Having just finished reading the book The China Study  by Dr. T. Colin Campbell, who suggests, backed up research, that a plant-based diet is the way to go to avoid chronic diseases and that animal-based protein are cancer accelerators, Amanda Cole and Terzi Niode decided to go on a plant-based culinary mission.

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VEGETARIAN FOOD HUNTING IN BALI

Where you don’t find many vegetarian organic cafes in Jakarta screaming health and well-being, you are sure to find a few hidden gems in Bali. From Seminyak to Ubud, we were blessed enough to go on a vegan-hunting trek, though too few days meant we could only enjoy 4 health cafes instead of the 10+ we had hoped for. We did however choose selectively.

The first café we visited was purely vegan, called Zula Vegetarian Paradise, and a vegetarian paradise it was.

Located in the heart of Seminyak this restaurant offers a wide range of vegan delicacies, of which we ordered a raw vegan roll, an avocado, sprouts, and veggie goodness wrap, and a vegan nasi campur – with Seitan as the meat alternative.

As soon as we were done, we felt a sense of comfort and not the usual guilt after having overeaten all that rice, oil, and meat, as we do.

We then made our way to Ubud - the heart of peace, spirituality and a healthy mind. And a healthy mind must come with healthy food! This place was bursting with paddy fields, yoga, meditation, massage parlours, and temples. It wasn’t hard to bump into a hidden vegan delight called Alchemy, but because it was late at night and the place was about to close , we only had time for a raw vegan quiche in this organic looking café.  And we are not exaggerating when we say this is the best quiche we have ever tasted in our life. 

Another stop was Café Vespa, not vegetarian, however, offers organic food and a cozy atmosphere, the pumpkin and ginger soup was delicious and the tofu rice was reasonable.

For a special occasion we visited a restaurant called Sari Organik.  Placed in the middle of paddy fields, we had to trek about 20 minutes through beautiful rice paddy views just to get there, which we think was the main highlight of this eco cafe. They have their own organic farm not too far from the restaurant where they collect the daily ingredients. 

And although Sari Organik was not as spectacular as it was 6 years ago, when everything wasn’t so commercialized and when you could actually hand pick the vegetables yourselves, it is still worth a visit. One of the things we ordered was a Fresh Sari Salad and another was the nasi campur - very delightful whilst enjoying the paddy views and the company of quiet, peaceful minded people. 

Zen Gardens was the last on our list. Back in Seminyak this again was a hidden gem offering mostly salad, a continuous list of super-health drinks, revitalizing fruit juices, and a view of a swimming pool.

There are many more places we would have loved to try such as Earth Café, Soma, and Bali Buddha, but we hope this vegan adventure has given us a head start to our new plant based diet for a healthier, more sustainable future!

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Text and Photos by Amanda Cole