Dining at Kayuputi

Kayuputi restaurant is located at The St. Regis in Bali. It is the signature restaurant of The St. Regis Bali Resort.  The St. Regis Bali resort is in the serene beach of Nusa Dua.

Kayuputi offers Asian-inspired cuisine. The restaurant has a magnificent view of the beach and is comprise of elegant and stylish interiors. In the center of the restaurant is a large open kitchen where you can watch the culinary brigade with their chef prepare your dishes.

Kayuputi offers a variety of dishes through a la carte and degustation menus, as well as Sunday brunches and champagne brunches. Each of their dish has a mix of Asian flavors and western influences.

Advanced reservation is needed. We try to make dinner reservation two weeks before our arrival in Bali and their reservation is almost full. We had to change some plans just to be able to fit in our schedule their available slots.

When we arrive at The St. Regis Bali Resort, we were greeted by their staff. They assist us in getting a caddy to bring us in the restaurant. Yes, there is a caddy car to bring you in the restaurant since it is a bit far from the main lobby. While waiting for the ride we were able to watch performance of fire dancers.

At Kayuputi, we were immediately assisted to our seat. We chose a seat outside to feel the sea breeze. The seats outside are also more intimate.

A few minutes after we are seated, they took our orders and they immediately brought out complimentary dishes. First food they brought us is their five flavored bread rolls with four dipping sauces. I forgot the flavors of the bread but the dipping sauce are olive oil, butter, tartar sauce and catsup with banana.

Another complimentary dish is the fresh salmon with cucumber. This dish is very refreshing.

For appetizer we tried their Char-grilled Octopus Tentacle. It has Spring onion – ginger flower sambal, Balinese seasonal beans velvet, ruku – ruku leaf oil, purple potato chips. The octopus is melt in your mouth. The thin purple potato chips is a delight.

For our mains, we ordered their Swordfish Loin and Sumberkima or Coral Trout. The Swordfish Loin has soy-glazed oxtail ragout. The small meats in the ragout is very tasty and adds a different texture from the swordfish loin. The dish also has edamame beans and Asian green herbs salad. 

The Sumberkima or Coral Trout is steamed and is placed in black ink emulsion. This is my favorite dish from what we ordered. It has zucchini, konbu, allium crumbles, green shallot oil and potato net. All of the ingredients in the dish compliments one another. The fish is soft and then you have the crispy potato net.

Lastly for dessert, we had their Valrhona Chocolate ice cream. There is nothing too fancy for the ice cream. It easily melts so it’s best to immediately consume it.

For drinks we tried their American Mint Lemonade mocktail. It has lemon juice, sugar syrup, mint leaves and lemonade which is very refreshing on a humid weather.

Overall, we enjoyed our dining experience in Bali and if ever we go back to Bali, we will definitely make another reservation at Kayuputi.

Kuta Beach and Art Market

Kuta beach maybe is the most famous place to visit in Bali and it is very accessible from the airport. The place has a lot of tourist, restaurants, and hotels. Kuta is an hour away from our hotel but we decided to visit it for their art market and to check the beach.

They say Kuta Art Market is a street filled with stalls selling unique Bali art, souvenirs, and handicrafts. However, this is not what we saw in the famous street. We learned that all shops are now in a building complex. Only few stalls are being occupied in the building and moreover, there are only few stalls open when we went there. We feel that it must be because of the pandemic that there are only few stalls left. Still the art market is located on the street going to the beach.

Since we arrived early in Kuta, we decided to have breakfast first at Kopi and Kue. Food is decent but what capture my attention is the wall of vandal going to the restroom. After breakfast, we visit some of the shop going to the beach to compare prices.

Kuta beach is very disappointing. It is full of tourists which is actually normal, a lot of local offering you to rent chairs and shades, and pricey restaurant with mediocre food. The sand is gray and full of trash. Not sure if the water is even clean to swim in the first place but there are still a lot of surfers.

After roaming in the beach, we went back to the market street and bought some souvenirs. The art market is filled with magnets, figurines, key chains and other knick knacks. They also sell souvenir shirts, sarong and beach shorts. There also a lot of the local coffee and other delicacies.

Next stop in our Kuta trip is the Pie Susu store. Pie Susu is a thin pastry with layer of custard filling made with condensed milk. Near the Pie Susu store, is the Anomali cafe. We went to try their coffee and their pastry. They have different kinds of coffee from different part of Indonesia.

Although, we did not like the beach in Kuta, you may still consider visiting it if you love to surf and party at night.