Warung Ibu Oka
Good for: Solo Travellers, couple, all - families with kids incl
Not good for: lunch or anytime at all!
- Address
- Jl Suweta
- Price
- meals 30,000Rp
- Hours
- 11am-3pm
Lonely Planet review for Warung Ibu Oka
Join the lunchtime lines opposite Ubud Palace waiting for one thing: the eponymous Balinese-style roast suckling pig. Those in the know travel far for meat they say is the most tender and tasty on the island. Order a spesial to get the best cut. Popularity has caused prices to zoom.
Traveller reviews for Warung Ibu Oka (2)
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Most over-hyped and over-rated suckling pig in Asia!
frankdlaw does not recommend this,
Stopped by Bali on our way back from Shanghai. Loved Bali, especially Ubud which is a place we would come back to again and again.
This is our third visit to Bali so we decided to give Ibu Oka one last chance, in view of the many superlative reviews in guide books, travel channels and magazines. Reasoning: So many cannot be wrong.
But it looks like they can be. Although the meat itself which was served piping hot, was underwhelming but flavorful enough, the crackling was still as tough as old leather shoes! It really made my DW and me wonder whether those folks who write glowing reviews of Ibu Oka and their babi guling, including Anthony Bourdain have ever tasted suckling pig in a Chinese restaurant? If they have, they would have tasted exactly how good suckling pig should taste like with crackling so crispy thin that every bite is to be savored! It is highly unlikely that after that, they would ever venture to describe babi guling as “amazing”, “fantastic”, “best ever” and all the silly hyperbole that have come to dominate this debate and given Ibu Oka an undeserved reputation. I have nothing against Ibu Oka per se. It is the integrity of reviews that I’m concerned about!
To draw an analogy, if you live in a small outpost, say in the far reaches of Siberia, you may describe your local football outfit as “amazing”, “best in the world” or whatever superlative terms you may wish to employ, not out of intellectual dishonesty, but only because you have never been exposed to the silky skills of the likes of Barcelona or Manchester United.
That is probably how it is with this “amazing babi guling” nonsense! We were in Shanghai for 9 days and tried Peking Duck and suckling pig IN SEVERAL RESTAURANTS and the stuff that they served up were slices of culinary heaven!!
As we live in San Francisco, we have developed an affinity for the dish. We know that everyone is entitled to their opinion. But how do you judge a dish when you haven’t tasted even remotely the best? It is really like the uncultured and the philistine trying to pontificate on high-brow literature and classical music!
I am a fan of Anthony Bourdain and look forward to his witty presentations. However, on this occasion he has dropped the baton big time! Come to think of it, I have never heard Bourdain describe any dish he is reviewing without using superlative terms. If he continues at this rate, his credibility will soon be shot!
We remain baffled over these superlative reviews, because when we compare Ibu Oka’s babi guling to the suckling pig we have tasted in Chinese Restaurants from this side of San Francisco to Melbourne to Hong Kong to Singapore and Bayswater in London, we have to say that if the Chinese version and Ibu Oka’s babi guling are compared and placed on a scale of 1-100, the Chinese version would easily place near a hundred and Ibu Oka’s would limp in below minus 10. That is the difference between a culture with 2,000 plus years of culinary development and a rank amateur!
Not good for: lunch or anytime at all!
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Great taste.
willywilloi recommends this,
Great taste. Price 40.000-60.000 Rp. In Eid-Mubarak Holiday, its very crowded.
Good for: Solo Travellers, couple, all - families with kids incl
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