Bedugul Tour Lunch At Babi Guling Depot Betty

When in Bali, instead of going to expensive and branded restaurants, we opted on spending our lunch at roadside eateries since they provide the most authentic flavors of Bali. One time, we talked about the Philippine Lechon with our tour guide, Jick, and discovered that Indonesia has their own version of roasted pig, which is called Babi Guling.

We chanted out of excitement and headed straight to a Babi Guling restaurant, not just once, but twice! For our second Babi Guling experience, Jick brought us to Babi Guling Depot Betty, an eatery on our way back from Ulun Danu Beretan Temple. I heard from our tour guide that the Babi Guling Depot Betty isn’t just famous. It also holds a history of being one of the pioneering Babi Guling roasters since 2001.

This huge restaurant offer Babi Guling Campur and only Babi Guling Campur! They don’t have any other in their menu and yet it’s always full house. You may think that it’s convenient for the owners and staff because they don’t have to prepare a lot of raw materials for their inventory but roasting numbers of pig alone requires a lot of work. Probably, that’s one of the reason why they stick to one meal. After all, they successfully pulled off a one-dish restaurant. Amazing, right?

The Babi Guling here is more flavorful than in other Balinese restaurants we tried. Comparing this to the fatty Philippine lechon, the skin of Babi Guling was served with no fats at all. But I must say that lechon is more luscious. Lechon is infused with lemongrass flavors while Babi Guling is defined by its spice mixture. I love that the Babi Guling in Bali is served like a combo meal. The plate has satay, pork rinds, pig’s blood, pork broth and crispy pork slices. They’re all good, especially when you’re into spicy food.

For the drinks, Babi Guling Depot Betty only offers bottled water, bottled Temulawak, a Javanese turmeric drink, iced tea and iced orange. We chose iced orange because its tanginess lessens the heat of the sauce. However, I don’t think they use the orange we know because the drink taste more like lemon, which is just alright. After all, we are liking the balance of its sweetness and sourness. It’s in an awesome glass mug, too.

The restaurant is just a warung, or carinderia in Filipino term, but visitors can still see the huge influence of Balinese culture in its interior. It features locally-crafted wood tables, chairs, walls and ceiling. There’s also an antique chandelier that adds glamour to the place. The second floor has a view deck overlooking the lush mountains of Bedugul. With this kind of scenery, it isn’t hard not to relax while eating delicious Babi Guling.

If there’s other food in Babi Guling Depot Betty, then that’s just some local delicacies and pre-packed ice cream. They are selling this brand of ice cream called Wall’s. We were amused because in the Philippines, the logo is owned by Selecta. We chose not to buy the ice cream since we already have it in our home country. On the other hand, buying those Balinese biscuits didn’t come to mind since we allotted our time for tokens on the last day of our trip.