Sami Sami @ Ayana Resort and Spa Bali
Ayana Resort, here we come!
The first place that we headed after touching down in Bali was Rock Bar at Ayana Resort and Spa Bali. Since it was getting close to sunset, we decided to head over the Famous Rock Bar to get a glimpse of the beautiful sunset that so many people and magazines raved about.
We were mesmerised by view and ambiance of the place the moment we stepped out from our rental car! Look at the infinity pool!
That is the view looking towards the entrance of the resort. We had to walk a fair bit to get to the restaurant area and to locate rock bar.
Traditional Bali Restaurant with their thatched roofs against a clear blue sky and surrounded with lotus terraced ponds! So pretty!
Another restaurant with such beautiful decorations!
As we made our way to the Rock Bar, we felt like we were stepping into paradise!
Seemed like too many people thought like us and we had to abandon our plan upon seeing the long queues of people waiting to get into Rock Bar. And it was only 5.20pm!
We were nowhere near the bar as the queue snakes down the “cliff”. đ We were told that there is a priority queue to get into Rock Bar but the catch is you will need to spend at any of the restaurants. However, priority entry to the rock bar opens only at 7pm… =.=”
Plan abandoned, we decided to grab some light bites as we were starving after having only had breakfast before our flight! Since we would not be able to make it in time to catch sunset at Jimbaran Beach where we intend to have a seafood dinner, trying to catch the sunset in one of the restaurants overlooking the Indian Ocean would be the next best thing to do.
We checked ourselves into Sami Sami, an open-air Bali restaurant serving trattoria-style Italian cuisine. Most of the seats were already reserved and we could only get a seat near the entrance (farthest away from the Ocean). The menu was presented in Italian, English and Japanese. There must be a lot of Japanese tourists here for them to do up the menu in Japanese.
Table setting.
Salt and pepper and candle light holder
We settled on an antipasti, a wood-fired pizza and pasta to share, to lightly fill out empty stomach. While waiting for the food, we took more pic of the beautiful place. Above is a panorama view taken from a corner of the restaurant.
To its left was an area done up for a wedding. How beautiful and romantic!
Back to the food, we were served some house bread with dips.
Close up of the bowl of bread and bread sticks
Warm and fragrant bread that got us licking our fingers! hahah
Close up of the dip. Not sure what it was but it did make the bread sticks more tasty đ
Our Antipasti – Calamari: Cripsy Calamari, zucchini and capers, tomoato and herbs emulsion, Rp140,000.
It was so crispy and delicious that it was gone in no time. The calamari was fresh and sweet!
Our Pasta – Gnocchi alla bava: Homemade potato gnocchi, gorgonzaola cheese and balsamic sauce, Rp140,000
Even before the dish was brought to the table, I could already smell the cheese. Though I love cheese, I must say that this one is just too much for me. I tried one of the potato gnocchi but just could not get over the gorgonzaola cheese. I think it is worst than blue cheese??
Our Wood-fired Pizza – Monti Mozzarella, tomato, porcini mushroom and pancetta, Rp130,000 that was well worth the wait.
Thin, crispy and fragrant crust with cheese that you can pull apart. Yumz! They could put more ingredients on the pizza though đ
The sunset view we got from where we were seated. As it suddenly became overcast, the view was not as spectacular as we had thought but nonetheless, the colours of the sky was beautiful, making the entire place feel so romantic. Great place for lovey dovey couples!
Our first encounter with their currency denomination and coins in Indonesia after we paid our bill of Rp441,650 (inclusive of service charge Rp36,500 and tax Rp 40150).Never knew coins existed. HAHAHA…
With our stomach lightly filled and sunset almost gone, we bid goodbye to Ayana and headed to Jimbaran Beach!
For the list of resturants in Ayana, click here
AYANA Resort and Spa
Jl. Karang Mas Sejahtera
Jimbaran, Bali 80364, Indonesia
Opening Hours:
Lunch: 11am – 5pm
DInner: 5pm – 11pm