I still remember vividly one place in Bali that I visited a few months ago, which made a deep impression to me, and now it won’t go away. Cuca Flavor. A dining place located in Jimbaran, in a semi-secluded pathway.
That time, my trip in Bali was short. I had like thousands of agenda for things to do there, and it overwhelmed me. The trip seemed like a business trip to me, instead of a relaxed trip. I needed to relax. But time is a luxury we can’t afford, so we made each hour counts.
So, after watching a beautiful sunset in Sundara (review coming next), we made a quick visit to this place, which happened to be nearby (10 minutes away). We were actually going to have a massage in Padma. Our appointment was at 7.30. It’s 6.30 when we reached Cuca. So, yeah, we said bye-bye to our so-called relaxed time.
Limited time aside, we were surprised when we stepped inside Cuca. The place was huge, with spacious yard, trees and green grasses. We initially thought it would be like a small cafe. Oh, we were so wrong.
The waitress who welcomed us at the front door, guided us to our designated area. There are garden area, dining room, or the food bar to choose from.
The garden area looked exquisite with a mix of romantic yet exotic vibe, especially since nobody was sitting there. It would have felt like a private dinner if we chose to sit there.
The food bar, on the other hand, offers a more exciting and fun experience. You will be able to see first hand the cooking process, admire the action of the credible chefs, and it would probably feel like you are watching a master chef show and get to taste the end-result. How nice is that?
The dining room, however, offers a more intimate vibe, with warm ambiance, slightly cold temperature for the comfort of the guests and a classic interior that still shows the beauty of simplicity.
We were served by the amazingly polite and likeable waiters, who dressed in a perfect attire, added with sincere smile. To be honest, there’s nothing more important than a great service to start a dinner, or anything for that matter.
After some regular Q&A session (we sounded silly asking about so many things. :D), we got recommendations from the waiter. We even told him that we were actually in a hurry and was here because of the positive rumours. He smiled and said thank you, then rushed to have our orders done fast.
# Cotton Betutu
Cotton Betutu was served. It’s a welcoming complimentary starter. As we know it, Bali has a famous signature cuisine, called “Ayam Betutu” which has a lot of spices thrown into the mix. Then, in Cuca, they decided to make a signature edible, with a gourmet style and a unique touch. Here it is. A ball-like cotton candy, dusted with betutu spices. The result, was explosive. Yes, it exploded in my mouth like a firework. It had that soft melt-in-the-mouth texture, with “colourful” flavour. Genius.
# Tokyo Mojito (IDR 50 k)
You might have known that I am a lame one when it comes to alcohol. So, I almost never drink anything that contains it. When it comes to fancy drinks, I will just have some mocktails instead of cocktails. The cocktails and mocktails, are under the same name. They will just substitute some of the ingredients with the alcohol-free stuff such as soda and grenadine. This Tokyo Mojito is one of the most recommended drinks. Mine tasted amazingly refreshing, with a bold citrusy touch and a hint of mint coming from the lemon balm. It also had this slightly bitter end, which probably came from the peel of the lime. When everything came together in the glass and the ice ball melted, the drink was just perfect.
# Sun-Gria (IDR 65 k) As surprises kept coming, the Sun-Gria did amaze us as well. The clever use of ice blocks which contains 100% fruit juice and the destined matches of every distinctive flavours really is mind blowing. The blocks of ice slowly melted as time passed, and it developed in a richer tropical flavor every time I took a sip. This drink was designed to be a perfect drink for those who love to chat all night long.
# Marinated Pulled Pork (IDR 75 k)
From the tapas section, we decided to have just one dish. Ideally, a person can have about three choices of tapas to be enjoyed and combined for dreamy delicious result. It’s a shame we had had our early dinner. Anyway, the marinated pulled pork was superb! It seriously looked simple, but I’d learnt that looks could be deceiving, so I put my bad mind away and embraced it. It had the element of surprise when it was mixed together. The sweet tingling sensation coming from the cinnamon raisin jam was lovely and the soft boiled egg with runny egg yolk tasted ah-mazing. There was just seemed to be a bit of everything mixed up, but with complexity running nicely on my tongue.
# Cocoa 99 (IDR 80 k)
With regrets, we were running low on time. We asked the waiter to serve the dessert in parallel to save some time. The Cocoa 99 was served in a big bowl. It looked quite regular until we grabbed a spoon and tasted it ourselves. The warm creamy and rich chocolate was again, amazingly good. The touch of mint ice creams was honestly, nothing new, but it still seemed so perfect. The combination of warm chocolate and cold mint ice cream was flawless. Not to mention the crunchy texture coming from the cocoa croutons. As a chocolate mania, I give my every single thumbs up. I would even borrow some other people’s thumbs for this.
Every single thing in Cuca was perfect. I can imagine the people behind the management and behind the kitchen are strictly professional or they might be even just have a serious passionate mind in culinary. The concept is well thought, every detail is considered in great lengths, the dishes are ambitious and marvellous, yet the service is impeccable. My visit to Cuca Flavor might be very very short. But it lingers in my mind and I can vividly rewind the visit. I regretted my limited time and belly, and I have made promise that when I visit Bali again next year, I will go to Cuca, have an appropriate dinner and enjoy every single minute I spend there, with my loved one.
CUCA FLAVOR | BALI
Jalan Yoga Perkanthi, Jimbaran
Bali 80364, Indonesia
Phone: +62-361-708066
Twitter: @CucaFlavor
Website: http://www.cucaflavor.com