My favorite comfort Meal at Alila in Seminyak Bali
You’ll feel a breath of fresh air enter the so-very green driveway of Alila, Seminyak. You’ll be greeted by the awesome security guards followed by a breeze of the Indian Ocean’s openness as you strut your way up to the beautifully large and welcoming lobby.
With the Canggu’s wavy waters as the first backdrop to your sight, you can make your way to the Beach Bar which is open to the hotel’s guests and public. You get to choose where you’d like to sit with the options of single tanning beds, back-supported bean bags or restaurants. The first two options have a minimum spend but the restaurant area does not (You’ll definitely easily reach the amounts of the required consumption as this place’s prices are not the lowest - for Bali).
You can still access the pool, ask for a towel and also take an awesome walk on Seminyak’s sandy beach if you choose to sit in the restaurant.
Now comes the time for the food ;)
The menu has plenty of choices including a high-end spin on local dishes, simple salad varieties, small bites (like tacos), pastas, pizzas and sandwiches. My two picks have consistently been the flatbread margarita pizza with a side of fries and the club sandwich (that comes with a smaller bowl of the goreng potatoes). Their portions in general are filling which is also what adds more charm to this getaway space in the middle of the otherwise busy Seminyak.
Here are my personal twists to this order:
the flatbread pizza at Alila is naturally thin crust but the generosity in the ingredients (and parmesan cheese) really adds a full-bodied taste to every bite.
Z spin: I usually always ask for less tomato sauce (to all of my pizza orders). Heavy tomato purées personally give me acid reflux especially when mixed with other foods and liquids. I have also noticed that most places in Bali tend to go heavy on the tomato sauce, so it’s has been a lesson well-learned. Unless you order your pizza for it, then go all in.
the club sandwich at Alila is cut in 4 hearty pieces with a side version of their crispy fries. I love the freshness of the chicken, lettuce, tomatoes and the bread. The menu version comes with bacon and eggs which aren’t my favorites to eat. Neither is mayo.
Z spin: I change the bacon and eggs with grilled mushrooms and theirs are amaaazing. They’re almost like mushroom-steak grilled to perfection. I also substitute the mayo for Dijon mustard which gives it an extra kick of freshness. I always ask for chicken to be very well grilled as I have a love-dislike relationship with meats in general. And if you feel like going all out, ask for the chili sauce instead of ketchup for the fries.
What I love about the place is also the patience that some of their waiters have as I make this annoyingly long order of my own recipes.
Oh, and the fruit platter, get it if you’re just in the mood for something refreshing.
What’s the catch? None! Of course, I created my own spin of no cantaloupe, “change with extra other fruit”. Yes, the Bali translation version might at times be heard as no other fruit, please put extra cantaloupe…but then again, I have learned that this island always gives me more of what I need than what I think I need.
And that’s a wrap.
Wait, I haven’t even begun to tell you about my favorite wraps in Bali.