Bali

dietary restrictions

Unlike Indian Hindus, virtually all Balinese eat meat, and vegetarianism has traditionally been limited to part-time fasts for some priests. It's thus best to assume that all local food is non-vegetarian unless assurances are given to the contrary. In particular, the Indonesian spice paste sambal is a hot paste of ground red chillies, spices and usually shrimp paste. Always check to see if the sambal being served to you contains shrimp paste—you can find it without at a few places. Additionally, kerupuk crackers with a spongy appearance contain shrimp or fish. Instead, ask for emping which is a delicious cracker made from a bean paste and is totally meat free—it resembles a fried potato chip in appearance. However, restaurants catering to tourists do nearly always provide some vegetarian options, and in places like Seminyak and Ubud there are even dedicated vegetarian restaurants.

Halal eateries catering to the Muslim minority exist, but may require a little searching for and tend to be downmarket. Padang restaurants mentioned above are a good option. Kosher food is virtually unknown.

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Budget

A meal in a basic tourist-oriented restaurant will be around Rp 20,000-50,000/person. In a local restoran or warung the same meal might be about Rp 15,000 or less. Simple warungs sell nasi bungkus a pyramid shaped paper-wrapped parcel of about 400 g of rice with several tasty extras-to take away for as little as Rp 3,000-5,000. One very reliable option is nasi campur rice with several options, chosen by the purchaser for about Rp 10,000-15,000. Note that rice is often served at ambient temperature with the accompanying food much hotter, this is common practice in Indonesia.

At the other end of the scale, Bali is home to number of truly world-class fine-dining restaurants. Seminyak is home to many of the trendy independent options, and elsewhere on the island, the better five-star resorts have their own very high quality in-house restaurants with prices to match.

At all but the cheapest local restaurants, it is normal for 10% government sales tax and 5% service charge to be added to your bill. Some restaurants include this in the price, but most expressly state these plus plus terms.