In an earlier post, I shared with you our stay at the lovely Sthala, a Tribute Portfolio Hotel in Ubud, Bali (read about that here). Located amidst a traditional village where art galleries and rice fields rule, the Sthala is a cosy quiet hotel by a river – perfect to unwind, rejuvenate and just be.
There are two F&B outlets at the Sthala – the Sungai Restaurant and the Naga Rooftop Bar & Lounge. Upon arrival at the hotel, after checking in, we headed straight to Sungai as we were famished. The restaurant is very welcoming, thanks to the warm smiles showered at us from every one of the crew. Rustic wooden furniture arranged around carved stone pillars and overlooking lush greenery on rolling slopes – the scenery was never boring. We thoroughly enjoyed our meals here and never got tired gazing at the foliage and gurgling river behind the restaurant.
You can choose to dine al fresco style at The Sungai too!
The menu has a good selection of local dishes and some western items as well. We zoomed in on the Balinese favourites.
That sambal – we had countless servings of this – it’s so good, especially with these rice crackers!
Gado Gado – traditional Indonesian rojak with blanched vegetables served with a spicy nutty dressing
Giant Chicken Satay – huge sticks of satay served with Balinese cucumber and corn relish and spicy peanut sauce
Bebek Samudera (named after the chef) – classic Balinese crispy fried duck marinated with local spices served with sambal ulek and steamed rice
Enjung Biru – double-cooked pork belly, seared scallops with onion and apple puree, drizzled with tangy orange balsamic
Nasi Campur Bali – something not to be missed here! Satisfaction guaranteed!
Es Teler Special – traditional Indonesian fruit cocktail, sweet beans, fruit jelly, coconut cream and chopped nuts
Seaweed in Syrup & Ice
Buffet breakfast is served daily at The Sungai. There’s a good mix of local and western items at the counters. While the selections may not be very extensive, the spread’s very decent and satisfactory. The warm friendly serving staff certainly helped!
Towards sundown, we went up to the Naga Rooftop Bar & Lounge to catch the last golden rays of the sun peering over the rooftops of the neighbouring village homes.
Once the sun has set, the air became several degrees cooler and it was really pleasant, especially when a light breeze started as well. We found ourselves enjoying the atmosphere and the friendly chats with the staff (Adi was a good entertainer!) so much so that we decided to stay put and had dinner there as well. There are several wooden tables set up for this purpose.
The cool night air worked wonders on our appetites and we found overselves savouring these…
Agung Sharing Seafood Platter – grilled lobster, snapper fillet, manila clams, king prawns, calamari
BBQ Pork Ribs – double-cooked baby back ribs in spicy BBQ sauce
Wagyu Tenderloin
Crispy Pork Belly – marinated with Asian spices, this crispy pork belly was served with Szechuan sweet chilli tamarillo relish and baby greens
Nasi Goreng Sthala
Dadar Panorama – crepes with palm sugar, fruits and ice cream
Food at The Sthala is kept to a selective level and the dishes we had were executed well with a lot of heart. So if you are staying there and do not feel like venturing into the town centre, get some heart-warming dining at the Sungai Restaurant. The crew there would love to pamper you.
SUNGAI RESTAURANT
NAGA ROOFTOP BAR & LOUNGE
@ STHALA
A Tribute Portfolio Hotel
Jalan A.A Gede Rai
Mawang Kelod, Lodtunduh
Ubud, Bali
80571 Indonesia
Tel: +62-361-3018700