Homaya Presents Authenticity of the Archipelago

What if you can taste Indonesia’s diverse food on one sitting? Creating a menu driven by market-fresh ingredients, HOMAYA Restaurant at Inaya Putri Bali spiced our holiday up with comfort food. Let’s give them a taste.

Fiona’s adventure in Bali continues.

The super romantic alfresco dining

Minimalism design with wooden and unique features, highlighting the large tables inside and super romantic alfresco dining. Sitting down outside accompanied by scenic view and warm lanterns. The semi-fine dining restaurant has peaceful, calm and tranquil ambiance for its customers. The staffs are friendly and helpful too. I was honestly impressed. Talking a bit technical, this place is equipped with 75 seats and a 16-metre communal table at the front. And the weather is hot, but hey, it’s Bali! And they provided me with cold towel too.

Hello Food!
Appetizers are simple: crackers (better known as kerupuk, rempeyek and its siblings) plus 6 kinds of Chili (Sambal) placed in 6 ceramic bowl on a wooden tray. Let’s see if I can recall what kinds of sambal are on the tray: shallot chili, green chili, sweet soy sauce chili and mango chili. Well, that’s only four. Anyway... For the warm weather, I got served Kunyit Asam (turmeric, tamarind, palm sugar, fresh lime, water), a traditional drink (known as Jamu), with a rosemary floating on top. It’s really refreshing. But I’m Jamu fans so we can totally relate to the sour sensation once you get the drink into your mouth. They do have other variants like Beras Kencur (Galangal, white rice, palm sugar, nut meg, clove, water) and Fresh Ginger (Ginger , peppermint leaves, lime, palm sugar, water), so if you’re into Jamu (or curious about it), then you should give it a try. 

Kerupuk and Rempeyek - two different crackers

The sambal platter

Kunyit Asam

Fresh Ginger a.k.a. Jahe Segar

During my stay at Inaya Putri Bali, I ordered Fresh Ginger, which arrived in a bamboo cup. Ginger and Mint are definitely good together. I also ordered more of the Kunyit Asam.

First dish arrives on the table. It’s Rawon (beef soup with black broth, served with baby bean sprouts, salted reserved egg and shrimp crackers), a dish native to East Java. It arrives in a bowl placed on a wooden tray. The sides (eggs, lime, chili and Tempeh) are plated separately. Glad to find Tempe (the soy bean dish) after a while. But the beef is tender and the broth is rich. I surprised myself by finishing the broth.

Rawon - it taste so good.

But it’s good because after that we started sharing menu. Rijsttafel consists of yellow and red rice. Red rice is much better - not because of diet - but because it’s bland enough to give space for the rest of the Rijsttafel to fill in the taste buds. What are the rest?

When we both go on prawn tasting, the first thing to do is watch me whether I developed an allergic reaction. So, I’m happy to announced that Lawar Udang (Prawn and green papaya salad, coconut,pomelo, crispy shallot and palm sugar) is definitely clear, meaning it’s fresh! The touch of Pomelo is refreshing too. Sate Lilit (Minced fish on lemongrass sate) is a must-have when you’re in Bali, so it’s a good thing there are some in the menu. Fish is fresh. Each bite combines crispy outer layer with soft fish meat on the inside. Can eat this the whole day. 

Continuing to the good-looking, flower-embellished Opor Ayam (Braised chicken curry with coconut milk, lime leaves, lemongrass), it’s not too heavy, not to light. The chicken is cooked just right with marinated spices. Kaki Kambing (Braised lamb shank in coconut gravy, tomatoes, spring onions, fried shallots) comes next and I tried the gravy first. That’s tasty. Moving on to the lamb, a dish I grew up with because my dad loves lamb, and I can say this is perfect with rice. Soft and easy to cut. And, oh, the most important thing is that the lamb doesn’t smell. To compliment everything, there’s Jukut Urab, described on the menu as mixed vegetables salad in turmeric yellow coconut dressing. The turmeric is pretty strong, because it was the first thing that came up to my mind when I revisit the pictures for the blog.

 (above) Sate Lilit of the feast,
(below, clockwise from top left) sate lilit and yellow rice, opor ayam, kaki kambing and lawar udang

Happy Ending
When we arrived to the Wedang Ronde, I was like “are you kididng me? Ronde in this kind of weather?” But it’s one of the dishes I can’t refuse no matter however high the temperature is. Homaya’s Wedang Ronde is said to be a 12 hour infused ginger and local pandan leaf, sago, sweet potato and jackfruit ball, served with coconut ice cream and foam. So, the ice cream (which couldn’t endure the heat as this food blogger was taking picture), help balance the otherwise hot dessert. Jackfruit, the yellow small one, is interesting as ronde ball. There’s no need to bite because they melted in your mouth. Mix them with ice cream and experience another level of traditional dessert. Spicy but cold. 

A wedang ronde with surprise

The feast in a glance

I came in with friends, each with her own personalities and preferences. But here, we found a place to call home, it’s Homaya. I miss this place already.

Where is this?
Inaya Putri Bali
Kawasan Wisata Nusa Dua Lot S-3 Bali 80363
Phone: 0361 774488