Merah Putih Restaurant

We went on the last night on our trip, and really splurge for this. A kind reminder is to make reservation beforehand, otherwise you will only be seated at the bar area aka us 🥲

Anyway, we have clearly over-ordered, because we ordered soft shell crabs and another starter before these mains arrived, and these are the mains. I couldn’t remember all their names, but the fried rice is rich in flavours and after mixing the half boiled egg, making it like Tamago gohan but in fried rice. While I love their cod fish fish as well, crispy fish skin with spinach as the base.

🤤 5/5
💸 expensive, but worth it
📍 Merah Putih Restaurant, Seminyak Bali

*Travelled in Jan 2020
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Reason for not having and photos of the mains is because dinner lighting is horrendous. The fiancé only helped to lit up the dessert plates with the front light of his phone for the dessert photos 👆🏻
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Spiced lapis, passionfruit brûlée. This really reminded me of Christmas. The spices in the lapis was a bit of ginger, cinnamon and cloves. The lapis was done very well! Thin dense layers of cakes, where you can almost distinct the layers. The passion fruit brûlée was tangy enough to balance the sweetness of the lapis. Plus the meringue bits that were added on top really added crunchy fun to the textures. It was such a delight to eat everything as a whole. There was even blobs of ganache for a switch up of flavours 🤤 definitely the star tonight.
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Another dish we tried was the Sumatran Barramundi filet. The skin was perfectly crisp, and it sat on a bed of squid, mushrooms and gnocchi with a turmeric coconut sauce. This was the most balanced main dish out of all that we had today. Though there could be more sauce for the barramundi since barramundi doesn't have much flavour on its own but because the bed of stuff absorbed all the sauce, there wasn't much left for the fish.
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Though one dish I would recc not to order is the achar! I'm quite used to the peranakan achar with pickled vege, peanuts and belachan. However the achar came in 3 small plates. 1) Ang moh pickles with a slightly spicy sauce. 2) mixed vege like cucumbers, carrots, capsicum that were half pickled in a sauce not sweet nor salty. 3) some sort of pickled fern that the fiance immediately gave a face to. So unless you are in for a different experience, go ahead and order haha.
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Another must order is definitely the cocktails! Cheap, tasty and easy to drink 👍🏻👍🏻

For small plates, prettily plated and modern Indonesian cuisine. But if you visit at night, it will be too dark to see any of your dishes 😂. Ambience is en point though.
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To be honest, I like certain elements in each dish, but not quite the whole dish. We got the Tahu Isi Bebenuk Lombok, an amaranth stuffed tofu that's fried with grilled mushroom and egg plant. I like the grilled mushroom and egg plant, the crunchiness of the batter but not quite the amaranth stuffed tofu. It lacked a bit of flavour and fragrance from the amaranth?
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Suckling pig. Slow roasted babi guling with corn. Unlike our suckling pick, the skin quickly lost its crispness. The meat doesn't have much flavour. Though there's a layer of meat that tasted like char siew, that was pretty good. The corn stewed in coconut milk that was served together was pretty good too. It kinda reminded me of grits served in southern American eateries but even better.
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Back to the main photo. Egg flan, honey cake and stewed pears. The deconstructed plating was nice and the egg flan was smooth and good. Honey cake was a straight up honey sponge cake but went well together. 👍🏻👍🏻

Best to make reservations online beforehand - max of 8 people, any more & you'll have to email them & you'll have go opt for 1 of the 4 tasting menus (i.e. you won't get to choose from the regular a la carte menu). Responses via email are quite efficient.

When you get there, you'll be stunned by the amazing interior decor. If you're in a big group (>6 I reckon?) you'll sit on the 2nd floor. There are mosquitos there, but if you ask for mosquito repellent, the staff would be happy to give you some. Just be careful about using that aerosol can near the candlelight open flame. Lol.

Overall, the food is excellent & this is why I keep coming back. Don't expect to be very full though. & drinks were nothing too special.

I like to make my reservations at 6:00PM (earliest timing) so there is sufficient natural light for me to take food photos. But do bear in mind that they only hold reservations for 15 mins, so don't be late!

💳 Accepts credit cards
🌬️ Air conditioned seats only
🖥 Accepts reservations - best to book early
📶 WiFi available
🙋 Govt tax 10%, service charge 7%

Each large plate, to be honest, isn't very large. Good for an individual portion of a meal. We ordered 8 large plates for 8 people in total. From top left, clockwise, ending in the middle picture:

Tiny bowl of Fish Soup, compliments of the chef

Sumatran Barramundi Fillet (Squid, Coconut, Turmeric, Calamansi) - 185++k IDR

Pipi Sapi Kalio (Padang Beef Cheek Curry, Sweet Potato, Greens) - 180++k IDR

Ikan Bakar Sambal Bongkot (Reef Fish in Banana Leaves, Tomato, Clams, Local Herbs) - 180++k IDR

Puyuh Panggang (Cassava Stuffed Quail, Garlic, Sweet Corn Batadan) - 130++k IDR

Roast Lamb Loin (Cashew Sambal, Soy, Rice Cake, Cabbage) - 175++k IDR

Bebek Menyat Nyat (Balinese Duck Curry, Coconut, Spinach, Onions) - 175++k IDR

Suckling Pig (Slow Roast Babi Guling, Andaliman, Nasi Jagung) - 220++k IDR

Kembang Kol (Char-grilled Cauliflower, Tempeh, Coconut) - 50++k IDR
** Not a large plate; just one of the sides you can order. Speaking of which, go for the Nasi Uduk (Coconut, Lemongrass, Pandan rice) & not the Nasi Merah Putih, as the former is more flavourful!

Sadly, forgot to take a picture of: Angus Striploin (Bone Marrow, Smoked Eggplant, Wood Ear Mushroom) - 270++k IDR

💳 Accepts credit cards
🌬️ Air conditioned seats only
🖥 Accepts reservations - best to book early
📶 WiFi available
🙋 Govt tax 10%, service charge 7%

Considered as appetisers, each Small Plate feeds 2 people nicely (unless it states 1 piece on the menu), so in our big group, we decided to order these individually. From top left, clockwise:

Udang Kipas Woku (Gorontalo Slipper Lobster, Coconut, Potato, Baby Leeks) 110k++ IDR

Bedugul Smoked Pumpkin Salad (Local Beans, Coconut, Basa Gede) - 75k++ IDR

Char-grilled Lombok Octopus (Taro, Red Pepper Samba Bajak, Fern Tips) - 90++k IDR

Balinese Beef Shank Steamed Bun (1 piece; Green Chilli, Pickled Cucumber) - 35k++ IDR

💳 Accepts credit cards
🌬️ Air conditioned seats only
🖥 Accepts reservations - best to book early
📶 WiFi available
🙋 Govt tax 10%, service charge 7%