Grilled Prawns 🍤
That's right it deserves it's own post
I love grilled prawns. Especially with garlic. And in Bali, that’s the default way to grill prawns, with a spread of strong, sweet, garlic sauce, just the way I like them.
Since prawns, along with oysters, are one of the riskier foods when traveling, I usually avoid it. But it’s really hard to pass up when they’re so fresh and good here.
So every time I saw a place with good potential grilled prawns, I ordered it. Here’s the rundown for fellow seafood lovers.
Prawn #1 and #2 - On the beach in Sanur
On the beach walk in Sanur, a little shack of a place, next to other shacks that sell Mie Goreng (local noodles) and things, is a seafood place. They have fresh seafood laying out on ice, and the whole menu is basically seafood. Very local but looked very legit. It’s also next to the turtle conservation, so we passed by this place many times on our walks.
Turns out my instincts were right. This was the most amazing place. For < $10 we enjoyed a single person platter of grilled prawns, fish, and squid. It was soo good that a week or so later we returned for a second meal, this time just grilled prawns. The garlic spread, which they advertise on their menu as their own unique house blend, does not disappoint.
Papa Bear wanted a non seafood dish, but this place only served seafood. Casual and accommodating as Balinese are, they let us order from the menu of the neighboring shack, so Papa Bear got to enjoy a wonderful Egg fuyung dish with rice, for an affordable $2. He loved it so much that on the second visit he got the same dish!
Another unique thing we had here was a drink called “Hot orange.” It’s the only place we’ve seen this drink in the 2 months of travel in Bali. But we loved it. It’s basically orange juice with hot water added. Perfect for the windy beach we were sitting on.
Prawn #3 - Overlooking volcano Kintamani
After sunrise viewing at Kintamani, we had lunch overlooking the volcano and lake. This place had the most gorgeous view and a wide menu. I saw grilled prawns and went for it. But it didn’t go so well this time.
The prawns were grilled well, but despite asking for not spicy, it came with a generous slather of Balinese spices all over it. So much so that even though I scraped off the sauce as much as possible, it’s still basically eating pain. So I went through an hour of “so tasty, so painful, so tasty, so painful” as I consumed the prawns.
Really the only part that’s hard about Bali is the spicy food. One time we went to a restaurant in Permuteran and asked for not spicy on a poke bowl. It came out perfect. The next day we went back and ordered the same thing, and because we got complacent and forgot, it came out spicy.
Every time we ask for “not spicy”, the dish can still come out spicy. I imagine a Balinese chef thinking “how can they eat this dish with no flavor, better add some in.” Bam. It’s spicy. It’s no joke. One time Baby Bear ate rice, white rice, and it was spicy. The rice was pure white, no visual indication of spiciness. I don’t know how they do it.
Prawn #4 - Gili Air
On Gili Air, a tiny island that takes only 15 minutes to walk across, is a cluster of “BBQ” dinner places, right on the beach. Every night they fire up a wood grill and all manners of seafood are served up. Some are local catches like parrot fish and jack (butterfish), and some are imported like tuna. But all look absolutely delectable.
Of course they had prawns, so I chose a few, they weighed it and on the grill they go. Watching them grill it was entertaining, and eating it was even more satisfying. As usual lots of garlic was applied.
The accompanying baked potato is just as mouthwatering. Topping it off with an all you can eat salad bar for an affordable price of $11 USD for this meal.
Did I mention that the table is on the beach with the softest sand? Yup, really can’t be beat.