Blissed out at Faces

Faces Restaurant sits majestically on the side of a hill sheltered by The Balé (T: 0361 775 111) white tiled walls and complemented by the natural colour of thatched roofs, salak wood and the lively orange of blossoming trees. The resort is home to 29 idyllic pavilions on 1.7 hectares of land, leaving room for unreserved privacy and solitude. The villas are superbly stylish with wooden finishing and glass windows, maintaining views of a Feng Shui garden, your private lap pool, or the Bali Golf & Country Club.

Faces, with its homemade breads and pastries and aromatic originalities, draw in many a food aficionado. The bon vivant restaurant is now in the capable hands of Texan-born Chef Brandon Huisman who has discretely yet irrefutably left his mark on the ever-successful hot spot. His nourishing concoctions please not only vegans and vegetarians but lead the way into an, for many, undiscovered world of tasty raw foods, healing herbs and fruits derived from Bali's midland organic farms.

If combating animal exploitation isn't part of your agenda, you might want to consider the health aspects of reducing your meat and animal products intake while also consuming more plant foods. The starting principle for healthy living is to eat a wide variety of strong coloured vegetables and fruits. The general rule is ‘the richer in colour the better'. Faces' enthusiastic Executive Chef, Brandon Huisman, is very much aware of what we should and should not be feeding our bodies after six months of research for his refreshing spa menu.

Chef Brandon's take on vegan eggplant rolls – to name one out of many delights – is daring, resourceful and comes with an artful presentation, floating on a cherry-red capsicum and Romesco tomato sauce and stuffed with a tofu-basil-ricotta paste. He has obviously also put a lot of thought into his wholesome salads and seafood preparations as they encapsulate each one of the food groups and burst with diverse flavours.

Interesting to know is that Chef Brandon is continuously reinventing himself by finding ways to add to his expertise. His hunger for culinary knowledge is evident in his frequent trips overseas to attend classes and seminars on, for example, wine and food pairing and exotic ingredients. The Balé, in all its splendour, is one of the most enticing and stimulating retreats in the Nusa Dua area. Swiss guests S. Nyffeler and S. Betschait reminisce on their Balé experience with the summarising words: "If only The Balé could be our everyday home…"