Holidays, Hellidays and the Journeys in between....: Asam Garam and the Balquisse Heritage Hotel

On our last trip to Bali we couldn't get into this fully booked restaurant in Jimbaran, so this time, I made sure we ate at Asam Garam by booking ahead, though regretfully we didn't stay at Balquise. Next time, I will definitely have a few nights there. The entire expereince is delightful.

We walked up the busy street to dinner, only to disappear into a quiet oasis of design, history and sweeping gardens. It is literally on the main road in Jimbaran, a short walk to the beach or Cuca (the other must eat restaurant) but you would never know it!

On arrival, we were escorted past the residence of the hotel on a pathway festooned with candle lit lamps and lighted trees. The noises of the Saturday night traffic growing fainter, the further into garden we went. We were seated on the verandah of what seemed like an old colonial villa, though we discovered it was built far more recently than the Dutch occupation.

The food at Asam Garam is fabulous Indonesion fare with a lovely cocktail list, served in gorgeous vintage stemware. If the Great Gatsby was set in Bali, I felt I'd walked into the pages...

After ordering, we had to explore the building and the attention to detail in the spaces is extraordinary. Even the teenager was intrigued by the vintage objects and artistic design.

You could easily spend a few days just exploring the detail of this properties charm. In fact we were so taken with all the antique objects and amusingly palyful artworks that none of us remembered to take any photos of the food, but it was faultless and delicious!

As we left, I felt a pang of envy of the French family having a lazy dinner by the pool - my regret for not stayed here for part of our trip. In a word rarely used about hotels, I can honestly say Balquisse is captivating.