I think I had the best meal of my life tonight. I wasn't expecting it; I've had amazing, incredible culinary experiences before, and while Locavore was recently named the best restaurant in all of Asia, I didn't actually expect it to live up to the otherworldly meal I had a Momofuku in NYC, or even the likes of Gary Danko, Rich Table, or Octavia (Octavia isn't a crazy stand-out like Momofuku, but the strawberry float with homemade strawberry soda, and the Eton mess, and the deviled egg, will live on in my memory long after the rest of you have faded into the darkness of dementia).
(wow, that got bleak. let's rewind.)
I think I had the best meal of my life tonight.
Unlike everywhere else I've been in Ubud, it's essential to have a reservation for Locavore - a restaurant that is committed to the local food movement, and which also partners with local artisans to produce all of the serving dishes and other products. I managed to score a reservation for me, Sarah, Tamara, Gemma, and Xavier for eight p.m., and we all agreed to do the seven-course tasting menu with paired drinks. The paired drinks were all cocktails instead of wine, and they were some of the most inventive, interesting cocktails I've ever had.
But before we did that, we each ordered a cocktail to start. Mine was called 'trouble maker' (of course) and was served in this ridiculous wooden urn with lots of ice, a flower, a straw, and a bunch of bulleit bourbon and hibiscus - yum. But Gemma ordered the one I'd almost ordered ('into the wild'), and it was delicious - but on the side, they had a little pot of herbs which they lit on fire, and she said the cocktail was even more incredible when you sipped it with the smoke from the herbs wafting around the drink.
Then the food started, and it just kept coming. Before we even got to the first course, there were like three pre-amuse-bouches and two amuse bouches, and they were all totally incredible. There was some sort of seaweed 'pillow' with a delicious liquid inside that none of us understood but all of us loved; there was a potato fritter with some sort of sauce that I would have killed to be able to eat more of; there was a salted spinach chip that was somehow beyond my usual enjoyment of any of the base components; and there was a palate cleanser of 'bloody mary sorbet', which you will just have to trust when I say it was fucking delicious.
And then the main courses and the drink pairings started, and it was a culinary wonderland. Little touches, like spraying mushroom essence into the cocktail at the table, turned into gorgeously tasty moments. There were seven courses, but the standouts were the beef tartare, which had some accompaniments that I can't remember but that made for the best single bite of the meal; the catfish, which was laughably decadent compared to the breaded and fried (and delicious in a different way) catfish of my youth; and the slow cooked duck egg with rice, snails, garlic, frog, and wild flowers, which I could have eaten forever.
Dessert was way too much - there was the regular dessert, which was a trio of sorbets (good way to end)...and then they brought out like five more bites for each of us, including some sort of yogurt in a spoon, a chocolate cake bite, and an egg custard served inside an eggshell. So we were all totally stuffed at that point. But throughout the night, the conversation flowed, the people were lovely, and the food was delightful - so it made for an epic night. And while it was certainly decadent by any standards, the total came to <$140 each for all the food and eight drinks each, which I consider a total win.
Then we came home, and now I just want to lie in bed and rub my belly and dream of this meal, and past meals, and future meals, and how food binds us all together. The rain is falling outside, as it was when we were leaving the restaurant, and the thunder and lightning and rainfall is as soothing and exciting as the meal was...and makes me miss other summers, and other storms, and other meals, even as I wouldn't trade this one in for anything.
Other than the meal, the rest of my day was unexciting; I went to Yellow Flower with Sarah for breakfast, and then I came home and worked allllll day, with a brief break to eat some nasi goreng and chat with Katrina via whatsapp (the app of the future). [also, I just noticed that I called this place 'home'...interesting]. The work was good, in the end - I redid my whole sararamsey.com website, and it looks like it's basically launched, which is great since the old one was in dire need of a revamp and I finally figured out how to get Squarespace to do what I wanted it to do.
But now, it's definitely time for bed - real life returns tomorrow, since I will be mildly hungover, still full, and v. much in need of some writing time. Goodnight!
(wow, that got bleak. let's rewind.)
I think I had the best meal of my life tonight.
Unlike everywhere else I've been in Ubud, it's essential to have a reservation for Locavore - a restaurant that is committed to the local food movement, and which also partners with local artisans to produce all of the serving dishes and other products. I managed to score a reservation for me, Sarah, Tamara, Gemma, and Xavier for eight p.m., and we all agreed to do the seven-course tasting menu with paired drinks. The paired drinks were all cocktails instead of wine, and they were some of the most inventive, interesting cocktails I've ever had.
But before we did that, we each ordered a cocktail to start. Mine was called 'trouble maker' (of course) and was served in this ridiculous wooden urn with lots of ice, a flower, a straw, and a bunch of bulleit bourbon and hibiscus - yum. But Gemma ordered the one I'd almost ordered ('into the wild'), and it was delicious - but on the side, they had a little pot of herbs which they lit on fire, and she said the cocktail was even more incredible when you sipped it with the smoke from the herbs wafting around the drink.
Then the food started, and it just kept coming. Before we even got to the first course, there were like three pre-amuse-bouches and two amuse bouches, and they were all totally incredible. There was some sort of seaweed 'pillow' with a delicious liquid inside that none of us understood but all of us loved; there was a potato fritter with some sort of sauce that I would have killed to be able to eat more of; there was a salted spinach chip that was somehow beyond my usual enjoyment of any of the base components; and there was a palate cleanser of 'bloody mary sorbet', which you will just have to trust when I say it was fucking delicious.
And then the main courses and the drink pairings started, and it was a culinary wonderland. Little touches, like spraying mushroom essence into the cocktail at the table, turned into gorgeously tasty moments. There were seven courses, but the standouts were the beef tartare, which had some accompaniments that I can't remember but that made for the best single bite of the meal; the catfish, which was laughably decadent compared to the breaded and fried (and delicious in a different way) catfish of my youth; and the slow cooked duck egg with rice, snails, garlic, frog, and wild flowers, which I could have eaten forever.
Dessert was way too much - there was the regular dessert, which was a trio of sorbets (good way to end)...and then they brought out like five more bites for each of us, including some sort of yogurt in a spoon, a chocolate cake bite, and an egg custard served inside an eggshell. So we were all totally stuffed at that point. But throughout the night, the conversation flowed, the people were lovely, and the food was delightful - so it made for an epic night. And while it was certainly decadent by any standards, the total came to <$140 each for all the food and eight drinks each, which I consider a total win.
Then we came home, and now I just want to lie in bed and rub my belly and dream of this meal, and past meals, and future meals, and how food binds us all together. The rain is falling outside, as it was when we were leaving the restaurant, and the thunder and lightning and rainfall is as soothing and exciting as the meal was...and makes me miss other summers, and other storms, and other meals, even as I wouldn't trade this one in for anything.
Other than the meal, the rest of my day was unexciting; I went to Yellow Flower with Sarah for breakfast, and then I came home and worked allllll day, with a brief break to eat some nasi goreng and chat with Katrina via whatsapp (the app of the future). [also, I just noticed that I called this place 'home'...interesting]. The work was good, in the end - I redid my whole sararamsey.com website, and it looks like it's basically launched, which is great since the old one was in dire need of a revamp and I finally figured out how to get Squarespace to do what I wanted it to do.
But now, it's definitely time for bed - real life returns tomorrow, since I will be mildly hungover, still full, and v. much in need of some writing time. Goodnight!
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