Outer Spice at Raja's

authentic balinese cuisine served in a fine dining setting is a rarity on the island; even rarer is one run by an australian chef and serving exclusively halal dishes. no, we’re not kidding you. this is raja’s

I was still teary-eyed from the freshly prepared sambel embe – handmade in front of me on an elegant Jenggala-made rectangular mortar – I had greedily consumed just moments before when the food tray came. “Here comes the duck,” I thought. To be honest, I wasn’t excited in the beginning. Despite being a duck fan, I had never had a mesmerising bebek betutu. The ones I had had before never really wowed me. However, I knew this one was going to be very different as soon as the wrapper was opened. The steam came out dancing cheekily as if knowing the aroma that it had just released was going to hit a homerun.

After staring at the multiple-spice-covered duck for about an eternity, the reflection from the knife and fork effortlessly cutting into the meat woke me up. Before I knew it, I was served a big chunk of the meat. Dining with the person who runs the restaurant, Darren Lauder, I thought of warning him by saying, “I’m sorry, please don’t think I’m crazy, but I’m about to eat a whole duck in front of you.”

Thankfully, I had second thoughts: Maybe I shouldn’t say something like that. Nobody takes a whole-duck-eater seriously. So instead, I said, “Enjoy your duck,” while at the same time making sure I had the bigger share of the portion.

In a nutshell, the duck was nothing like others I had had before. It was tender, tasty and addictive. I could go on and on about the duck, but the truth is that the whole dining experience at Raja’s was just as top notch.

The sambel embe burnt the right spots in my mouth I had to ask for a second portion. The soup tasted as delicious and clear as water after a whole night of drinking. And the small platters of traditional Balinese appetisers (rayunan pengawit Bali sane kasub) brought back memories from my childhood in Lombok.

“Yes, there are similarities between Balinese cuisine and that of Lombok, but not with other Indonesian cuisines such as Javanese which tends to be more sweet,” explained Darren, who is the executive chef of Nusa Dua Beach Hotel and Spa where the restaurant is located.

He went on, “Balinese cuisine doesn’t use as much sugar and coconut. They are not prominent in their cooking process. Instead, Balinese cuisine uses a lot of freshly ground spices and herbs. They use the pestle and mortar to extract the oil, not the juices, from them and use the oil to marinate the meat and then cook them together. So it’s in reverse from the Indian cooking method where the spices are roasted first before the grinding and marinating process.”

A native of Australia, Darren received his formal kitchen training in his home country. Despite having done stints in kitchens in far flung corners of the world like the Middle East, Nagoya, Japan, and Santiago de Chile, the affable chef wasn’t always this knowledgeable about the gastronomy of our beloved island.

“Before I came to Bali, I thought the food here would be more like that of Thailand with a lot of curry, lemongrass, spices and ginger,” he admitted. Then as soon as he landed two and a half years ago, he was immediately given the task to transform what was originally a seafood eatery into a fine dining restaurant serving authentic Balinese cuisine.

“Was it as scary as when you were about to jump off a plane for the first time?” I asked. The Sagittarian daredevil laughed and recalled, “It was definitely challenging. It was a big learning curve for me.”

The first piece of the Raja’s puzzle was getting the recipes. “I invited my staff to bring recipes from their homes, the favourite traditional recipes of their families, and cook them how they’re supposed to be cooked. Not a la carte them or change anything,” he explained. “This was for me to learn the concept of Balinese cooking.

I didn’t go showing them how to cook it because it’s their own home cooking. So on my part, it was about having a lot of faith in my staff to teach me first how things were done, so I could learn how each dish was supposed to taste, and then after that, we took the items apart and I taught my staff how to present these dishes in a modern, fine dining, a la carte-style.”

The whole process took some eight months of hard work, which included intensive research through going around the island tasting foods from the small warungs at the side of the streets of the smallest villages in search of even more rare authentic recipes.

“A lot of the traditional things we are doing in our kitchen are now lost. One example is our timbungan (referred to as timbungan be kambing on the menu, it is spiced minced lamb, baked in bamboo shelves and carved on the table) which isn’t practiced anymore,” he pointed out.

Later, I found out that my duck, too, came to fruition from long hours of kitchen work. “The duck is imported from Australia. This is because the meat is more tender and tastier than the local ducks. Then it was marinated for six hours in 16 different spices before being slowly baked in a low-heat oven for at least six hours,” explained Darren.

“Impressive,” I thought feeling slightly less guilty about having just eaten one whole duck. “But why don’t you have babi guling on your menu?” I asked.

“Because we’re a 100-percent-halal restaurant” was his answer.

My surprised expression must’ve been apparent to him as he immediately added: “It was another challenge because pork is a big part of Balinese cuisine and when we opened the restaurant it was difficult to source halal produce in Bali. But Raja’s kitchen is independent from the other kitchens in the hotel. Everything goes straight to Raja’s kitchen and all the meats and vegetables are processed there.”
The 60-seat restaurant’s kitchen is manned by six staff, two of which are female, and all work in harmony with the waiting staff that embody the elegance of the restaurant. They know their products very well. Ask any of them about any dish on the menu and they’ll happily take you through it. I couldn’t help but observe how Darren watchfully yet subtly oversaw everything that was going on that evening. He knew every single garnish that was supposed to be served with each dish, and where and how they were supposed to be served. Therefore, it came as no surprise to me that Darren and his team won The Best Service Award in the recent Tri Hirta Karana Awards 2009, which also saw Darren – who also holds the position as vice president of Bali Culinary Professionals – being given a gold medal.

As it got darker, the atmosphere at the restaurant became more chic. The contrast illuminated the many intricate carvings that adorned Raja’s outside dining area. The one inside is perhaps brighter but no less of a treat for the eyes. It’s graceful but comfortable. Gorging on my cendol manis (rice dumplings with coconut milk and palm sugar) I shamelessly asked Darren one last question,
“How many ducks do you prepare each day?”

“Three or four only. That’s why we recommend our guests order beforehand.”
And there went my dream of having two ducks in one evening.

Raja’s, Nusa Dua Beach Hotel and Spa, Nusa Dua,
Lot North 4, T: 0361 771 210, www.nusaduahotel.com;
only open for dinner, closed on Tuesdays