Balinese Restaurant in Greenhills
February 13th, 2007 by Stephanie DychiuPosted in Food and Drink |
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The pictures on this post are pixelated because I wasn’t on Shopcrazy-duty when I took them (had to make do with puny fone-camera). I accidentally bumped into Sarong Bali on Wilson Street while foraging for breakfast a couple of weeks ago. Faint from hunger due to an early morning call-time at a photo studio nearby, I was staggering toward McDo when ‘lo, a red-hot neon sign that said “Balinese Barbecue” blindsided me. The headwaiter waved me in, so I ended up having Spicy Prawns with Rice for breakfast instead of sausage McMuffin.
Sarong Bali opened just two months ago, on December 15, 2006. It is owned by Harald Gutzy, a German national who lived in Bali, and his Filipina wife, Gina. Two Balinese cooks run the kitchen.
Wouldn’t it be nice if every new restaurant that opened offered dégustation menus? I wanted to try a little bit of everything at Sarong Bali, but had room only for the aforementioned Spicy Prawns with Rice and a large helping of Agar Agar Gula Merah (sweet jelly with coconut cream). New establishments usually have a learning curve, so one must be vigilant if one wants adjustments done to the food. I asked for grated coconut to be added to my Agar Agar, and a hefty dousing of tougher spices on my prawns. The headwaiter was glad to oblige.
While chewing, I wrote down the other dishes on the menu that seemed interesting, so you shopcrazies can try them and tell me what they taste like:
- Jackfruit Soup (Jukut Nanka), P90
- Young Banana Soup (Jukut Ares), P75
- Balinese-Style Roasted Duck (Bebek Tutu), P265, served on grated coconut and rice, with vegetables
- Fried Duck in Tamarind Sauce (Bebek Goreng Bumbu Rijak), P245
- Beef with Grated Coconut, Oyster Sauce, and Shallots (Be Sampi Base Nyuh), P210
- Goat Stew with Coconut Sauce (Gulal Kambing), P195
- Bean Curd with Eggplant and Coconut Cream and String Beans (Nasi Campur, Tanpa Daging), P115
Standard Chinese, Filipino, and Western dishes are also on the menu for less adventurous diners.
In the absence of a tasting menu, the next best thing is to try the buffet. Dinner buffets are on Fridays and Saturdays, 6:00-11:00 pm, P395 per person. Brunch buffets are on Sundays, 11:00 am-3:00 pm, P325 per person.
Included in the buffet are 6 salads, 6 main courses, 1 vegetarian curry, 1 soup, 2 sets of rice, appetizers, desserts, Balinese juice, and an assortment of satays with different kinds of dipping sauces (peanut, chili, ginger, Balinese yellow sauce, tomato cream sauce).
Overall, Sarong Bali is still a newbie working hard to find its footing, but it’s always good to lend a bit of support to establishments that introduce new tastes to our local palate.
Sarong Bali is located at the ground floor of 198 Wilson Street corner P. Guevarra, San Juan, Metro Manila. Call 727-9522 for reservations.
February 15th, 2007 at 12:36 pm
We tried this resto out of curiosity, having read about it here. The satays are sometimes too dry for my taste, but the peanut sauce is lovely and not cloyingly sweet. The seafood soup was yummy and though I found the mushroom soup too hot, my husband loved how flavorful the mushrooms were once one gets past the spiciness of the broth. I tried the squid with basil, cooked also with coriander, ginger and coconut cream. It wasn’t creamy at all, and its sauce was very flavorful with just the right touch of heat. The beef with grated coconut, oyster sauce and shallots is a must-try. My husband tried the nasi goreng with satays. We were a little surprised that it didn’t come with an egg and prawn crackers as we’ve seen it done abroad. For dessert, I had the rice cake, which is similar to a three-layered sapin-sapin. Two of the three layers were pandan and mango, and I suspect the third layer was coconut cream based. Hubby had the sweet bean porridge, which is similar to guinataang monggo with less coconut cream. All in all, I’d recommend this place to those with jaded palates in search of something new. Although some of the other non-Balinese dishes look good, I’d suggest exhausting its Balinese catalogue first.
February 23rd, 2007 at 5:30 pm
notsolillulu, did u try the buffet or ordered ala carte?
February 23rd, 2007 at 11:36 pm
A la carte. Buffet wasn’t available the night we went. I wouldn’t have minded trying the buffet, had it been available. A lot of their entrees come with rice so since there were only two of us, we couldn’t try a lot of different entrees. My hubby did take home some entrees the night before we both ate there, so my review’s based on two different occasions.
July 18th, 2007 at 11:35 am
Was supposed to try this resto last week but learned that management decided to close Sarong Bali and turn it to Gutzy Steak. They have a banner outside showing pics of steaks and prices for as low as P130. So we decided to give it a try anyway. When we inquired about the steaks, male waiter told us they ran out of 150g steaks (those in their banner) and recommended 250g instead, of course with a higher price. When we were giving our orders, lady waiter told us they don’t have the local steaks anymore and recommended the imported ones which are priced way much higher. I feel like this is their tactic to attract and fool customers. No wonder Sarong Bali didn’t last long. Management sucks!
September 16th, 2007 at 11:56 pm
i’ve heard of sarong bali resto, and i’m wishing to visit it when i go home…but its sad if its already close.and with all of this comments…NO COMMENTS.