[Indonesia: Bali] Rumari - Southeast Asian Fine Dining at Raffles Bali

April 15, 2023

[Indonesia: Bali] Rumari - Southeast Asian Fine Dining at Raffles Bali

One of the highlights of our stay at Raffles Bali was trying the progressive Southeast Asian cuisine at their fine dining restaurant Rumari! The restaurant adheres to the 80/20 rule where 80% of ingredients are sourced locally in Indonesia and 20% are imported as necessary. Many of the herbs and vegetables used are grown in the botanical garden at the resort as well. Helmed by French Chef Gaetan Biesuz who has spent a number of years in Southeast Asia and has forged relationships with local producers, the menu features exotic and unique ingredients from the archipelago. As Indonesia’s only Krug Ambassador, the wine selection and pairing is carefully curated and diverse as well. The meal was truly enjoyable with bold and refined flavors - it's certainly a dining destination worth a special journey!

The restaurant is the only dining outlet onsite that accepts dinner reservations from outside guests. With both indoor and outdoor seating areas, the space is spacious and elegant.

For dinner, there are 3 menus to choose from - the 5, 7 or 9 Step's Journey menu. We had the 9 Step’s Journey Menu which started with bread and several amuse bouche. Highlights of our meal included the fiery Padang sauce sorbet, duck egg with coconut texture, tortellini with balado consommé and jamu sorbet with stingless bee honey!

1. Padang
Crab, heirloom tomatoes variation, Saus padang

2. Baturiti
Heritage farm pig terrine, homemade pickles sambal ijo emulsion

3. Klungkung
Kalas curry glazed river prawn, Serombotan

4. Brebes
Sous vide organic Duck egg Brebes Farm, coconut texture, smoked duck,
Tommed andaliman, Kristal Maison Kaviari

5. West Sumatra
Raffles Garden Eggplant Tortellini, Balado consommé

6. Buleleng
Local Gindara slow cook with seaweed, Novio Farm fennel texture, Hatten red wine lees sauce

7. Minangkabau
Sher wagyu Rendang tenderloin MB 9, coconut, cassava, sambal ijo

8. Central Java
Tamarind, turmeric, jamu sorbet, Novio farm cloves, honey, garden flower

9. East Java
Pemalang farm pineapple texture, sablee, pineapple sorbet, coriander

Petit Fours

The next evening, I had the honor of taking part in the the Rumari X MONO collaboration dinner! As part of the Rumari and Friends series, Chef Gaetan has been hosting collaborations with chef friends from all around the world. For his second event, he has invited Ricardo Chaneton of Mono - one of my favorite restaurants in HK! I was excited to see how the bold flavors from both chefs - Indonesian and Latin American - would work together. It was great to see Ricardo bring over some of his signature dishes from Mono such as the blood sausage crème brûlée, langoustine taco and of course the 21 ingredients mole. As for Rumari, Gaetan presented dishes that were completely different from the ones we tried the night before while still showcasing unique ingredients from Indonesia. As both chefs are Krug ambassadors, the wine pairings consisted of Krug of course and even a cocktail from The Writers Bar!

The menu: