With the disappointing meal of Babi Guling at Warung Ibu Oka now behind me (said no one ever), I headed to my last Babi Guling meal of my trip. South of Seminyak in the city Denpasar is Warung Bakas Sari Dewata. The crowd this morning is hardly convincing that this was the place to be, perhaps 9am was too early for Babi Guling! But the only thing that mattered was the pork on the fork.
For myself I had the Babi Guling Campur whilst the other two had the Babi Guling Special. My Babi Guling Campur from Warung Bakas Sari Dewata looked amazing.
1,2,3,4,5,6 and …7.. SEVEN dishes on the plate. Now that’s a party. But what amazed me even more were some of the dishes I got. One of the really tasty ones was the bits of smokey crispy bacon that was spiced sensationally. Then you also get this stringy pulled pork that was super dry almost like a pan-fried pork floss. As you chew it all the flavour just oozes out. God it was magic in the mouth. Also not to forget, were the tender skewered pork and the spit roast. The spit roast was slightly drier than the one at Pak Malen but it was not hard to eat. The string beans were sauteed with some sambal so that was pleasing too. Oh and the crackling here? Absolutely cracking!
My two other friends ordered the Babi Guling Special.
Ok let me tell you something. As ironic as it sounds, I hate to break it to you that it was nothing special. If anything, it was indeed less special. My friends were going crazy by getting the most pork on their fork but because it was only spit roast on the plate, the party on the plate got a bit monotonous after the first few bites. Also, remember how I said the Babi Guling at Warung Bakas Sari Dewata is drier than Pak Malen? Now imagine having to eat all of it =.=!! Folks, less is more sometimes. This is one of those times haha.
Regardless of your choice, it will come with a complimentary bowl of soup cooked with bone broth, and heart of banana tree.
So yay or nay? Definitely a yay from my side but definitely a nay for my other friends who ordered the Babi Guling Special. Warung Bakas Sari Dewata has definitely put some good pork on the fork with the Babi Guling Campur. The variety of dishes on the plate for the Babi Guling Campur makes it a strong contender for best Babi Guling in town. That salty-sweet smokey bacon was to die for and I enjoyed every bit of it. But it has to be the right proportion to not be sickening. While proportioning on a plate is a very fine line, I have to say that Warung Bakas does it well! Note that Warung Bakas Sari Dewata’s location is fairly inconvenient when compered to Pak Malen and Pak Dobiel, both of which are located near to the touristy hotels. But with convenient service like Gojek and Uber, it is easy to get your food brought to you or have you brought the the food.
WenY
