Magical Evening @ Cuca Flavor Restaurant, Jimbaran, Bali

It's been so long, since I have had actual time-out as a Mom. And we are talking time-out in a foreign land here! It has been a very trying of late, so many things going on in the background. What should I do with the evening that was miraculously gifted to me courtesy of a very dear friend (where the kid was spending a sleepover at)... With some very quick homework done a few hours to dinner time, Cuca Flavor was decided upon for dinner. The concept? Tapas style food given an artistic fine-dining updo while maintaining the traditional flavors of local Indonesian cooking.

Roasted Pork Buns @ IDR60K

Honey glazed BBQ pork held together with soft pancake bun. Utterly delicious.

There is a choice of 4 dining areas - Food Bar, Dining Room, Garden Lounge and Cocktail Bar.

This was Garden Lounge, which would be really lovely during the day with light breezes and beautiful sunshine.

Naturally I chose to sit by the Food Bar facing the open kitchen. 

How Masterchef! Love it!

The tapas menu is categorized into 3 - Harvested, Hooked, Farmed. There is a small selection of cocktails and desserts as well. Basically things are kept simple, fuss-free, not complicated, with focus given to executing great tasting food. That certainly leaves plenty of room for the food to shine, and boy, do they!

Where all the action is. Intense and inspiring.

Compliments of the chef - Cotton Betutu. 

Yes, the same spices for Bali's infamous Bebek Betutu is here used to coat a piece of light cotton candy. The combination of the depth of spices and the fluffy ball of sweetness was ingenious!

From the Hooked Menu : Baked Scallop @ IDR20K per piece

Lombok scallop, mashed cauliflower and toasted butter crust.

Fresh and light, perfect to spare extra room for more tantalizing dishes!

From the Farmed Menu : Roasted Pork Bun @ IDR60K per piece

The slab of pork was devilishly good, very well marinated, charred to the right perfection, melts in the mouth, the pancake bun light and fluffly. I find no flaws here, only wished I have room for more.

From the Harvested Menu : Mushroom Fritters @ IDR55K per piece

This is like SOOOOOOOOOOO ADORABLE! Pickled mushroom, roasted garlic and ricotta cheese are listed as core ingredients. Love the creaminess of the ricotta!

As each dish comes, I get more and more excited to see what's in store for my senses..

From the Hooked Menu : Smoked Butterfish @ IDR90K

The pretty pink dollop? That's beetroot yoghurt, so very pretty! And tastes as exquisite as it looks :)

Major components of the dish are beetroot yoghurt, parsley crumbs, zucchini pickles and of course the smoked butterfish

From the Harvested Menu : Honey Baked Pumpkin Salad @ IDR80K

Pumpkin has always been a personal favorite, no matter how it's cooked, it is always so tasty, creamy and sweet. Here we have it baked (even better), seated on a bed of country granola, creamy green beans and garnished with tarragon

From the Hooked Menu : Rice Crusted Soft Shell Crab @ IDR160K

The most expensive item on the menu, but oh so well worth it. Again it came all decked to the nines, simple, beautifully presented and a full score of 10 on the Richter scale of taste.

The combination of those crunchy sweet soft shell crab with garlic aioli, curry leaf and slices of pineapple was just pure bliss. The acidity of the pineapple was a perfect accompaniment to give the dish that "zing" with each and every bite.

From the Farmed Menu : Crispy Fried Chicken @ IDR80K

It just gets more and more exciting.....

Here we have pieces of succulently tender, juicy and crispy fried chicken accompanied by asian basil, sesame dust and country coleslaw

Nothing more exciting than having a chef explain to you what you are eating. Well, for me at least. Food excites me!

Mains done, now it's action time for the dessert station

After consuming 7 (yes, yikes!) savoury dishes, it's time to end the evening with something sweet. It is not how you begin your meal, but how you end your meal. It is always that one last dish at the end of a meal that seals the memory of an occassion.

Here I chose to have the Caramel Apple @ IDR80K. Anything with caramel piques my interest!

Slow baked apples with an intriguing Javanese black pepper ice cream, piped mounds of luscious caramel and melt-in-your-mouth waffle crumbs.

I could cry by now, every single dish has been flawless in terms of taste and presentation, picture perfect, Instaworthy, you name it. 

And this? Bali Breakfast (IDR90K) they call it! 

Looks pretty deceiving to actually know that this is not a savoury egg dish, but a sweet one that is made of a "yolk" of sweet runny mango, frozen passionfruit and whipped creamy coconut. Reminds me somewhat of a muesli bowl! By now my pair of poor shorts is bursting at the seams from the glorious food stuffing session!

I was most excited at the close proximity of the dessert station to where I was seated. Desserts being a passion of mine, this was an awe inspiring moment for me to one day make good my dreams and aspirations. Fingers crossed, one day....

I cant sing enough praises of this wonderful place. Food's beautiful, in every single sense of the word. Service was warm, friendly, prompt. The evening was flawless, effortless. And I definitely hope to be able to relive this wonderful evening again. Wait for me Cuca, I will be back for more :)

Cuca Flavor

Website : http://www.cucaflavor.com/

Jl Yoga Perkanthi, Jimbaran, Bali Indonesia

Tel : +62 361 708066

Email : family@cucaflavor.com

Opens daily from 12.00pm - 12.00am (Kitchen closes at 11.00pm)