Bali Blends Cafe

Last Friday was such a fine balmy evening, hubby treated me to dinner, al fresco at Bali Blends Cafe in Westgate, Alabang. We've had coffee there before on my birthday but never ordered anything from their dinner menu. They serve fusion Indonesian cuisine and a sprinkling of continental sandwiches.

Since I've never had dinner yet, I ordered Beef Rendang, similar to our beef stew but spicier and has other complex flavors to it.

The Beef Rendang was served with buttered vegetables and rice. The beef rendang wasn't very tender and a bit too spicy, yet bland, if that was possible. Also, the dish needed a refreshing kick to balance out the gamut of spices in the dish. Cilantro, perhaps?



Unsatisfied with my meal (which I didn't finish), I ordered extra roti with a curry dip. After conferring with the waiter and getting the assurance that it's home-made roti, I place my order. The roti is not the same as what I had in Little India (darn!), the curry dip tasted like Mang Tomas with curry powder in it :-) Ayayay!



For dessert I had sweet coconut in pandan crepe, served with vanilla ice cream. The coconut was interesting, it tasted like soft bukayo. Bukayo is a Filipino dessert usually made by simmering strips of your coconut (buko) with brown sugar. I also saw a recipe using dessicated coconut, condensed milk and butter, simmered together.



Anyway, back to my story. Hubby had a tropical cooler. An assortment of tropical fruits, drizzled with caramel syrup with cayenne pepper, served in a fried crepe bowl. Hubby opted to have the syrup on the side, just in case he didn't like it. The cayenne pepper in the caramel was very mild, you can hardly tell it's there, which is a good thing. The fruits are fresh and juicy. The crepe bowl was very oily, baking it with a sprinkling of sugar would have greatly improved its taste.



The wonderful cool breeze of the evening, friendly waiters and pleasant company (my hubby) more than made up for the lackluster food.