Cuca : The Real Gem in Jimbaran

Happy Belated New Year, hungry people! This is my first post in 2014. One of my resolutions is to post more often then 2013. Wish me luck. :p

Have I told you that I went to Bali last October? I'm pretty sure I did it on this post. Now I'd like to share another good food in Bali; Cuca.

They opened in August 2013, just exactly on Eid Mubarak day. But I heard their name way before it. Apparently they prepared the dishes, ingredients, concept, and whatsoever from far far ago. Good to know. I was more than excited to try, I even booked my table before I departed from Jakarta. lol :p

Located in Jl. Patih Jelantik, near Intercontinental Hotel, the place wasn't in the main street, but there's a signage so you won't miss it. Thanks to my driver who drove me along to all of places I wanted to go in Bali with all his patience. (His name is Pak Kadek, his number is 62-819 9910 0879. He is very kind and sincere. I definitely will hire him if I happen to go to Bali again). Cuca have 3 parts of seating place: garden (it didn't have beach view but very lovely on sunset), dining area (private area, suitable for dating, family dinner, or any occasion that need more privacy), and kitchen bar (very suitable for people like who loves to watch the chef doing his attraction). I chose kitchen bar!

I came with 3 of my empty-tummy-friends, but since it was our last night in Bali and we still had one eating place to go that night, so we managed to order 3 tapas (small dishes/appetizer) and 3 drinks. FYI, Cuca only serves tapas, so there is no main course. The waiter said it took approx 3-4 portion to make someone full.

Welcome Dish

While waiting for our order, the friendly waiter served us the welcome dish. Don't know how to call it, the texture was similar with cotton. The flavor came from powder spice. Kevin, the head chef and founder, said it had Ayam Betutu flavor. And he created the recipe by himself! Cool. I even amazed from the first dish.

Crispy Fried Chicken (IDR 60K)

First dish appeared so tempting. Came with an outstanding presentation, it wasn't hard for me to take a good picture of it. Crispy Fried Chicken. Even from the name, you could tell what's in it. Yes, it's chicken. But Cuca successfully put an extra touch that made the dish unforgettable to me.  With a hint of wild honey, sesame dust, lemon basil, and served with coleslaw, the chicken was crunchy outside and juicy inside. Well seasoning was definitely their plus point.

Roasted Tiger Prawns (IDR 90K)

Roasted Tiger Prawns brought me to in the middle of love and hate. Love it because the outstanding taste. Hate it because I need some more by now that I'm drooling while writing this. I can tell you the tiger prawn was all fresh because I could taste it. Came with deep fried eggplant as topping and light coconut broth successfully highlight the season.

Free Range Chicken Puddle ( IDR 58K)

Well, I'm Asian, I eat rice. I was curious what would happen to Indonesian red rice in Chef Kevin's hand. And it turned out very well. Free Range Chicken Puddle came as a luxurious result with a high rated taste. Broth was nice, a little thick and savory. The red rice was very fine, felt like less fiber-ish, very enjoyable. The chicken was cut into diamond cut, cooked into perfection. Well done.

Monkey Business (IDR  65K)

When it comes to dessert, I will never miss it. Monkey Business is a bowl of baby banana pudding baptized in caramel look-a-like sauce that made from whiskey butterscotch, with espresso gelato. Am not a big fan of banana, but this one was an exception! The best sweet bitter alcoholic dessert I ever had. :)

Cocoa 8 (IDR  80K)

From the first sight, I knew my heart would fall for this one. The idea of mint choco flying in my head. And I was right. The combination of warm dark choco mousse with homemade mint ice cream (yes, it was homemade and the taste was no joke, way better than the one sold in supermarket. How cool is that?) and chocolate croutons was incredibly the best! OMG. As a chocolate lover, am so proud and happy. Chocolate and mint will never go wrong, right?

Bali Breakfast (IDR 65K)

It was not a breakfast menu, it's dessert. Called as Bali Breakfast because of the look. Hmm.. What is that? Let me explain. The 'yolk' in the middle was mango puree that tasted sweet and runny. The 'white part' was whipped coconut which tasted light, creamy, and went super duper well with the mango. This was the best dessert of the day. Never thought coconut and mango could make a pretty result. I will definitely came back for Bali Breakfast. *big grin*

Sun-Gria Mocktail  (IDR 60K)

Sun-Gria Mocktail  (IDR 60K)

Besides the outstanding dishes, Cuca also has outstanding beverages. Sun-Gria came in an extraordinary appearance. They replace ice cubes with watermelon ice cubes. Since I ordered the mocktail, not cocktail, they used watermelon juice. There should be red wine if you order cocktail one. Yes, this is one of the best thing here, every cocktail had mocktail version. Suitable for a person who cannot drink like me. Anyway, Sun-Gria Cocktail will cost you IDR 90K. 

Moo - Cocktail (IDR 90K) 

I'm so familiar with chocolate milk. There's no day i spent without drinking one. Moo, was a chocolate milk I drank that day. But the difference was Moo got hazelnut liquor and vanilla brandy. Light and comforting, enough to got me a good sleep. 

Blush - Mocktail (IDR 50K)

Just like the others, Blush also had mocktail - cocktail version. The cocktail version would cost you IDR 90K. Blush contain red watermelon juice with yellow watermelon ice. So refreshing. Cute appearance, right? 


I extremely enjoyed my visit and definitely will come back as soon as I can. Nice ambience combined with good food. What else can I ask for more? The real gem hidden in Jimbaran, Bali. :)

My view while eating

Cuca 
Phone:(0361) 708066


Hours:
 
12:00 pm – 12:00 am
Address: Jalan Yoga Perkanthi, Jimbaran, Bali 80364

Anyway, as you seen on picts, I got a new logo. What do you think? :) 

Nasi Ayam Bu Oki

On a vacation trip, it's a must to try local food, don't you agree? Suggested by the driver I hired for few days in Bali, after having fun at Tanjung Benoa, he took me to Nasi Ayam Bu Oki. I heard the name for quiet some times before. Ah, it's a famous thing. 

Located near Santika Hotel Nusa Dua, the place looked so simple but never empty. People just kept coming even it already 2 hours passed from lunch time. The first thing the waiter asked was the level of spiciness. I ordered medium. Apparently they already had one set of dishes so you don't need to choose, but it also open for your preference. 

Here is the picture of my plate. 

Nasi Ayam Bu Oki

One set of dish consisted of rice, fried chicken, ayam suwir (pulled out chicken), lawar ( in Indonesian we called it as urap khas Bali. Basically, vegetables - usually bean sprout and long beans - mixed with shredded coconut), telur pindang (egg boiled with soy sauce stock), sate lilit (fish satay). I love the sate lilit that I ordered more. It costed me IDR 2K for 1 sate lilit. All the side dishes were so good, I finished them all in less than 10 minutes! 

Cooked by native Bali, the dishes was rich of spice. Worth a try! 

Tips: Order for more sate lilit
Price : Less than IDR 20K (I forgot the precise price)
Payment: Cash only

Nasi Ayam Ibu Oki

Jl. Celagi Basur

Perumahan Puri Jimbaran, belokan di Jl. Raya Uluwatu

Jimbaran, Bali

T. (0361) 805 2059

Pepenero Cucina Italiana

Italian restaurant is booming in Jakarta lately. Pepenero is one of them. First opened since 2004 in Bali, Pepenero already has 3 branches in Jakarta and 1 branch in Serpong. After heard all good things about Pepenero, I was surely wanted to try at least once. So here I was. As they had 3 branches in Jakarta, I thought I had no worry about no booking in advance. A little shock, I was almost got no seat. 

Anyway, the later the time, the more crowded it was.

As I was waiting for my friends before I ordered, they gave me this complimentary bread. Consisted of 4 pieces, it was really good to kick your taste bud. The bread was a bit crunchy on the edge, and a bit chewy in the middle. The texture was nice. The tomato cube on the bread, gave fresh sensation when you eat the crunchy-chewy-savory bread. Anyway, I thought they didn't put any sugar to the tomato. 

My friends had came. And Pepenero was very generous. They gave me a basket of complimentary bread AGAIN. Yeiy! Well, nothing much I could say about it, as I just eat a few of them because I couldn't wait for the main dishes. :p

Prosciutto e Zucchine Grigliate (45K). Thin Italian pizza, with tomato sauce, mozzarella  cheese, ham and green zucchini. Well, it turned out they weren't be generous this time. You may see from the pict, the surface of pizza wasn't full of topping. Fortunately it tasted nice though. A bit salty and savory. 

Rigatoni Stracicati (49K). Rigatoni is a form of tube-shaped pasta of varying lengths and diameters. It is larger than penne and ziti and sometimes slightly curved. Rigatoni is usually ridged, and the tube's end is square-cut like ziti, not diagonal like penne (Wikipedia). Rigatoni Stracicati was  rigatoni with bolognese ragu sauce and mozzarella on top. The bolognese was good. A bit sour (tomato-ish). The pasta was al dente, not too hard yet not too soft. So loveable. 

Spaghettini Nostromo (49K). Pasta with green paprika, fresh tomato, tuna and calamari. The pasta was al dente. The sauce was a bit thick and not too much, but enough to cover all the pasta. This dish really kicked my taste buds. Tasted a bit spicy, and so mouthwatering. I definitely wanted some more!!

Linguine Alla Marinara (49K). Linguine pasta with mixed seafood and tomato sauce. Linguine is a kind of pasta, which a bit bigger than spaghetti but smaller than fettucini. The pasta was al dente too. The sauce was good. They were generous of clams. hihi :)

Enough with the main dishes, I saw Soufflé Al Cioccolate (44K). Of course I ordered it without think twice. And I didn't regret it. It worth every cent I spent. It tasted great. As I watched Masterchef, once Gordon Ramsay said that soufflé was one of the hardest dessert to make. You could feel the sensation when you crack that surface on top then touch the creamy milky chocolate inside. Whoooaaaah. I am drooling now. After I ate this, I always been craving for this.  

Gelatti Nacciola (29K). Well, it was gelato, which is Italian ice cream. The difference between gelato and ice cream is gelato is thicker. So when I heard gelato, first thing came up in my mind was it would make me queasy because I was too full and eat something thick. But the fact is, it wasn't. This was good. Well, it was creamy, but also light though. With tasted almond, and sweet. 

Pinzimonio di Frutta (45K). It was a plate of mixed fruits (watermellon, banana, pineapple, strawberry, and orange) with chocolate dip. It was pretty good and (of course) healthy. 


Overall, I was satisfies, and for sure would plan another visit. Yeiy!




Pepenero Cucina Italiana
Plaza Pondok Indah 2, Blok BA 25 - 26, 
Jl. Metro Pondok Indah, (next to CITIBANK Pondok Indah),
Jakarta Capital Region  
(0)21 750 0959


Gedung The Energy, Mezzanine Level, 
Jl. Jend Sudirman Lot 11A, Kawasan SCBD,
Jakarta Capital Region - (0)21 5296 4006


Menara Karya, Ground Floor, 
Jl. H. R. Rasuna Said, Block X-5 Kav.1-2, 
Jakarta Capital Region - (0)21 5794 4727


Jalan Pahlawan Seribu 
Teraskota Ground Floor Serpong, 153222 
(021) 29915771


Temple Hill Studios, 
Jl. Wanagiri 18 - Jimbaran, Bali 
(0)361 704 672


Carrefour Sunset Road, 
Level 2 Unit 16 (opposite the Apple Shop) 
Jl. Sunset Road,Bali
0361 847 7355