Menega Cafe ★ 3.9
Menega Cafe grills the day's catch on Muaya Beach in Jimbaran, Bali, with barbecued seafood, young coconuts and a set of lobster, fish, clams and calamari.
SignatureGrilled catch of the day, Lobster seafood set
History
Jimbaran is a fishing village on the neck of the Bukit peninsula, and its beach is a seafood destination where diners pick live seafood that is grilled at once, generally over coconut husks rather than charcoal. Boats land the catch from about 04:00 to 06:00 at Kedonganan fish market, red snapper sells for about IDR 90,000 to 140,000 a kilo, and grill stalls nearby charge IDR 20,000 to 30,000 a kilo to cook it. At Menega Cafe, which Honeycombers calls perhaps Jimbaran's most famous beachfront restaurant, the set is a lobster, a seasonal fish, six clams and six calamari skewers.
Common allergens: Fish, Shellfish
Make it at home
Ingredients
- 1 whole snapper or sea bass, about 600g, scaled and cleaned
- 1 lime
- For the marinade: 3 candlenuts, 4 shallots, 3 garlic cloves, 1 tbsp ground turmeric, 1 tsp ground coriander, 2 tsp salt and 2 tbsp oil
- For the basting sauce: 60ml kecap manis, 1 tbsp melted butter and 2 tbsp oil
- Sambal matah and steamed rice, to serve
Method
- Pat the fish dry and score it deeply a few times on both sides. Squeeze the lime juice over it.
- Pound the candlenuts, shallots, garlic, turmeric, coriander and salt in a mortar, then mix in the oil.
- Rub the paste into the fish and the cuts, cover and chill for at least 1 hour.
- Mix the kecap manis, butter and oil for basting.
- Grill over hot coals, coconut husk if you can find it, or on a hot grill pan, turning once, until the skin is browned in places and the flesh flakes at the thickest point.
- Brush with the basting sauce for the last few minutes and serve with rice and sambal matah.
Tip from the editors. Baste only at the end; the sweet soy scorches quickly over coals, and the fish should cook on the marinade alone.
Where to eat ikan bakar jimbaran
Ikan bakar Jimbaran in Bali
Kayumanis Resto (Jimbaran) ★ 3.8
Kayumanis Resto serves Indonesian dishes such as smoked duck and grilled snapper in a Javanese joglo on Jalan Yoga Perkanthi in Jimbaran, Bali.
OrderOrder the bebek panggang mekudus smoked duck or the grilled snapper set with clams and sambal.
TipThe dining room is a Javanese joglo in a tropical garden. A vegetarian menu and a children's menu are listed on the restaurant's site.
Kedonganan Fish Market ★ 4.2
Kedonganan Fish Market sells the day's catch by the kilo near Jimbaran, Bali, and nearby grill stalls cook it for IDR 20,000 to 30,000 a kilo.
TipBuy inside the market, then walk two to three minutes toward the beach for grill spots with seating; the market gets livelier after 16:00.
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