Free Food, 9 Araks and More at Ubud Food Festival

If you’ve been dreaming of getting into Indonesian food for ages, but so far you haven’t dared to go beyond nasi goreng, you really should make it to the Ubud Food Festival.

It won’t be as atmospheric as a roadside warung somewhere between Canggu and Ubud, of course, but the chance of getting “Bali belly” is much lower. We headed to Bali’s spiritual capital with very unspiritual intentions for the festival opening. And we didn’t regret it. Here’s what you should definitely try. And why there’s no need to rush to buy food at the Ubud Food Festival.

The venue for Ubud’s annual food festival is the usual one — just up the road from Bintang Supermarket. 

Right at the entrance, they ask you to register. Our verification code just wouldn’t come through, so the girl waved it off and said we could go in anyway. 

And the first thing you come across is a corner with Indonesian cocoa. What grabs people’s attention isn’t the giant beans, and not even the young man who offers, completely free of charge, to compare chocolate mousse from Sumatra and Bali…

But a very unusual drink — “cacao juice”. Looking at its colour, you’d never guess there’s any chocolate involved. The secret is that this nectar isn’t made from the beans themselves, but from the pulp that surrounds them. The taste is very similar to soursop juice. Definitely worth trying!

Next to it is satay — because where would Indonesia be without it? Here it’s properly substantial, almost like our shashlik. The price tag is higher than at local places, though. But everything looks very appetising.

At the stalls, familiar burgers and dumplings sit alongside dishes that even Indonesians might not recognise straight away. This set, for example, is all made from cassava — and each of the six items has a different flavour.

I especially recommend trying Singkong Goreng Charcoal. It’s baked cassava. It tastes just like potatoes cooked in the embers — you really can’t tell the difference.

But that’s more for foodies, or for those who already know Indonesian cuisine well. If you want something classic, or you’re only just starting your (struck through) introduction to local food, then at the festival you can try what’s probably the signature dish for every Balinese person — babi guling. It’s 1.5 times more expensive here, though. But just look how photogenic that piglet is…

Probably the best thing about the Ubud Food Festival is that you can taste almost everything. In some places, plates with bite-sized samples are already out. Elsewhere, you just need to linger a little longer — maybe take a photo or two… and the kind Balinese will hand you a plate. 

After 5–6 corners, you start to feel full. And we hadn’t even made it halfway yet. As if reading our minds, the staff from Baked began handing out free coffee to guests. And for those who don’t do caffeine, the alcohol stand offers arak — or rather, about a dozen arak-based drinks, from cocktails to liqueurs. You can also try it neat. There are, by the way, 9–10 types of Balinese moonshine here. You definitely won’t find these at Pepito. 

If arak is too strong for you, there are loads of places at the festival selling Bintang — and there’s even a wine corner. But pairing sparkling wine or Sauvignon Blanc with nasi campur somehow feels a bit out of place. If you’re in the mood for familiar Western food, there’s plenty to choose from too — from sashimi to steaks and pastries. And in the worst case, there’s always ice cream. They also offer samples, by the way.

And, of course, burgers. The smell of fried patties seems to drown out every other aroma at the festival. There are both well-known Balinese chains and local spots on site.

But having a burger at an Indonesian food festival feels a bit odd. If you want meat, look for rendang. It comes in two versions here — chicken and beef. The beef one is the tastiest. It’s made to a special Indonesian recipe, slowly cooked for 8–10 hours, until it literally melts in your mouth. 

By the way, what we didn’t manage to find at the festival was nasi goreng and mie goreng. But there is kwetiau goreng — also fried noodles, and in both look and taste it really resembles Thai pad thai. 

Probably the main tip is to go to the festival on an empty stomach. Otherwise, after just a couple of tastings, you risk dropping out early.

The Ubud Food Festival will run until 31 May. According to the programme, the venue opens at 10am, and the corners operate all the way until 11pm. But if you want to catch the maximum number of stalls open, it’s best not to go to extremes and come in the middle of the day. 

Average dish prices are from 30k to 100k. They accept both cash and cashless payments (bank transfers, QRIS).