Jimbaran Beach Fish Grill at Kekeluargan

Where are pictures when you most need them? I have thrown in the towel when it comes to food pictures with my camera. Everything comes out looking greasy or fished from the garbage. But for this post it won't be hard relying on sensory memory as this was the best seafood meal I've had the pleasure of eating. Ever.

Place: Jimbaran Beach, Bali
Table: on the sand
Time of Day: sunset
Menu: cooked water spinach, fried peanuts, rice, fresh from-the-tank grouper, clams, prawns, lobster & slice of pineapple and watermelon with a squeeze of lime for dessert

The way the seafood restaurants operate is "you pick it-we grill it." Back to back, each warung originated as a mom-and-pop food booth. Now with modernity and a flush of tourism, each resembles a proper restaurant. We chose a wide assortment of seafood because we were hungry, yes, but also because prices in Bali are cheap.  We didn't have much to lose.

So as we sat down at our table with our toes in the sand, we waited patiently while snacking on garlic flavored fried peanuts, and just as the sun set before our eyes our feast was laid forth. We requested everything to be grilled over the coconut husk fire and marinated with their secret sauce. After dinner we caught a glimpse of the chefs first brushing the fish with a puree of garlic and olive oil and then towards the end slathering on a marinade of tomato, garlic, sugar, red chile and magic. The grouper was my favorite--partly because I didn't expect it to be. Cut lengthwise and grilled whole, we tore away at the juicy meat with our fingers, daring to eat the eyeball but wimping out at the last minute. Besides that and the skeleton, nothing was spared. The lobster meat had a hint of coconut husk smoky flavoring.

Fresh and al fresco, nothing can beat this meal. Now if only I took a picture.....

Lau Pa Sat Hawker Centre - Singapore

Yesterday I had my favorite lunch from Lau Pa Sat Hawker Centre in the business district of Singapore. I got a side of rice which took my tab up to $4.80 from $4.00 but it was an extra handful of change I was happy to hand over. I was most impressed by this food stall for making my order of garlic naan fresh in the circular oven in the back--it came out warm. Soft and doughy towards the outer edges. Crispy thin towards the middle and seasoned with the perfect balance of garlic and some other green herb that I couldn't identify. The chickpeas were seasoned with star anise and cinnamon. The fried cauliflower was the spiciest. I tasted what I thought could have been a spicy pickled carrot like you see in Mexican cuisine. It had the faintest crunch to it but was mostly cooked down and "geriatric" as my Mom would call it. The tumeric seasoning on the okra was mild. Altogether these 3 vegetarian dishes balanced each other out well.