Yup, October 23rd was my birthday. Other than a dinner reservation, nothing special was planned in advance.
Breakfast was at Café Bali, a funky restaurant with a somewhat East Indian/French/Victorian-inspired décor, in my opinion. My morning began with a cheese, tomato and mushroom omelette and an apple coriander fruit fizz. With that day’s currency exchange rate, it came out to about US$3.49. Obviously, I should eat there more often!
Then it was time for a little retail therapy. I wandered into a textiles store where the owner showed me lots of Javanese batik and Lombok songket, in addition to ikat from Sumba and Timor. Songket is my favorite ’cause I always go for the bling! Plus, the songket from Lombok was certainly cheaper than the songket that I’d bought several years ago in some little town near Candidasa that specializes in making it. Another jewelry store having a sale caught my attention. After picking out 3 reasonably priced pieces, my eyes fell upon a beautiful rosary with beads made from (crushed) shells. I collect rosaries, thus found it difficult to walk away. The salesgirls tried to talk me into buying the 3 silver pieces AND the rosary, but I was trying to maintain some sort of a budget. The rosary was on sale, too, yet it still cost more than all 3 of the other pieces together. To their dismay, I stuck to my guns. I took the rosary and put the other 3 pieces back. That was my birthday present to myself!
Lunch was at Breeze at The Samaya. Getting forgetful; I DID have a reservation there, too. I sat overlooking the ocean and had a very fancy schmancy mie goreng and a Coke, followed by a glass of sparkling wine. It was a very nice place and would be tres romantique for a couple in the evening, particularly at sunset. Considering the setting, prices were reasonable, too.
Speaking of sunset, after more window shopping, I went to Anantara. My intention was to go upstairs to S.O.S. for their unimpeded view and chill house music, but the elevator refused to take me there! I asked one of the staff in the lobby what was going on. Unfortunately, they were renovating S.O.S., so drinks were relegated to the downstairs bar and in the pool area. The view wasn’t nearly as nice, but they were offering 2-for-1 on select cocktails. None of them truly appealed to me, but I decided to give the lychee martini a try. After the first one, I regretted the fact that another one was coming! Lychee… yuck! Good to know for future drinking.
Afterwards it was time for yet another appointment at Spa Bali for a mani/pedi. The woman doing my nails mentioned that she’d seen me a few times on Dhyana Pura. I explained that it’s my favorite way to access the beach and Anantara, as well as the location of my near daily spa treatments at Spa Bali!
Back at the apartment, I got spiffed up for my birthday dinner. Speaking of which, the staff had done an excellent job of ironing the two dresses that had been left out. The one I was wearing to dinner had tons of draping, but was ironed perfectly. Dinner was at Sarong, my absolute favorite restaurant in the Seminyak area. I ordered the grilled scallop appetizer (with young crispy duck, Thai basil, young coconut and peanut nam jihm), beef penang (braised beef with chili, Thai basil and coconut cream) and rice. While waiting for the food, I had a Candy Floss cocktail, which seemed appropriate for a birthday. That cocktail was composed of strawberry juice, vodka, lemon juice, Thai basil and homemade floss (i.e. cotton candy). They served the floss and the mixture side-by-side. When the mixture was poured over the floss, it melted, of course! The scallop appetizer was one scallop served on a bite-size spoon. It was incredible! The been penang, on the other hand, was disappointing. When the staff asked my opinion of the food, I mentioned that the penang was slightly too salty and also too chewy, as it hadn’t been braised long enough. I should already know, though, not to order beef at high end restaurants in Bali; it’s always been disappointing. Though they advertise the beef as being high grade from Australia, it turns out to be chewy and somewhat tough every time. I’m from KANSAS, so if there’s one thing I know about, it’s beef! I have to hand it to the staff, however, as they didn’t charge me for the beef penang. At my request, they brought me another scallop, though charged me for it. Throughout this, I was also sipping on a nice glass of French Bordeaux. When I was finished, they brought me a complimentary dessert plate of chocolate cake, coconut ice cream and praline. Rather than being discreet, they loudly sang “Happy Birthday” to me, while other diners joined in. I was slightly embarrassed, but got over it quickly after digging into the dessert!
A final glass of champagne at Ultimo was de rigeur before walking back to my apartment. The bartenders in there are great.
So my birthday was nice; nothing too crazy, but a relaxing and enjoyable day spent with me, myself and I!
My Sparkling Wine at Breeze
The Samaya
Grilled Scallop Appetizer from Sarong
Dessert from Sarong
Bartenders at Ultimo