In the luxurious hotel Viceroy just 10 minutes outside Ubud, Bali sorounded by rice fields you have Aperitif. A fine dining restaurant by Belgian chef Nic Vanderbekeen. In addition to the restaurant it also holds an ambitious cocktail bar Pinstripe where our dinner would start.
With a colorful and delicious cocktail we would have two small snacks. A chicken liver mousse and a cured red snapper with ponzu with a small cracker shaped like a fish. Two snacks that shows the ambition level of the restaurant as well the direction of the kitchen mixing European techniques with Asian flavors.
After this we would have the rest of our dinner in the main dining room. A beautiful and grand room with a cosy and romantic 1920 art deco feel as well as the classic Bali layout with a high ceiling highest in the center. A design that you don’t see very often but I loved it. It was elegant, authentic and very romantic.
The last three snacks would be a charcoal puff with smoked mackerel, a classic egg foam with bacon and a button mushroom chawanmushi. I especially loved the techniques of the charcoal puff and the clean, sweet umami rich flavors of the chawanmushi.
The local flavors and ingredients would from this point on take a larger role. The first dish of the menu would be oyster with watermelon, dabu dabu and kemangi. The combination was much more refreshing than how oyster is often served in Europe. A general theme for the restaurant would be to use the Balinese and Asian flavors to bring a lot of acidity and freshness to balance out the dishes. A combination that I would love.
A beautiful serving of a small horse mackerel served in a sour and refreshing sauce based on pindang, cucumenber and ginger.
For a more classic dish we would have wagyu carpaccio with a bit of black garlic, bone marrow and mustard seeds. Again the fatty flavor of the wagyu was nicely balanced with lots of sweetness and acidity. A dish that for me lack the local flavors that otherwise was my favorite part of the experience.
For the next dish we would be right back with pure local flavors. Small pieces of bamboo lobster with a laksa sauce with lots of local spices. I loved the variation of flavors and textures in this dish.
We would now have their signature dish venison Wellington with the classic foie gras and rendang. A very classic dish but naturally once again the rendang (Indonesian curry) put a very nice refreshing twist on the dish. A dish that proved that you can merge two different cultures and have a happy marriage on a plate.
For a more classic Indonesian dish we would have chicken and rice. Basmati rice cooked in chicken stock and curry, mixed with among other things crispy chicken skin. Even though it was served with a juicy and delicious steamed chicken this rice was the absolute star of the show. I love when humble ingredients take the spotlight from more classic and expensive ingredients.
We would finish our lovely dinner with a small and sweet dessert of milk and honey. Aperitif is definitely not a kitchen that use a lot of heat = chili or the likes in their food but they do still use a lot of spices and for that reason a very sweet dessert is a nice way to end the meal as it was here. Clean flavors and a beautiful presentation.
As a customer you have the option between the signature menu or the seasonal one. We were fortunate enough to have a bit of both this evening. So if you think the menu is a bit long of that you can’t find it on their website that is why.
As you can tell through out the meal I really loved the mix of local Balinese sauces and ingredients with more classic European preparations. I was very positively surprised that the majority of the flavors were local and not European.
The space was for me a big part of the experience: elegant, romantic and unique. I can also see that it is possible to book a table a bit more secluded overlooking the forrest perfect for an even more romantic evening than what we had.
During the meal we would have a very lovely and nice waitress who we would get to know during the corse of the evening. It was such a relaxed and personal experience where we even got to know how many kids she has, what they liked to do and so forth. That kind of service really is special and hard to find in gourmet restaurant where the focus is usually which made it even more appreciated.
There is no Michelin guide in Indonesia but if there were Aperitif should surely be awarded 1 star.
Practical information
Location: Udbud, Bali
Head chef: Nick Vanderbeeken
Menu: 7 course tasting menu $120
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