Ibu Oka (Ubud, Bali)

Famed for its pig skin, prepared each morning from spit-roasted pigs every day as visited by Anthony Bourdain on his Indonesian travels

I am sucker for Anthony Bourdain as he is one of my primary food compasses whenever I go to a new environment so it made absolutely no sense whatsoever to not come to Bali and not do this venue which Bourdain had some of the finest pig produce ever.  This turned out to being the third installment of the Ibu Oka brand in Ubud, Bali.  Same format, just bigger, the pigs are slaughtered and spit-roasted every day and then ‘painted’ with coconut water throughout their 5 hours of spit-roasting.  This causes the coconut juice to caramelise on the pig skin giving a coconut / sugary glaze to the skin which was very good to have although I found this a little faint when having the skin at lunch.  The owner kindly showed me around the roasting areas and the array of spices and herbs that went physically in to the meat prior to roasting which was great to see.  A great place to enjoy with Bintang beer and even if Bourdain hadn’t been here, I still would have been as curious to try the skin above everything else – a lovely thing to try.

Food Grade: 58%

Location