Warung Babi Guling Ibu Oka
Jalan Suweta, Tegal Sari #2, Ubud 80571, Bali • + 62 (0361)976345 • MapJust off the main street of Ubud, Bali, lies “Warung Babi Guling Ibu Oka”, which roughly translated, means “Mrs Oka’s Suckling Pig Restaurant”. This world famous specialist warung is renowned throughout Bali as being the only place to go for Bali’s traditional dish, Babi Guling, spit-roasted suckling pig.
Ibu Oka is so loved in Ubud, that even asking exactly where it is located creates great excitement with locals. We were directed to the spot with excited cries of “ah, babi guling!” ringing in our ears. Upon finding the open air restaurant we took our places at the traditional low tables and ordered drinks via sign language to an attentive waitress, who’s enthusiasm compensated for her extremely limited English.
Ibu Oka’s original menu is still marked on the wall, and is comprised of 4 dishes, Special Suckling Pig, Different Suckling Pig, Suckling Pig meat and Skin. Exactly what the differences between these dishes may be remains a mystery, as our means of communication were limited but we decided the special sounded the best way to go. The menu has also grown somewhat and now contains some other dishes which are pictured in a menu left on the table. These dishes are neither named nor can they be explained by the staff, but can be selected, and we ordered one out of curiosity and the desire to investigate something vegetarian.
The meal itself was fantastic, the special suckling pig arrives with a generous pile of tender, spiced meat with rice, and a square of crispy pig skin with various heavily spiced condiments on the side, one of which closely resembled our “vegetarian dish”. The spices used are unique to Balinese food and difficult to identify but it is clear that chilli is abundant throughout, and coupled with the climate makes plenty of Bintang beer a necessity. Like most other restaurants in Bali, there is no wine available.
I would recommend Ibu Oka’s Warung to anyone who is travelling to Bali, but vegetarians could find it challenging. If you are one who eats meat, however, it is not to be missed!
Visited: 20th August, 2010
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[28th November, 2011] Frank D Law wrote:
Stopped by Bali on our way back from Shanghai. Loved Bali, especially Ubud which is a place we would come back to again and again.
This is our third visit to Bali so we decided to give Ibu Oka one last chance, in view of the many superlative reviews in guide books, travel channels and magazines. Reasoning: So many cannot be wrong.
But it looks like they can be. Although the meat itself which was served piping hot, was generally underwhelming, gamy but flavorful enough, the crackling was still as tough as old leather shoes! It really made my DW and me wonder whether those folks who write glowing reviews of Ibu Oka and their babi guling, including Anthony Bourdain and the food critic from The Guardian have ever tasted suckling pig in a Chinese restaurant? If they have, they would have tasted exactly how good suckling pig should taste like with crackling so crispy thin that every bite is to be savored! It is highly unlikely that after that, they would ever venture to describe babi guling as amazing”, “fantastic”, “best ever” and all the silly hyperbole that have come to dominate this debate and given Ibu Oka an undeserved reputation. I have nothing against Ibu Oka per se. It is the integrity of reviews that I’m concerned about!
To draw an analogy, if you live in a small outpost, say in the far reaches of Siberia, you may describe your local football outfit as “amazing”, “best in the world” or whatever superlative terms you may wish to employ, not out of intellectual dishonesty, but only because you have never been exposed to the silky skills of the likes of Barcelona or Manchester United.
That is probably how it is with this “amazing babi guling” nonsense! We were in Shanghai for 9 days and tried Peking Duck and suckling pig IN SEVERAL RESTAURANTS and the stuff that they served up were slices of culinary heaven!
As we live in San Francisco, we have developed an affinity for the dish. We know that everyone is entitled to their opinion. But how do you judge a dish when you haven’t tasted even remotely the best? It is really like the uncultured and the philistine trying to pontificate on high-brow literature and classical music!
I’m a fan of Anthony Bourdain and look forward to his witty presentations but on this occasion he has dropped the baton big time! I certainly hope that Bourdain will wise up and realize that he has to remain totally objective. At the rate that he’s going, I fear that his credibility will soon be shot!
Finally, we remain baffled over these superlative reviews, because when we compare Ibu Oka’s babi guling to the suckling pig we have tasted in Chinese Restaurants from this side of San Francisco to Melbourne to Hong Kong to Singapore and Bayswater in London, we have to say that if the Chinese version and Ibu Oka’s babi guling are compared and placed on a scale of 1-100, the Chinese version would easily place near a hundred and Ibu Oka’s would limp in below minus 10. That is the difference between a culture with 2,000 plus years of culinary development and a rank amateur!