cheap and cheerful :)

Last night on Lembongan.

after our shot at that rickety old yellow bridge and exploration of Nusa Ceningan,

I wanted some good local food to complete my Bali experience.

It was also due to the fact that we were all ravenous after our awesome manta mola dives that we made our pitstop here instead of returning to our villa. 

We should've done that party at Jibaku.

Look how well it's publicized! :)

Ayam Goreng Bali style.

Generous gravy and veggies to boot.

Mie kuah.

We were so hungry that instant noodles tasted like heaven.

At night, the temperature drops a fair bit probably due to its proximity from the sea.

And this bowl of warm comfort was more than welcome.

Foo yong hai.

This was a curious egg battered pancake.

Filled with cabbage and minced pork.

Drizzled with a sweet chilli sauce.

Curious.

But I'd rather my egg foo yong anyday.

Same same but different.

Same curious batter but this time with pork.

Sweet and sour pork was a misnomer.

Bistick.

No beef.

This was pork.

In the same sauce as the ayam goreng.

This was brilliant with rice.

A little too salty but heck.

Diving is some serious exercise.

Tip:

Make an order for their otah made with fresh catch from the sea a day in advance.

And while you're at it,

grab a cup of ginger tea.

Homemade comfort in a cup. :)

Welcome to Warung 99.

Our version of the cheap and cheerful :)

Mushroom Beach

Map's with me.

But let's just ride like the wind.

And go where the road leads.

We took a while.

Made a wrong turn from the start but that was our round the island trip completed.

Say hello mushroom beach! :)

Prices looked good hey.

But all those meats listed were options not a selection of all.

You couldn't blame us for trying to comprehend.

Beachfront.

But let's just do the ordering first.

We've gotten used to waiting for hours on end for our meals.

And this time the power supply was out.

Kitchen's still good to go since it worked on gas.

But that meant juices were from cans so let's just stick with water.

Mmm.

But we skipped all that.

Had a certificate ceremony and a dive video appointment to keep. :)

beached girls.

Leaving our footprints in the sand.

Same sized feet.

:)

oh so tiny!

crystal clear waters.

shiny happy people. :)

Every bit worth the fall.

I can now ride!

Kinda.

Caesers.

The dressing was weak.

But the cheese and mayo add on made up for it.

Finally.

Some good salad.

Avocadoes, crunchy cucumbers and salad leaves, their version of croutons, juicy tomatoes and an overcooked poached egg.

Seafood chowder.

They don't do seafood very well here to get rid of that fishy taste.

But this was an amazing bowl of comfort.

With tuna chunks, squid and prawns.

Mmm :)

Special of the day- chicken.

This was tender and juicy.

The pesto pasta was a little past al dente and the mushroom cream sauce was too weak for any real flavour.

Special of the day- beef

This was very well done.

They don't do beef well here either hey.

But it was a satisfying portion and for that kinda prices?

We were happy campers.

Ikan Pepes.

Spicy sweet achar side of onions.

The sauce accompanying the fish was a little too unique for our palate.

But otherwise, it was moist and had a slight sweetness to testify to its freshness.

Going back to pondok baruna was a lot easier this time.

Taking only 15 minutes. 

This was a fraction of the time we took to get to mushroom beach.

Freshly fried peanuts sprinkled with salt.

The perfect muncher. 

Once you start.

I darn well couldn't stop.

Congrats to you both.

I'm so awesomely proud of you. :)

Of molas and memories to keep me high on life.

Keep diving!

nusa lembongan

while waiting for the tides.

some bintang on the rocks?

and these mooncakes.

i salute you.

for making it for the flight,

a ferry ride,

and a car ride.

that's some serious mileage.

to bring smiles to familiar and new faces.

crystal clear?

I was excited already.

but no diving today hey.

just sticking my feet ankle deep into water and trudging up the rocky steps.

mooncake couldn't be dinner.

so hello pondok baruna.

pondok baruna everywhere. :)

ayam goreng kicap.

i wish it didn't have bones.

but it was savoury more than sweet.

and it was a tummy filler. 

indomie anyone?

tasted like a lot of bumbu.

and seafood was just prawns.

could we make that an ayam mie goreng with a telur ontop? :(

meals here on a one-off.

my teacher's day present.

aww.

for me to comb its tresses through when i'm stressed.

pondok baruna frangipani.

their newest edition of villas.

with a massive bathroom.

perfect for hanging dive gear.

or mass bathing.

we couldn't figure out why anyone would need such a huge bathing space.

too inviting.

and i did do some laps to complete my bali experience. :)