We arrived in Bali from our cruise and set off to our private pool villa at thew Four Seasons at Sayan, near Ubud in the foothills of central Bali. It's much quieter that the beach resorts and allows access to many wonderful sites and experiences of the beautiful Balinese culture. After resting all day poolside, we headed over to the Viceroy Bali, another 5-star luxury resort and their fining dining venue, Aperitif. The restaurant is in its own pavilion complex with a monstrous bar area (inside and out), pool table and more plus a huge, elegant dining room and open kitchen. We were royally greeted and chose to sit on the terrace overlooking the resort and jungle as we sipped our Aperitif Negroni made with Raku Japanese Gin, Vermouth di Torino, Campari, Sandalwood and Ylang-ylang...we loved them.
Three gorgeous canapes arrived which shamed the ones we had been having on Silversea for the last month:
-Cured Red Snapper with Ponzu and yogurt that was super light and refreshing
-Chicken Liver Mousse with Balado & Shallot which was creamy and rich
-Charcoal Puff with Smoked Mackerel cream that was revealed under a smoke dome tableside and with so creamy and rich and indeed divine.
We were escorted to the large, elegant dining room with about 20 tables of various sizes with crisp white lines, silver and crystal. There seemed to be dozens of staff all over the place. We took a table for two facing the large open kitchen where there had to be over a dozen staff under the constant eye of Belgian chef Nic Vanderbeeken. Keeping in mind all these people, only 8 people were dining at Aperitif on Monday including us!
There is a choice of two menus: Signature and Avant-Garde both priced the same at 1,690.000 rupiah each +21% tax and service(tipping not necessary) which comes to $130 for 8 courses! The wine pairing was an additional 1,000,000++ or about $77, a real steal considering the large pours and amazing quality of the imported wines.
JB, the Sommelier, from Nimes, France, was amazing and explained each wine in detail and it was apparent he chose them all with great care as each one match each course brilliantly. Each wine arrived just before the course was served so we could taste it first, and the entire meal was spaced to perfection and lasted from our 630pm arrival and 715pm move into the dining room until our 1030pm departure.
Chef Vanderbeeken was in Tokyo prior to opening this magnificent establish just before covid and the menu shows that. There are also many additional items that you can add (at fairly high costs) such as caviar, lobster, truffles, Wagyu main course and more, but our choice was just enough food indeed.
The amuse of Chawanmushi(Japanese egg custard) with Mushroom and Dashi was a brilliant concept to have the dashi surround the custard to cut the richness.
We watched the kitchen as some 6 staff hovered around the chef prepping our first course of Japanese MUROTSU BAY OYSTER(all photos on FB) with Dabu-Dabu sauce(a local chimichurri-style sauce, but not spicy), watermelon and Kemangi(edible flower). The one oyster was huge and an amazing treat while the Henri Bourgeois Sancerre "Les Baronnes" 2022 from the Loire Valley had us almost forget those we had in New Zealnd and Australia!
A bread cart arrived that might have been much smaller than that of Stierereck in Vienna, but just as impressive with many breads and they were all served warm with three butters: Sourdough, Truffle and Salted. I had never heard of sourdough butter, but it was interesting indeed with a slightly yeasty flavor. There were baguettes, focaccia, amazing onion rolls, sourdough bread, but the best was the local black rice bread!! WOW!
Course #2 was WAGYU served in the Japanese style of Tokusen Roast Carpaccio that means just barely seared on the edges. It came with a Black Garlic & Bone Marrow Emulsions and Mustard Seeds that made the dish superb. The paired Chateau d'Astros Minuit(menaing midnight as the grapes are harvested at night), Rose from Cotes de Provence 2021 uses Syrah, Grenache and Carignan and was magnificent, not to mention JB poured it from a monstrous Jerobaom bottle!
Next came and additional course which JB offered complimentary, and we jumped at the chance to try to huge local SUMBAWA PRAWN, again barely cooked and served on a Jerusalem Artichoke Puree with Cucumber and a light Coconut-Soy Dressing. JB even paired it with EDDA Chardonnay/Fiano from Puglia 2020 that was oaked lightly and paired perfectly with this divine local crustacean.
Course #3(no photo), really #4 was a Perfectly seared Hokkaido Scallop in a light Clam Chowder with Baby Clams and a wonderfully lightly-spiced Pineapple Sambal that in no way overpowered the delicate scallop. M. Chapoutier Bila-Haut "Occultum Lapidem" (meaning gemstone), Cotes de Roussillon was a combination of White Grenache and Vermentino with an uber mineral nose and taste that Will compared to licking rocks. JB said the stony soil does make the terroir so apparent in this unique wine.
Spring Chicken sounds simple but this steamed version came with a Tori Paitan Sauce(local Indonesian) with Koya (dried milk with garlic?) and Bumbu Kuning(Turmeric condiment that resembles aioli). We had truly moved to Bali for this dish paired with Pascale Jolivet Attitude Pinot Noir 2021 from the Loire, a beautiful unoaked but medium-bodied Pinot!
Our main was Venison (from New Zealand) Wellington with Foie Gras(from France), a lighter than usual yet super tasty, lightly spicy Rendang Sauce and sweet potato puree. This dish was as close to perfect Wellington as it gets, and the venison was as tender and lean as could be. The wine was a magnificent The Chocolate Block Syrah(with Viognier) 2021 from Franschhoek in South Africa.
A palate cleanser of Pomelo/Yuzu frozen yogurt with crisp and flakes was delightful and oh so refreshing and the JB arrived with the cheese trolley(included in the dinner!!) laden with gorgeous cheeses. We called this the Grand Finale first night in Bali!
Our choices were
-Camembert
-Fourme d'Ambert(blue)
-Muenster
-Aged Chevre from France and we had a choice of two condiments from poached apples, raisin puree, strawberry chutney(great with the blue), fig jam, walnuts, cashews and grapes! JB suggested a Dr, Loosen 2-21 Riesling which I liked, but Will passed on and got some Churchill 2017 Vintage Late Bottled Port, which JB poured for me as well; what a treat!
The dessert was a truly novel dish called PB & J with a home made biscuit (and a giant "A" on it for Aperitif) with a Peanut Mousse & Raspberry-Blackberry Jam. Will hates peanut butter, but managed to eat this!!
Mignardises were presented as well, and they included: Smores/Snickers/Passionfruit Fudge/Pistachio/ Sesame and Orange Sponge...check out the video on FB! These were served with Manco a local hot chocolate/tea drink with soy and sesame as well!!
Needless to say we were full, but thrilled with our first night choice in Bali! On to more local food now!!
