Do I have to be careful trying local food in Bali?
This would have to be one of the most common questions (a close second to “Should I trust those transport guys?”) from newbies to the island. After all, a week of vomiting and diarrhoea can spell a bad trip (literally). I reckon that the most straight-forward answer is: “Use your brains, and don’t go in headfirst.”
Hot food, for example, is less risky for our wimpy guts. Start off by sticking to fried and boiled stuff. If you find a place that’s popular with the locals (therefore has a high turnover of food), give a bit of cold food a go: nasi campur, lontong etc. But beware of dishes like tipat and lawar, and go easy on the chilli. Also, if the food prep looks a bit dodgy, best to give it a miss.
Actually, it’s not just the food itself that may have a high bacteria count, but also the plate and cutlery you get with it (what you eat off is normally only barely washed, and sometimes in water from a ditch that has been reused over and over again).
Salad or cut-up fruit, especially if it’s still wet, has most probably been washed in tap water – best to avoid these ones on your first trip here, even in the classier restaurants (unless they specifically state they wash their food in mineral water). Ice and ice-cream off the streets, though tempting, can be hazardous too, since they’ve been exposed to the sun for lengthy periods and can quickly sprout mushroom-like bacteria. Locals tell me that most ice is made from safe drinking standard ice cubes, and you can tell this generally from the size of the blocks. Most places have fridges these days, so you can always opt for a cold drink rather than one with ice in it.
The irony of the whole thing is though, if I reflect on things, is that the sickest I ever got in Bali was from some putrid meat from a five-star restaurant supervised by an expat chef. So, go figure!
Vaughan Hatch has immersed himself with Balinese culture, living with locals in Bali since 1997. He speaks fluent Indonesian and Balinese, and is unashamedly addicted to playing gamelan. A linguistic, archaeology and publishing graduate, he works for indOKiwi ‘linguistic and cultural solutions’ in Sanur. Email him on contact@indokiwibali.com or call (0361) 8427030 for further queries.
