CALIFORNIA-MEXICAN BAR & RESTAURANT

Our first vacation to Bali was back in 2002 and during the three weeks, my partner and I went to TJ’s twice. We really loved that place. Tourism figures dropped enormously that year, so we were practically the only ones there. In the menu we had to read the sad fact that they had to cut out more then half of the dishes, to guarantee fresh ingredients for the clients.

Now, six years later, TJ’s is fully back in business and it’s packed! We would not expect anything less because TJ’s has been around for what feels like forever, so they managed to cope with the bad years and Kuta wouldn’t be Kuta without TJ’s.
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One of the most popular streets in Bali is Jalan Legian; the long main road that leads to Kuta on one side and Seminyak on the other. This street is loaded with shops and restaurants and is obviously a great spot for the tourist to wander around on.

One of the restaurants located on Jalan Legian is the old time favorite Café Sendok (sendok = spoon). Whenever we walk or drive by this place it is always lively. Happy tourists are sitting at the bar, enjoying a cold Bintang beer or sitting at the tables, chatting and laughing about their adventures. Though this place is German oriented, the tourists are from every corner of the world. I guess this is because the restaurant looks inviting.

So this time I get to be that happy tourist (again). Though living in Bali feels like a permanent holiday, somehow you just don’t hang around in the tourist areas that often anymore.
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Recently, we drove through the busy streets of Seminyak and we had a great laugh! A big banner said there was going to be a new restaurant and the name sounded quite familiar; Mannekepis

Mannekepis is the famous statue of Brussels, Belgium. This statue, a naked little boy doing the number one, can also be found at the entrance of the Mannekpis Bistro in Seminyak. “Great name”, we all said to each other. And soon after that; “I hope they are going to serve Belgian fries!”

Mannekepis opened its doors on the 21st of December. And a few days after, we we’re invited to grab a bite over there.
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I must confess; this was not the first time I spent an evening at Mykonos, the popular Greek restaurant located on the busy Laksmana Oberoi street in Seminyak (also known in the expat community as ‘eat street’). Often I have the craving for a nice piece of good quality meat, with no fuss but also won’t burn a hole in my wallet . So the invitation of Mykonos was a very pleasant one; we already knew the food was going to be great.

Like my other visits to Mykonos, I just cannot begin my dinner without a good appetizer. The usual pita bread dish with Tzatziki (yoghurt with cucumber, dill, garlic and olive oil) and Humus (chick beans with tahini, yoghurt, lemon, dill, garlic and olive oil) was immediately ordered, so the dipping could begin. I started arguing with my friends that they were taking too much Tzatziki to put on their bread; at the rate they were on there wouldn’t be enough left for me! Just kidding…we just ordered another plate.
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Quite some time I was planning to pay a visit to the Umalas Stables, to see the horses and check what they have to offer for riding lessons. So the invitation of the Lestari Restaurant brought me the chance to have some nice dinner and see the beautiful animals over there. As you might understand, the brand new Lestari Restaurant (opened in June 2007) is located in the Umalas Stables.

It was already dark, but the nice security guy of the place showed us around the stables with a flashlight (I guess the horses can be a little cranky when you disturb them while resting) and he guided us to the restaurant. Basically we just had to follow the path and head for the many tiny lights in the back of the place.
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