Holiday Ayo - Balinese food has been influenced by Chinese, Indian, and Middle Eastern cuisine and mixed with indigenous recipes over thousands of years.

The basis of most Indonesian/Balinese cooking is chili, garlic, shallots, and coconut oil.

Depending on the dish, various spices and fresh ingredients will be added to create amazing cuisine. The different areas across Bali have their own distinctive variations to all meals, which just adds to the foodie adventures.

Lembat Satay

Bali's take on satay, the classic meat-on-a-stick dish found across the Indonesian archipelago, is minced meat pounded in a mortar and pestle with young grated coconut and a bumbu, or spice mixture, that varies according to region.

It may be similar to the pastes used in babi guling or bebek betutu but perhaps with cardamom, cinnamon, nutmeg, tamarind, or cumin seeds also making an appearance. The seasoned meat is shaped around a split bamboo skewer and quickly barbecued, often while hand-fanned, over hot coals.

Forget the peanut sauce found elsewhere, sate in Bali is accompanied by shrimp paste-based sambal "matah", meaning raw or alive.

Satay is a popular street food dish so it can be found at any busy market, but a higher-end option is the Alila Uluwatu's Warung (Jalan Belimbing Sari, Banjar Tambiyak, Desa Pecatu), where the Lilit Ikan Satay is served on aromatic lemongrass skewers.