After returning from our excursion we did another evening of in-villa dining, starting with a nice amuse bouche



Spaghetti carbonara for the kids



Mrs. ChongL liked my nasi goreng from the previous day so much she ordered one for herself, whereas I opted to try the mie goreng



Finishing with a dessert



At turn down service, some nice sweets were brought that had a strong local influence. Most of the items consisted of some combination of coconut, pandan, or sticky rice



While I was still not adjusted to the time, I decided to sneak out at sunrise the following morning to get some more pictures of the resort. Stepping out of our building, a living wall spans the courtyard as a decorative centerpiece



Continuing down the hill (or the stairs if you choose), you come across Sawah Terrace and a small bar area





At the heart of the village is the pool area which provides scenic views of the rice terrace on site





Looking beyond the fields, you can see the covered area which houses the kids’ club











While we never made use of the public pool, we were fortunate enough to get an upgrade to a villa which had a private pool







The cows were on site that day and are available for feeding. They are named after the resort (Manda and Dapa) which I’m told translate to the word temple



Being city boys, the kids didn’t like the smell of the animals and were too busy playing



After entertaining them for a good amount of time, rather than dine in again, we opted for lunch at the pool. First, a refreshing round of coconuts



Some bread and olive oil



Delicious truffle fries



Four cheese pizza



Flew all the way to Bali for some nachos lol



That evening, it was back to dining in. Amuse bouche



Ikan bakar (char-grilled barramundi)



Iga babi bakar (char-grilled slow cooked pork ribs)



The next morning, I took some more pictures of the breakfast area. If opting to sit outside, there is a nice view of the Ayung River and you can hear the gentle sound of the rushing water







We decided to have a spa treatment in the morning. For the first time since the kids were born, we had a couple’s massage which required the services of a babysitter. The minis went off to the kids’ club with her and we had a splendid time relaxing at the spa. Once we were done, our patih informed us the new room was ready, so we opted to have everything moved over before grabbing the kids and ordering lunch























The private pool was put to great use since I was able to continue teaching the boys how to float and swim. However, while the entire area was incredibly spacious, the offset living area meant that the continuous area available for the kids to play was now split. The wife and I agreed that the villa was a fantastic upgrade, but the layout of the initial suite we had served our needs better. Throughout our remaining days, we had more in-villa dining since the menu was more or less identical to what was available at the restaurant. On one evening, I had what ended up being my favorite dish, nasi bakar ayam, which is described as char-grilled coconut rice and shredded chicken wrapped in banana leaf. Having first had this at dinner, the side of beef that accompanied the dish was sweet, but had a beef jerky like texture. Upon biting into it, it revealed a crispiness and intense flavor that had my wife and kids stealing off my plate. The appetizer of course came first



And the star: nasi bakar ayam



So of course, I had to order it again the next day



The kids tried a different pizza



With a smoothie



And finally, a dessert



With remaining days dwindling, we decided to try our hand at afternoon tea at Ambar, which is at the lobby level of the resort






This gives sprawling views of the valley below





Menu



Small bites





And the tower of food that was also accompanied by some yakitori



For our final dinner, on our actual anniversary, we dined at Kubu which has a tasting menu








The wife with a mangosteen cocktail, trying to cram in as much mangosteen as she could



We opted for the shorter menu (The Essential) in case the boys couldn’t stay seated for an extended period of time



Amuse bouche



Scallop crudo



Chicken off the kids’ menu. This looks rather dry but was actually quite tasty



Filet off the kids’ menu



Farmer toast



Risotto



Tuna tataki



We opted for the Kiwami beef ribeye instead of the short ribs…absolutely delicious



Sorbet



Tiramisu



And finally, petit fours



Thinking dinner was over, we were surprised by a chocolate cake. We were beyond stuffed at this point



After rolling back to our villa, we were surprised to see a nice message and farewell gift. Normally, this isn’t something that would surprise me, but it seems like I was so checked out that it never crossed my mind as a possibility. In our previous trips, and even at Umana Bali, seeing the anniversary message was a nice touch, but it was something you were prepared to see (whether it actually presented itself or not). So, it was odd that I was legitimately surprised after coming back from dinner to see this. Either I was extremely content and relaxed, thinking about leaving for Japan the next day, or most likely had such a great stay already that nothing else was expected anymore





And our last turn down snack before departing the next morning



We had high expectations after hearing first-hand from others who have stayed there, and even then, it exceeded our expectations. It has rocketed to the top of our list of most memorable stays, so I guess it’s no surprise we are already thinking of going back. Even at the WA Maldives, we would have to follow up sometimes on requests. From the get-go at Mandapa, everything was seamless and every individual we interacted with would go out of their way to assist. This ranged anywhere from seeing the Mrs. grabbing breakfast with a kid in tow and proactively offering to take the dish off her hands to take back to our table, to offering to make some cold pressed apple juice when no apple juice was available at breakfast. Nothing ever seemed rigid, as in “no you can’t do that” or “the policy won’t allow this” as the staff tried their best within reason to accommodate. Everything was fluid and dynamic where the small tidbits of information they gleamed from our regular interactions were used to further curate and tailor the stay. To say we enjoyed our time here would be an understatement

Next up: The wife still eating mangosteen, and flying SQ back through Singapore to Osaka