also contain bacteria that can make you sick. It is better to eat meat that you are sure is properly cooked.

What is a Bali belly? And how can you prevent these?

A Bali belly is nothing more than food poisoning. So in principle you can get this anywhere. In recent years this has only become common among tourists in Bali, which is how the term Bali belly came into existence. It is super annoying if you get this during your holiday in Bali, but it usually goes away within 1-3 days. Some symptoms of a Bali belly are:

• Stomach ache
• Intestinal cramps
• Diarrhea
• Nausea and vomiting
• Dizziness

Since you would rather not have this during your holiday in Bali, you naturally want to prevent this. How do you do that? Unfortunately, it can never be 100% prevented, but there are a number of things you can pay attention to to significantly reduce the chance. Firstly, pay attention to the 3 points mentioned above. Always check how busy it is at a restaurant. If there are a lot of people sitting there and there is a lot of turnover in the food, then there is less chance of you getting food poisoning. The fresher your food is made, the less likely it is to make you sick. 

Our most important TIP: ALWAYS check reviews on Google Maps first. Don't just look at the average score, but at the most recent reviews. You will also see that a restaurant sometimes has quite a high score, but has not actually done very well in recent months. When people get food poisoning, they report it 9 out of 10 times in the reviews. This way you know right away that it might be better not to eat here.

During our multiple trips through Bali we ate everything we wanted to eat and neither of us got sick. So it is possible, but you have to put in just a little more effort and pay attention.