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Bali Café on Soi Buakhao


Evil Penevil

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Bali Café is a new restaurant and guest house on Soi Buakhao about 100 meters north of the misnamed Action Street complex.  The menu features a half-dozen Indonesian specialties, a few Dutch dishes and the rest international and Thai items.

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It's an open-front restaurant with "indoor" and outdoor dining areas.  The interior is clean, comfortable, well-ventilated and attractively decorated, although I don't see much that is Balinese about it.

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There is a big screen TV as well as an even larger projection TV, which doesn't just show sports or YouTube music videos.

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I'm a fan of Indonesian food in general and nasi goreng ("fried rice") in particular, so I tried Bali Café's version of the iconic Indonesian dish.  It came with the usual accompaniments:  two small pork satay skewers, a fried egg and  krupuk udang (shrimp crackers) and cost 189 baht.

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It  was good but not great.  I would have liked more taste.  It had plenty of heat from chili peppers, but the other flavors were a bit weak.

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What distinguishes nasi goreng from most other Asian fried rice variations is a richer and bolder taste that comes from ingredients like tamarind, shrimp  paste and caramelized sweet soy sauce (kecap manis). It's that characteristic taste I thought could have been stronger.

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I next tried the smashed fried chicken (ayam penyet), an East Javanese staple. The chicken is pounded ("smashed") with a mortar and  pestle or back of a cleaver to soften it.  It's typically served with sambal (a spicy condiment) and slices of cucumber, which is how it came at Bali Café.

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The chicken had been boiled in a broth of herbs and spices, then deep-fried and finally "smashed," which makes it crispy and tender in the same bite. Very good and light years from KFC.  The sambal was also good and the perfect condiment for the chicken.  It cost 179 baht.

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I also had seafood mie goreng (fried noodles), another mainstay of Indonesian cuisine.

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There was plenty of squid, shrimp and vegetables.  The flavors shone through more brightly than with the nasi goreng.  It cost 149 baht.

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Bottom line: So far I've been happy with the meals I've had at Bali Café and won't hesitate to try some of the other items on the menu.  Prices are reasonable, although the portions weren't particularly large.  Almost all the items on the menu were under 200 baht, with the most expensive at 220 baht.

The one downside for me was the level of the background music.  Too loud!  At least some nights there's a DJ and live band and I shudder to think what the volume would be then.  I'll definitely confine my return visits to the afternoon or early evening.

On Jan. 5, Bali Café is having a party.

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The non-Indonesian menu items are the standard Pattaya line-up of farang and Thai dishes. I'll include photos below of most menu pages to give a better idea of prices and what is on offer.  I'm not sure about Bali Café's hours as I didn't see them listed on the menu and I forgot to ask the waitress.

Evil

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started as 1 unit back at the beginning of oct..............

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now it's 2 units. opposite the buakaow southern branch of tesco lotus express

 

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Great review as always Evil,

I wish they could nail the Indonesian dishes, but, sadly, they are just passable for myself, eaten their 3 times over the last 2-3 months.

(I must add, it was the nasi goreng I ordered twice and the mee goreng the other time)

I even said to one of the staff, that the flavor is just not right, and she said that they cant get the correct spices that they use in Indonesia, I was bemused at this response, but really wish them well.

I hope they get better and stick around, the owner definitely seems to have a few $$$ to put into the business.

Pattaya could do with a really good Indonesian restaurant, so, hopefully they make it.

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I tried it and had the mee goreng and the fried chicken. They were both just OK. The Indonesian flavors weren't really there and the portions were too small for the quality level and price. I actually went for more food elsewhere as I was still hungry. I doubt I'll be back. 

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14 hours ago, Evil Penevil said:

 It came with the usual accompaniments:  two small pork satay skewers, a fried egg and  krupuk udang (shrimp crackers) and cost 189 baht.

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If that plate pictured cost more than 40B to make in total, I'm a Dutchman. I would not be happy to pay such high prices for such simple and cheap food, particularly as the amount shown looks more like a snack than a meal to me.

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A nice lady that wasn't a waitress (I'm guessing the cook) did come out and ask me how I liked the food. She noticed that I had cleaned the plates of food so probably assumed I loved it. No, that was just hunger. I politely said it was OK which was pretty much the truth but not the response she was looking for. 

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189 baht for fried rice is not reasonable. Why do people pay falang prices.

 

I go to the massage shop next door and walls are thumping, its now like a disco massage due to this Bali place

 

 

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it's rare i pass by other than afternoons but i've never seen it busy. doubling the size, i don't know about the wisdom of that

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it's rare i pass by other than afternoons but i've never seen it busy. doubling the size, i don't know about the wisdom of that
The guy or girlfriend has money, black Mercedes out back so throwing money at it / her
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I,ve said on this forum many times.......soi Buakhow is the most price sensitive area in Patts.....a graveyard for most businesses....sorry to be cynical once again but this place will not survive :ThumbDown1:

Been down south since early december just returned wednesday and I noticed the Yorkshire Fish and chip place seems abandoned.....another failure or relocated..:Oops1:

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2 hours ago, Scuba+ said:

189 baht for fried rice is not reasonable. Why do people pay falang prices.

Because they are falang and that's what they want to eat?  If you can tell me the name of a restaurant in central Pattaya that serves nasi goreng at Thai prices, I'll be happy to try it.

Not all rice dishes are the same.  I eat a lot of them.  Here's what I had for a recent meal.  Forty baht for buried chicken and a small bowl of broth  from the pop-up eatery on the corner of Soi Buakhao and Pattaya Tai. It's very good.

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But if I want to eat nasi goreng instead of khao mok gai, I have to pay what nasi goreng costs.  Are  you worried I'll drive up the price of fried rice and ruin the scene for everyone?

Location is another factor.  I can quickly walk from where I live to Bali Cafe.  I'm not about to travel to the Darkside or Jomtien because I could save 50 baht on a plate of nasi goreng.

Of course, I could always go to Flare at the Hilton and pay 400 baht for nasi goreng or 450 baht for crab or pineapple fried rice.  Flare menu.

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More than the prices, it's the quality of the food and the volume of the background music that would deter me from returning to Bali Cafe.  So far, I consider the quality of the food OK, but the music is just too damn loud.

I paid 325 baht for nasi goreng at My Way in the arcade that parallels Soi Diana, but it was at least twice the portion of rice you usually get.

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But if anyone has other suggestions for nasi goreng, please share them with us.

Evil

 

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Personally i have no interest in having Nasi Goreng in Thailand. I'll wait until I'm in Bali next, its not as if its something special. On the rare occasion i want fried rice with fried egg i go to the little lady food cart on Soi Lengkee where lots of hospital staff go to get food, 50 baht and very good, plus my chest won't be thumping like it was when i was having a massage next door due to noise

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A great review, as usual. And thank you for taking a few more pics of the menu aswell.

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8 hours ago, striderman said:

although it is clearly trading, tonight is the official opening party

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Nice review.  I know nothing about balinese food but I'm going to give this a shot in February.

 

 

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On 05/01/2019 at 18:28, Evil Penevil said:

I paid 325 baht for nasi goreng at My Way in the arcade that parallels Soi Diana, but it was at least twice the portion of rice you usually get.

That 325B dish looks much better value than the 189B one pictured earlier. You do at least seem to be getting something for your money there.

 

It would be interesting to see what the 400B(++?) one at Flare looks like. I suspect that it may be better value than both the ones pictured.

 

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For what it's worth, Casa Pascal sometimes has Nasi Goreng in their brunch buffet, which costs about 275B now. I cant say how authentic it is though.

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On 05/01/2019 at 01:44, KittenKong said:

If that plate pictured cost more than 40B to make in total, I'm a Dutchman. I would not be happy to pay such high prices for such simple and cheap food, particularly as the amount shown looks more like a snack than a meal to me.

I agree. In Indonesia Nasi goreng is like 15000 IDR ( 80p )  No way would I pay these prices Evil had paid

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On ‎06‎/‎01‎/‎2019 at 22:49, fatjack1 said:

Nice review.  I know nothing about balinese food but I'm going to give this a shot in February.

 

 

You won't know much more about Indonesian food eating at the Bali Café. There is a really good Indonesian restaurant in Bangkok though. 

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5 hours ago, Kreggerz said:

You won't know much more about Indonesian food eating at the Bali Café. There is a really good Indonesian restaurant in Bangkok though. 

I used to like Mata Hari's Indonesian Food, especially when they were on Second Road.

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  • 4 weeks later...
On 05/01/2019 at 18:25, petermik said:

I,ve said on this forum many times.......soi Buakhow is the most price sensitive area in Patts.....a graveyard for most businesses....sorry to be cynical once again but this place will not survive :ThumbDown1:

Been down south since early december just returned wednesday and I noticed the Yorkshire Fish and chip place seems abandoned.....another failure or relocated..:Oops1:

Don’t know if it’s the same but there’s one on the old Railway road 

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