Babi Guling Vs Babi Guling, Bali

I was reminded over a dozen times to eat Babi Guling (roasted suckling pig) before I went over to Bali..

All I had in my head was babi guling, babi guling, babi guling..

Most unfortunately, I chose to visit Bali during their Galungan and Kuningan festival; little did I know that many eateries were closed during this festival. The famous Bu Oka at Ubud was closed for renovations, hence I was at loss on where to find a decent babi guling. Ketut assured me that there's plenty of good babi guling around, just that Bu Oka is famous as it's the only one that was mentioned in the internet..

And searching we did; Ketut was at his wits end when he still could not find any babi guling warung on day 3 at Bali. We did stumbled upon one at Nusa Dua area and we quickly ordered..

Erm, so this is babi guling? Lots like mixed dishes to me..And then i noticed the miserable portion of babi guling (10 o'clock) served with other condiments.The babi guling skin was soggy and chewy and the meat, tough. Some of the side dishes (like the sausage) tasted weird, but the bacon dish, fried fatty meat (the one in pinkish red colour) and some fried stuff (the one in the middle) were pretty tasty. They serve a side of pork soup with spices, which tasted ok. This babi guling meal costs us Rp25 000 (about RM10) which we thought was too expensive. I did not bother to take down the shop's name as I dont recommend this place...

WF and me was still not willing to give up on babi guling though it was the final day in Bali..After our relaxing spa treatment, we decided to look for babi guling yet again. We asked the locals at our hotel, they recommended a new babi guling shop that was opened just one week ago. We managed to find our way there, the shop is indeed new and we were the only customers. We got a little smarter this time around, we specifically requested for babi guling only; ie, no side dishes. And I'm real glad we found this shop..Their babi guling is really, really good, now I understand the reason for all the raving on babi guling. Unlike the baby suckling pig we get in Malaysia, I'd say that the babi guling in Bali is well, at it's "teenage" stage. The crispy skin is slightly thicker than the baby suckling pig, but is thinner than siew yoke (roasted pork). Very crunchy and flavourful, i was taking my sweet time savouring it. The meat on the other hand, was very tender and juicy; sort of melt-in-your mouth texture. Utterly satisfying. And knowing that it only costs us Rp12000 (about RM 5) makes this meal sweeter ;)

I was nicely drinking the soup while eating the condiments, when I noticed that the texture of the "meat" in the soup was rather unusual..It looked like meat, but I know it's not... I asked and was informed that it's actally sup nangka (jackfruit soup). Rich in herbs and spices, I actually enjoyed this soup, though WF stopped drinking almost immediately.

I would love to let you know the name of the shop, but there was no sign board yet..Just look out for a shop that has a picture of a cartoon pig hanging at the entrance with the word Babi Guling. This shop is directly opposite the Legian 24 hours Medical Center. It's a relatively new row of shops.