blueline7

Many thanks for the kind words. You raise an interesting question about why I said that it was "the best food that I ever had". When I was writing that line I did question it myself and perhaps I should have said "tied" or "amongst" the best food I ever had". But to answer your question, undoubtedly some of the enjoyment came from the beautiful environment and the terrific service, but beyond that, I would suggest that even simple and common foods, can be done extraordinarily well. For example, while in Ubud I had a nasi goreng (or bami goreng - I always mix them up!) at a decent restaurant, and there is a picture of this dish in my report. It was very good, and I enjoyed it, but it was nothing compared to the presentation, ingredients, and flavour of the versions which I enjoyed at Amandari and Amankila, respectively (and there is a picture of at least one of these latter dishes in the report as well). I just loved the way that the chefs prepared these dishes and savoured every mouthful. Given, I also love a boiled Maine Lobster or Montreal Smoked Meat from Schwartz's, and these latter two dishes are also amongst the best food I ever had, but the Aman dishes, even though the gorengs were common dishes, were superbly executed, well balanced, beautifully presented, and delicious as can be, and since I had their Indonesian dishes (some of which I did no picture) several times, I saw that they were consistently excellent, and it was not a fluke. Here are some shots of a couple additional dishes which I enjoyed at Amankila:

This was an appetizer chicken salad with coriander and garlic. Was beautiful and delicious! Was from a daily special menu at Amankila. They made it special for me without onions.


Here is a mixed Indonesian grill dish:




Here is a club sandwich with chicken, egg, cheese, tomato, and avocado: