Bali Beaches + {recipe} Pisang Rai

Welcome...the month of August! Hello blogosphere!

Continuing my previous posting about my trip to Bali Island, ...for now let's get wet, as I'll share some pictures and little story about Bali beaches.

As one of the most popular gateway in this country, there must be something super special about this island.
yup...Bali Island is blessed with tropical climate, clear ocean and beautiful sandy beaches. Sea, sand and sun become one perfect combination of the tempting parts not only us, but also for visitors and locals. Enjoying this island also means enjoying and exploring its beautiful beaches.

There are many beaches in Bali, but there are only 4 of them that I visited during my couple of days trip in Bali. For me, each of them have their own uniqueness.

Nusa Dua Beach
Very clean beach, with super soft sand.
Romantic, relaxing, less crowded.

Nusa Dua refers to the entire eastern side of Bukit Peninsula at the southern tip of Bali. It is home of the most popular golf courses in Bali and international brand luxurious resorts. Also surrounded by art galleries, museums and numerous shops.

Most of the beach visitors are the hotel/resort guests. It's very nice to walk through this beach in late afternoon.
Beautiful, peaceful, romantic.





My husband and I spent our late afternoon walking at this beach. Oooh, different with other beach, here I could feel the magical wind. ha..ha..




Jimbaran Beach
This is home of seafood, home of super delicious food, a perfect place for dinner by the beach. The 'seafood cafes' are arrayed along the beach, and at the end we could find Kedonganan Fish Market.
This is a nice place to visit or we can buy fresh fish and also to meet the local fishermen.

...and for me, this place (the beach and the Fish Market) is like a playground.
I visited this market 2 times; 2 days in row. I took hundreds of pictures from this place, and honestly, it's hard enough to choose just a few of them for this posting. Hopefully, from the pictures that I show you here, you can imagine how beautiful this place is, how nice the people are, how fresh the fish/seafood there and how great experience I got.

  

It's nice to see how the Balinese celebrate living on the coastal area by making the most out of the ocean to support their lives.

I recommend you to visit this place in late afternoon.
Enjoy the beautiful sandy beach, sunset, and having delicious seafood dinner by the beach. It won't be disappointing you.

Kuta Beach
Located in one of the famous main tourist destination 'Kuta', where there are lots of hotels, restaurants, shops around it. This beach is busy almost all day.

Comparing to the other beach in Bali, probably this beach is wilder, and more spontaneous. Lots of activities can be done here. We can surf, sunbathe, watch the sunset, get hair beads or temporary tattoo, or...just simply recline in a deck.

I chose to walk through the beach, tried the local food, rujak gula while enjoying the sunset.





Legian Beach
This is the beach that made my children really fall in love with Bali, and keep asking to come back. Located in Legian area which have colorful shops, hotels and restaurants. This beach is connected with Kuta Beach on the South and with Seminyak Beach on the North.





The beach is less crowded, less noisy but equally bustling in energy with the famous Kuta beach.
The good thing, it's easier to watch the children playing in water because not too many people there.





We spent a couple of hours here, playing, reading, relaxing.
Beautiful clean beach, safe for family activities.



Now, let's move from beach to kitchen.
Accompanying this posting, I'll share my first successful trial of making one of the famous Balinese Desserts; Pisang Rai. Unbelievable, this easy and simple dessert tastes so good!

Banana covered by rice flour mixture and blanketed with grated coconut, then served with palm sugar sauce. Hhhm it sounds tempting, doesn't it?

The simple steps start with peeling and cleaning the banana, dip on rice flour 'liquid' mixture, then put on boiling water until it's cook and floating. Soon after it is drained, roll it on the grated coconut. I prefer to steam the grated coconut before using it. Easy peasy.

For you who looking for a good dessert alternative for your afternoon tea, or for breaking your 'Ramadhan' fasting, I recommend you to try this recipe. Easy to prepare, low failure rate, and for sure you'll get a very delicious exotic dessert.

Pisang Rai

Source : Primarasa, Bali Favorite
Bahan / Ingredients :
200 gr tepung beras / 200 gr rice flour
1 1/4 sdt garam / 1 1/4 tsp salt
1 sdt air kapur sirih / 1 tsp betel lime liquid
175 ml air / 175 ml water
8 buah pisang raja/pisang kepok / 8 bananas
2000 ml air, untuk merebus pisang / 2000 ml water, to boil the bananas
2 lembar daun pandan, ikat simpul / 2 pandan leaves, knotted
200 gr kelapa setengah tua, buang kulit arinya, parut memanjang / 200 gr grated coconut from 1 skinned 'half-mature' coconut.

Saus gula; masak hingga kental / Palm Sugar Sauce; simmer until thick
150 gr gula merah / 150 gr palm sugar
150 ml air / 150 ml water
1/2 sdt garam / 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 lembar daun pandan, potong-potong / 1/2 pandan leaf, chopped

Cara Membuat :
1. Campur tepung beras, 1/2 sdt garam, air kapur sirih, dan air. Aduk sampai adonan licin, sisihkan. Kupas kulit pisang, buang serat-serat yang menempel, sisihkan.

2. Masukkan air ke dalam panci, jerang di atas api, tambahkan pandan dan 1/2 sdt garam. Masak hingga mendidih.

3. Celupkan pisang satu per satu dalam adonan tepung sampai rata. Masukkan ke dalam air mendidih, masak di atas api sedang sampai matang dan terapung, tiriskan.

4. Taruh kelapa parut di atas piring datar, campur dengan 1/2 sdt garam. Gulingkan pisang rebus satu per satu ke dalam kelapa parut hingga terbalut rata.

5. Iris-iris setiap pisang menjadi 5-4 bagian. Taruh di atas piring saji, hidangkan dengan pelengkap saus gula.

Method :
1. Mix the rice flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt, betel lime liquid, and water. Stir until dough is smooth, set aside. Peel the banana skin, remove fibers that stick, set aside.

2. Put water to the pan, heat on the fire, add the pandan leaves and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cook until boiling.

3. Dip the bananas one at a time in flour mixture until blended. Put it in boiling water, cook over medium heat until soft and floating, drain.

4. Place the shredded coconut on a flat plate, mixed with 1/2 teaspoon salt. Roll the boiled bananas one by one into the grated coconut until they're covered evenly.

5. Slice each banana ​​into 5-4 pieces. Place on a serving plate, serve with the palm sugar sauce.