yummy yummy yummy i've got coconut in my tummy

Have I told you about the food yet???  Ooooooooh the FOOD!  It’s like.... everyday is a new food adventure.... most of the time I have no idea what I am eating, but that’s ok because it tastes so GOOD!

Now, I will admit that last week I got a burger and fries because some days you get so SICK of rice (btw the meat was a strange texture and the spices were all wrong! But it was still yummy yummy... and the fries were PERFECT) Everything comes with rice... fried rice, steamed rice, black rice, rice rice rice.  I think I am getting used to the copious amounts of rice... no.  I am beginning to hate rice (don’t listen to me, I’m hung over today so I hate everything.  All the time. Except for food.  Gotta love food.  Even rice (see just give me two seconds and my hate turns to love)) 

Dinner is divine... my most eaten dish is the nasi goreng... fried rice with veggies, chicken, and prawns served with a fried egg on top, and these crackers... shrimp I think.  There is also mie goreng... same thing but with fried noodles instead.  gado gado is ever interesting... I am not sure what some of the things on my plate are... but there is tofu, and veggies, and peanut sauce...  FOOD ON A STICK!!  Oh so much food on a stick... satays, and this interesting shredded chicken that packed on the end in this yummy sauce... coconut milk in sauces!!! SUCH a good idea! I have decided that coconut should be with everything all of the time.  Cap Cay (pronounced chap chay... all c’s make a “ch” sound, oh, and all g’s make a hard “g” sound like in “goofy” never like the g in “large” even if it’s a word that looks like it should, like Legian (the city I’m in) is pronounced with the “goofy” g (sounds like lee-G-yen)) is steamed veggies with a broth served with steamed rice (which is great when your tired of fried rice and need more veggies in your diet).  

Mie Goreng

Cap Cay

Gado Gado

I don’t think there is a difference in lunch... at least in the restaurants I eat at there is just an “Asian” or “Indonesian” or “Balinese” section... So I don’t know if any are more “lunch” or “dinner” dishes... hmmm maybe I’ll ask someone...

Breakfast... it is very easy to find an “American” breakfast... greasy bacon, greasy sausage, eggs, and toast (with pineapple jam and orchid butter hahha) but it’s really not right... just not right...  “Indonesian” breakfast (as it says on many menus) is nasi goreng or mie goreng with no meat.  So, there you have it... same thing for breakfast, lunch, and dinner... no, you don’t HAVE to eat the same thing for every meal (but you can! And it’s totally acceptable, which is nice cuz once I lived off rice pudding for a few weeks and I got a lot of guff for eating so much of the same thing) oh oh oh!!!  The OTHER thing I see for breakfast.... mmmmm..... there are BANANA PANCAKES!!  And they are GREEN!!! Hehehehe.  GREEN BANANA PANCAKES!!  WITH SHAVED COCONUT AND COCONUT SYRUP!   For breakfast mmmmmm.... with a fruit plate and Bali coffee... mmmmm.... or, jaffles!  Which is a grilled sandwich with no crust (? Maybe just at the place I was eating.. no, bread doesn't seem to have crusts on it... and sometimes it's green!) served with banana, or tomato and egg, or probably other things but that's all I’ve had...   

Banana Pancake

Dessert.... Pancakes (and I LOVE  how those are breakfast AND dessert) mmmmm black rice pudding with coconut milk and cane sugar (party in mouth... which is ALSO considered a breakfast in some restaurants)... FRIED BANANAS!!!  Mmmmmmmmm like... bananas coated in something and deep fried....  but.... by far... the best... thing.... I have ever eaten.... in my life.... bananas coated in rice flower, fried, and served with shaved coconut and cane syrup.....  I can’t even.... it’s just so... better than... uuuuggggggmmmmmmmm *drools*  

Banana Coconut Yummyness

I have decided that coconut should be a part of every meal.  In some way... little chunks... shaved pieces... coconut milk... coconut syrup...  it’s your choice.  But it should be there.

Some yummy coconut, beef, and Balinese spices dish

Drinks... Bali coffee.... its like... powdered coffee... so there is always some coffee sludge in the bottom of your glass, and I am getting used to having it with just sugar no cream (I’m lactose intolerant and non-dairy creamer does not seem to exist here) I am really beginning to love it... like, I don’t even miss that OTHER coffee I used to drink... well I had an iced Americano a couple of days ago and I got so wound up I felt like I was on drugs (not that I would know what that is like.....) so perhaps Bali coffee is less in the caffeine department.... oh! Ginseng coffee!!!  Uuuuuugggghhhhhhmmmmmm I can’t even describe the yummyness that is that.... really, no words.  Just uuuuuuugggggghhhhhhmmmmmm.  Arak.  It’s made from rice wine.  It’s the only booze I can afford (you can find it for as low as 25.000idr ($3ish) for a cocktail, which is half the price of most booze (except for beer, Bintang is the beer here and it can be found for cheap)) They make some yummy cocktails... Arak Attack (hehhe... love the name... hate the taste) ... oh, Bali Moon.. it’s a brand of flavoured liqueurs... and there are some super yummy sugar filled cocktails... AND you can get 2 for 1 during happy hour (which makes Heather so happy) oh! And booze in the corner store!!! Yaaaay! AND you don’t get fined for buying the 20.000idr cooler and walking down the street drinking it (yes, that is exactly what I was doing last night).  And where has fanta been all my life???  It’s like crush (the soda pop) but BETTER.  I think that's an Australian thing maybe?  It’s make by coke or something (one of the big ones).  And the sizes!!  You can get these cute little coca-colas ...  they are like, half the size of the 250 (ml?) ones that are popular... and I never see the big 2ltrs... there is a smaller one instead...  juice... so many juices!  Papaya, Mango, Watermelon, Coconut, Banana,  mmm.... there are TONNES in the corner store, and if you order juice in a restaurant its blended and sooooo yummy in the heat!! (provided that it's made with mineral water... always ask.  Always)

Munchies!!!!  I always go to the store and buy new and exciting munchies... it’s super exciting cuz I cant read the labels some of the time... so I have no idea what to expect... AND since this is such a tourist destination there are munchies from ALL OVER THE WORLD so I have no idea what country whatever I am trying came from....  There is this stuff that is like cornflakes and has a sweet and spicy coating on it (mmmm), and tick tack snack... little balls of crunchy that comes in different flavours, and cha cha’s!!!!  They are like peanut m&m’s but faaaar superior, and these chocolate wafer things, and lemon pies (very disappointing), and coconut cookies (exactly the yummynesss I expected), rice cracker wafer things that come like chips, egg covered peanuts, and sooooo much more that I need to try!!  And the flavours!!  So different than what I am used too.... one of the most common seems to be chicken and garlic flavoured (such a good idea) and a lot of shrimp flavoured, and seaweed flavoured.   And the fanta... but I already told you about the fanta.

Assorted Candy

So, as you would expect... I have definitely lost absolutely no weight.  That whole “its hot so my appetite will be suppressed” idea was crap.  I’m a glutton.  I love food.  All food.  So yummy.  My tummy protrudes....  But I walk a lot... so it will be ok... and Thailand will have spicy food right? Then I will eat less... cuz spicy + hot climate has got to = weight loss. 

Or maybe I’ll just drink the water.  That’ll make me loose a few pounds.