Cafe Teduh@Denpasar

Demona: On our second day at Sanur, we decided to take a cab to Denpasar, another town near by, and do a bit of scouting around there. We didn't know initially, and went into one of the cabs, readily parked outside, paying 80000 rupiah for the ride as quoted by the location price list given by Diwangkara Holiday Villa. We found out much later that if we were to hail for a cab on our own from the main road, we would probably save another 20000 to 40000 rupiah.

The cab driver dropped us at the main shopping mall in Denpasar, which was very much similar to our hometown "The Store" supermarket. Our main venture wasn't shopping, but sight seeing, and food hunting! We asked local passers by for food recommendation and places of attraction, and they all seemed to direct us to the Denpasar market, which was about a kilometre's walk away from where we were.

Thus, Dogma swtiched on his GPS instincts and took over the guide role. The roads were unbelievably busy. Like much worse condition of a busy Penang road. Suzukis and Kawasakis are hot sellers here. 70% motorcyclists 30% cars. Most roads are made to only go one direction and there aren't many traffic lights around. Therefore, it was EXTREMELY difficult to cross the road, and pedestrian crossings DO NOT work. No one will stop for you, and if you do attempt a dangerous try to cross, you'll either end up getting hit or get honked by every vehicle coming towards you.

Honking is a way of life for road users here. They honk so much that we went ballistic from the noise. As what people say, "You can't beat 'em, join 'em!"

It did seem silly, but we actually made 'peet peet peet' sounds, like a motorbike honk whenever we tried to cross... and somehow, it worked! At least, with this method, we managed to cross a couple of roads... SAFELY.

Along the way to the market, we chanced upon Cafe Teduh, a North Celebes (Mandano) origin restaurant. Dogma stopped by to ask a sleepu looking local bank security guard and he pointed out that this cafe behind the bank is a favourite to the office staffs working nearby. The road leading to this cafe was narrow and dodgy, that no one would ever realise that there was a gorgeous cafe hidden inside. The cafe was surrounded with beautiful flowered pots and plants and some small wooden chalets for private dinings. Even though the cafe was based on an open concept, the cool breeze from the sea, and the low humidity level kept us all cool and dry.

We were a bit worried on the price looking at the gorgeous decorations of the cafe, but we were shocked when we saw that the prices quoted on their menu was actually cheap!


"Thank you, uncle security guard!"



Demona: We ordered a 'kelapa muda utuh', not too sure what did utuh meant but it was a GOOOOOOOOODDDDDDDD coconut. The juice was fresh, sweet and the whitish parts were easily scrapped out. Best part of all, it cost only 9000 rupiah.





Demona: We also ordered the 'ayam goreng rica' (fried chicken) with rice dish. This chicken had an AMAZING marination. The chicken meat was fried to perfection! The outer parts were crunchy, with the fragrant burnt aroma but the meat inside were tender and juicy! The marination gave the meat a spicy, zing-y sourish flavour. Very, very unique taste... kinda' hard to put in in exact words to describe the flavours. Bottom line, THUMBS UP! 10500 rupiah




Demona: We ordered a side sauce, called the 'sambal roa'. WOW. This sambal, was a class of its own. It had the usual sambal taste incorporated, with an extra 'mild wasabi like' zing locked along with it. Dogma was murmuring "Mmmmmm.....mmmmmmmm" each time he scooped the sambal roa up and eat it, despite sweating like a babi guling. 5000 rupiah



Demona: I also ordered my favourite dish, brinjals, in this rendition: 'terong goreng telur' (brinjals fried with eggs). This dish was also another big hit! The brinjals were deep fried until its outer skin was brown and crunchy but extremely soft on the inside. The pieces of brinjals were mixed along with bits and pieces of fried eggs, and chopped chilli bits. This dish had a bit of an oriental feel in it, may be due to the eggs. Maybe I shall try cooking this combination on my own next time! 7000 rupiah

Demona: In total... our awesome, awesome lunch cost 34500 rupiah (ONLY SGD 5.20!). Its 50% cheaper than our cab fare, sigh. Looking at the ambience of the cafe and the quality of the food, this sort of meal would probably cost RM 30-RM 40 back in Malaysia. This was really a 100% chanced steal deal.

Verdict: Readers out there, if you are going to make a trip to Denpasar, do try to scout your way to Cafe Teduh! You won't regret it!

Location: Jalan Diponegoro, Denpasar.