After a quick bite of breakfast at our villa's restaurant we were whisked away, at 7.30am, in a mini-van heading for the beautiful Kintamani, nestled high on a volcanic crater rim.
Rob, who was from Sydney, joined our group and he quickly became our "adopted son". He was very friendly and we all had a good chat while our driver dodged and weaved through the chaotic traffic consisting of motorbikes and cars. After an hour and a half, we stopped for a morning coffee at a family farm that produced chocolate, teas (e.g., ginger, ginseng) as well as the famous Lowak coffee. The Lowak coffee is very expensive and made from the beans of coffee berries once they have been eaten and excreted by the Asian Palm Civet or "Coffee Mouse". Once the beans have been excreted, the farmers scrounge around the forest looking for the beans. We were given a tour of the grounds and shown how the beans are ground and roasted. Then we were able to sample the Lowak coffee as well as chocolate coffee, home-grown cocoa and a variety of herbal teas. Delicious!
We then set off for another 20 minute drive further up the mountain to our bikes and were introduced to our friendly tour guide, John. Then, we set off on our adventure down Kintamani along tranquil, less travelled roads through the traditional villages. The locals would greet us warmly as we passed, saying "hello!" an some of the kids would high-five us. Some photos of us on one of our frequent "I need a break" stops!
A group shot of us in front of some rice paddies along the way.
Roughly 80% of the population in Bali is Hindu and one of our major stops was a traditional Balinese home that was over 100 years old. It consisted of several buildings with each room representing a separate building. There was a building for the ceremonies, kitchen, kids bedrooms, and also a building for the parents of the family, which also doubled as the "honeymoon suite". The tour guide told us that when children in the family get married, they are to sleep the honeymoooner’s suite for 2 nights and 2 days. Occassionaly, family members will take a peek through the windows to see what actions are going on and utter words of encouragement. The house also had a separate temple in the north-east corner. The ceremonial building is to the right of Mark.
The family kitchen.
One of the family roosters.
Some sticky rice drying on the roof, to be used for offerings at the temple.
Kids playing in the background.
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The joy of being in the tropics during the rainy season! The heavens opened up and we were pummelled with rain. Our tour guide had to whip out some oversized raincoats for us. Alas, no proof but picture how we looked in these sexy grey coats. After we put them on, our tour guide said that they would only keep off the mud, not keep us dry! Great! We carried on cycling through the heavy rain, dashing through pot-holes and puddles for at least another 20 minutes. The rain was refreshing for a little while, but the novelty soon wore off as we cycled down and up hills! Finally, we climbed the last hill and arrived at our final destination: Lunch!!
By the time we got back to our villa it was nearly 5pm. We were all exhausted and Mark & I got a late massage to ease our sore muscles!
We had a 45 min drive from Seminyak to Sanur for our cooking class. A lot of it through heavy & crazy traffic so general silliness prevailed to pass the time. We were taken to Sanur market where we were met by Dewi, our lovely host for the day. She took us on a guided tour through the market at a leisurely pace. Explaining anything we pointed out and offering for us to try any fruits we hadn’t seen before. The market was not quite as we expected. It was definitely super clean with white tiling everywhere. We didn’t actually buy any of our food for the class as she had already been there at 4am to buy it at its best and freshest. Good idea when the meats we not kept refrigerated at the market.
The class was held in her home in a quiet street. These birds were eating the offerings left on the driveway earlier in the morning.
The entrance through the fence to the driveway.
Such a beautiful front to her home.
We enjoyed a tea and coffee and met Dewi’s Aussie partner Garry before donning aprons ready for 3-4 hrs of cooking and eating.
Some of our ingredients and tools.
First up was Black Soup. A delicious spicy beef soup that has a black bean that is more like a mushroom in a very hard shell. The girls cutting up onion and garlic.
Mitchell worked up a sweat grinding and breaking down the chilli and many spices into a paste.
The main class was held in a tiled room like a garage with a full wall open. Like every day, it was bloody hot and humid. Not sure what’s going on here... but Mark’s looking super sexy with his shorts rolled up. Next were his sleeves which he also rolled up!! Much glowing skin on show!
The next dish was a coconut curry with fresh tuna as the fish. Super delicious.
We all took got involved with grinding, cutting stirring etc. It was a fun relaxed environment and though Dewi's English was limited she was able to explain everything well. We marinated some chicken pieces (on the bone) with many herbs and spices before wrapping them in banana leaves for steaming. Mark as first to tackle the 'wrapping' an you can see he was taking it very serious. It became a friendly competition of whose was neatest and not leaking.
Shi Shi getting a hand to try and make hers perfect!
Last up were home-made spring roll wrappers. The thick batter was very tricky to spread evenly and the pan was very thin and flat.
Our final dish was Klepon. Rice four balls with palm sugar in the centre. I was hopeless at rolling them (apparently my hands were too hot) but the girls were great - thank goodness. Once balled they are boiled like gnocci until they float, then cooled a little before they are rolled in freshly grated coconut. Super delicious and gooey to eat!
This class was a fun thing to do together and turned out to be a great way to spend a rainy day! We were back at the hotel around 2:30 - 3.
