For our raw food Bali adventures we started off in Ubud.
The centre of Ubud is a busy, booming bustling town where bikes, mopeds, buses, cars, vans and pedestrians all battle for some road space (walk on pavements at your own risk, they often have gaping holes in them when you least expect it!). But in-between the craziness is sanctuary. Day spas, raw food cafés, yoga and colonic centres, organic stores, organic cafés are to be found dotted around Ubud. And there are some great places to stay, that are QUIET.
Our first villa in Penestanan was in a great spot but surrounded by construction, a family of roosters that seemed to think 3am was sunrise and which would then set the dogs off on the other side of the fence. Then as soon as the dogs and roosters stopped the mopeds would start. Oh and then there were the rats in the roof. But thats another story.
After 2 nights of not much sleep we found another villa, this time set in the jungle surrounded by lush palms, a beautiful river, frogs, huge dragonflies, fireflies (and a few harmless snakes that are more scared of you than you will be of them) and the only sound at night was the stars twinkling above.
It was quite an adventure getting there, a winding jungle track with a myriad of lanes running off and in between rice paddy fields. Great for exploring and this is where I discovered Yellow Flower Organic Café and Intuitive Flow Yoga, both little gems in the jungle!
So in this blog I’m going to give you the highlights of the raw food cafés, organic restaurants, day spas and yoga centres we visited and LOVED during the first leg of our journey in Ubud. I’ll also give you my hot tips for great QUIET places to stay in Ubud at the end of this blog.
Places to eat and treat
Taksu Day Spa:
Tucked off Jl. Hanoman is Taksu Day Spa, at first glance it looks like an ordinary old day spa but step out the back of reception and you are in something out of Indiana Jones with steep ancient stone steps, natural hanging gardens, a river winding through it, temples and winding paths leading to your outdoor massage cabana or plunge pool.
Sit back and take in the most amazing views provided by nature as you get a massage, pedicure, manicure, or body scrub. They have an extensive list of treatments including an ozone steam sauna which I was dying to try due to its ability to kill candida and parasites. Ozone is activated oxygen and when in the sauna it is absorbed through the skin, its a potent detoxifier and is anti-fiungal, anti-bacterial, immune boosting, detoxifies heavy metals and purifies the blood. Many countries around the world employ ozone as a treatment for many illnesses with their patients. In Australia it is banned, most likely because it is a natural product and pharmaceutical and medical establishments can’t make money off it. If you wish to seek out Ozone therapy is available in Hawaii, Mexico and Europe. Ozone is also used to purify water supply in some European countries.
Even though Taksu is at the pricier end for treatments its well worth it, the staff are great, the view and setting is great, the treatments are many, I highly recommend the reflexology, and of course, the ozone steam sauna, I felt incredibly clean and refreshed and had the best sleep that night.
Special thanks to Nyomen, the receptionist at Taksu, after hearing I wanted to go to Tampaksiring to the holy waters she kindly leant me her sash to wear with my sarong and made 8 offerings for me to take to fountains for praying. This is why I love the Balinese! They are so kind and giving.//www.taksuspa.com/
But I had to save the best for last! Above Taksu is a restaurant that has vegan and raw on the menu. And awesome smoothies and juices. After your spa treatment head up to the restaurant and order a light snack and smoothie and take in the gorgeous view while feeling very warm and fuzzy! Highly recommend the Spirulina Smoothie, which is called The Original, a beautiful pale mint green colour and delicious! This will be replicated at home and put on the menu!
Down To Earth:
On the same street as Taksu Day Spa, so great to pop in there on your way home after your spa treatment and stock up on fresh local, organic vegetables and fruit, buy Coconut Kefir to takeaway, raw miso paste, and loads more! They have a great range of raw chocolates and healthy snacks, supplements, nuts, local and organic, rice, legumes, books, clothing, natural insect repellant and body care – this shop became my go to for all natural organic products.
Their restaurant is upstairs and has an extensive raw and vegan menu – in fact the menu is bigger than the table! I could not spend a month in Ubud and get through the entire menu. I had the miso soup with rye bread and pumpkin butter which was delish. They also have a vegetarian buffet on every Sunday for $10, and I could not help but dig into that too and it was lovely with a range of varied salads, rice, soups, fritters and treats. Their raw cake display was to die for also.//www.downtoearthbali.com/#!__dte-ubud
Clear Cafe:
Jl Hanoman. A firm favourite on the raw food trail in Ubud and we could easily eat there for breakfast, lunch and dinner, with an extensive juice, smoothie, salad, macrobiotic, raw, vegan and food for the boys (aka burgers) menu. We have not had one bad meal there no matter what is ordered and is reasonably priced.
The interior design has that unique Bali kookiness, of which I will describe to you in more detail in a later post but here’s a snapshot – it’s a mish mash of Balinese / Euro design with what looks like a pond construction going on in the middle of the restaurant. Very quirky but kinda cool. My favourite juice is the Edgy Vedgy – aloe, cabbage, celery, lemon, the raw pizzas are delish and Simon is absolutely addicted to the Chaka Maca drink, a super thick, super cold smoothie made with maca, cacao and cashew milk. //www.clear-cafe-ubud.com/
And the piece de resistance is Clear Café Snack Bar, a little shop next to the cafe where you can buy your superfood balls, grawnola, mixed spicy nuts, raw curry crackers, and more to takeaway!
Bali Buda:
Jl Jembawan – another institution in Ubud. It has a great range of salads, and wraps made with red rice flour or seaweed on offer for lunch and the world’s largest raw tasting plate. They also have a great selection of juices, smoothies and 3 different flavours of Kombucha, you can have a glass for about $1.20. Their little shop is always heaving with people buying fresh from the bakery (read the labels as a lot of their bakery is still made with wheat flour). They also sell natural supplements and a selection of raw to takeaway also and lots of yummy raw chocolates in the fridge! Check out the cute bags all hand made out of newspaper! A great alternative to plastic. //www.balibuda.com/
The best bit is they are just across the road from Radiantly Alive, an awesome yoga studio with a brilliant variety of classes and teachers on offer to suit all levels for just 110,000 ($11) for a drop in class. They also have practitioners for colonics and Ayurvedic medicine there and are adding to their range of offerings every day. So nice to make a morning yoga class then drop into Bali Buda for a yummy healthy treat afterwards!//www.radiantlyalive.com/
Alchemy:
Jl Penestanan. THE place to go to for huge raw salads with lots of great toppings such as curried cashew, crunchy onion, sprouts, kale chips and your choice of raw dressing – all for about $6. They also do a yummy spinach quiche and monster sized green juices.
The fridge cabinets is where everyone is hanging out though, they sell everything from cashew milk to takeaway, reishi mushroom tea to kombucha, coconut kefir in all different flavours, crunchy zucchini chips, kim chi, sauerkraut, raw crackers, yummy raw chocolates, desserts and superfood balls. They also do eco-friendly takeaway containers as you can see by the picture! This is the place to stock up on essentials too like nuts, coconut oil, cacao or maca powder.//alchemybali.com/
Upstairs is the colonic centre, which I highly recommend, they have great therapists there and its only $60 a treatment. Essential to the pampering schedule while in Ubud are regular colonics to keep tummy happy while travelling and eating.
Yellow Flower Organic Café:
Campuhan Steps. This is the perfect cafe to retreat to to get away from Ubud’s busy main roads, just head for the Campuhan (Bintang) Steps past Penestanan and thats the easiest way to find it.
We stumbled on it by taking a lane that looked like it lead to nowhere – what a nice surprise to find it on what was a very tiny path winding in-between rice paddy fields. Quirky and cute, they serve elixirs and tonics such as turmeric, lemon and ginger, kombucha and home made vegan meals with locally sourced organic ingredients and yummy sauerkraut!
Ubud is full of surprises like that, get off the busy main roads and turn down a tiny laneway and you will be surprised to stumble on a rural setting, with ducks, geese, rice paddy fields, cute warungs and homestay villas, and surround sound silence!
Sari Organik:
Penestanan – has the best vegetarian Nasi Campur which is a selection of local dishes, such as tempeh, brown rice, tofu satay sticks, amazing fresh organic salads from their garden with local herbs, beans with sambal etc., We had two courses each with drinks and it came to about $20. Service was super quick too.
LOVED their quirky (there goes that word again!) chairs. 30’s retro style but if you look closely the chairs base and frame are made out of bicycle tyres. Note. Sari Organik also have another restaurant in the rice paddy fields if you want the full experience with the view, check them out for lunch. //www.sari-organik.com/
Sari Organik also have an organic store below the restaurant where you can buy fresh local produce, greens, herbs, papaya, limes, lemons, zucchini, eggplant, beans, broccoli, ginger, galangalal, spices, kombucha all to take away at reasonable prices.
Also LOVED checking out the markets in the main part of town, they are on every morning from 6am till about 1pm, fantastic array of fruits, veggies, spices, pastes, fish, meat, eggs, hand crafted knives, flowers for the offerings, coconut graters and scoopers – all made by the local village, really the colours, the noise, the smell, the buzz of all the stall holders selling is really worth checking out. A good time to go is from about 9am when rush hour is over.
Eve Day Spa:
Penestanan. The best day spa if you’re on a budget. The girls are great in there – my favourite was the Combination Massage, a mix of Thai, Balinese and Remedial. For one and a half hours I got pampered for just $14. I always fell asleep during this massage as it was so relaxing and really that is saying something as I never normally do that.
Kecak Dance:
While in Ubud we checked out a Kecak dance. Every Monday the village of Junjungan puts on a Kecak dance based on ancient trance rituals and story line. The word Kecak comes from the sounds of the tribe chanting “cak-cak-cak”, to mimic chattering monkeys and the story is about two kingdoms, one ruled by a wicked giant called Rahwana, and there is a girl involved – of course! This is my interpretation (and very simplified!) version of the story and is probably quite a way off what its all about – but either way it was AMAZING.
The costumes, colours, the detail in everything was incredible, the sound of the tribe was really very moving and captivating. The show goes for an hour costs about $15 each. There are also many dances and performances on a regular basis in Ubud centre so well worth checking out.
Mozaic:
Jl Raya Sanggingan. Oh My God. Food nirvana. Seriously words cannot describe the 6 course degustation vegan menu – every plate was full of colour and imagination, plated up beautifully and colours, textures and tastes were beautifully balanced.
The chef happily obliged to my no dairy, no wheat, no sugar request, and I was totally blown away by the creativity in every dish.
Expensive but well worth every penny. (And when comparing what you would pay for this experience in Sydney – still very cheap – about $220 for two – and that was with the boy ordering many glasses of wine!). This is the type of restaurant you go to for a special occasion or treat, and bookings essential.//www.mozaic-bali.com/
Intuitive Flow Yoga:
Just before Yellow Flower Café on Camphuan Steps. A great little studio with the most insane view from upstairs. Om away while soaking up the view out to the jungle and rice paddy fields. Run by Linda who was just brilliant and her yoga is gentle combined with guided meditation. She has a gift of being able to get you connected to your soul and take you to that state of inner bliss easily. I floated out of there on a high for hours afterwards. Linda’s classes are $10 for a drop in.//www.intuitiveflow.com/
Places to sleep:
Ubud Private Villas has many villas available for short or long term stay around Ubud, Villa Timpal Timpal was the great big 2 bedroom villa in the jungle near Penestanan where I shot my Tropical Smoothie Bali Style video, perfect for couples or family, or groups. Big pool and great open plan kitchen and of course – quiet! They also have a cook and cleaner that comes every day to do your breakfast if you wish. Great reasonable rates. About $60 a night. Watch out for the frogs who come out and night and line themselves all around the pool, like little soldiers guarding the fort! Very funny.//privateubudvillas.com/
Warwick Ibah:
Jl Camphuhan. So hesitant about telling you about this place because it was out of this world and we want to keep it a secret! Its not cheap (about $250 a night) but great for a night or two of splurging and you won’t be disappointed. The rooms are huge and have a loft style bedroom with a four poster king size bed and mosquito net. The interior design is beautifully done in keeping with the classic Balinese style and don’t sink into the couch as you will never get up.
Huge high ornate ceilings and gorgeous bathroom with private outdoor shower. Very romantic, looking out over the jungle vista, you have your own plunge pool and its extremely private and quiet. The site was an original palace so filled with huge ornate stone carvings and steps and tunnels and has a real mystical feel about it as its ancient and I love that. Restaurant is basic though but still great.//www.warwickibah.com/
How I stayed raw while not chowing down at Clear Cafe, Alchemy or Bali Budah:
When travelling I always pack my magic bullet blender, superfoods, buckwheat crunchies, nuts, nut milk bag and a bowl so I can make my own milk, raw breakfast or superfood smoothie. I would hit Clear Café snack bar and stock up on their raw granola and other delights.
Or if staying in a villa buy fresh local ingredients and make snacks and salads. Other tricks would be to buy raw chocolates, crackers, coconut kefir and sauerkraut from Alchemy or Down to Earth and keep them in the mini bar fridge. So I could easily have a raw breakfast in the morning at the villa or hotel while Simon dined on bacon and eggs, and easily make a snack with the crackers and sauerkraut or a raw choccie when the 4pm sweet spot hit.
Yes I ate nasi goring, nasi camper, and many other Balinese dishes of which most were divine, I even had chicken one night, although would you believe that one night on the chicken gave me Bali belly for the next two days! Karma.
When in Rome as they say. 
Stay tuned for next months Bali Part 2 blog where we take ourselves off to North East Bali, where its really QUIET, where the vista is endless ocean and mineral rich black volcanic sand beaches, plus we discover a little slice of resort paradise that is still cheap cheap cheap and run by a lovely English / Indonesian family.
Do you have any great travel tips and hot spots on Bali to share with me? Drop me a line in the comments box below!
Here at the raw food kitchen we really want to support you and have a lot of great resources for you to explore all about a raw food diet.
