Continuing on with the theme of "we are not going to eat crap just because we are in a touristy area with a theme park", we ended up at a highly-rated spot in Dija Mara. This place is also located in Oceanside and according to them, "we mix Southeast Asian flavors with Western flair and Japanese cooking techniques to create our unique, Balinese-Inspired menu". That is quite the mouthful and sometimes a bit scary for some. However, we are always game for interesting eats and are totally on board with fusion.
We began with a pretty basic dish in the Grilled Roti, but it was anything but basic. Normally, we've had different rotis ranging from super crispy and layered to very hard and dense. Thankfully, this was fluffy and light with a beautifully golden brown and crispy outer surface. It came with two dips including the creamy and spicy lamb jus curry and the mildly aromatic vegan rendang sauce.
We also got the Chicken Thigh Skewers with mild spice. These were grilled aggressively where the char was evident in its appearance and completely noticeable in taste. That added depth-of-flavour and loads of smokiness. Despite the char, the meat was juicy and buttery. Lastly, the marinade penetrated the meat and we had some aromatics and savoriness going on.
One of the best dishes we had was the Charred Eggplant. Served as large chunks, the lightly fried eggplant kept its integrity but was still tender and silky. However the real star of the show was the intense flavors. It started with the spicy sambal that had a briny pungency. It was leveled off by the tangy and creamy lemon labneh. Finishing off the dish was some crispy shallots on top.
Really enjoyed the Ayam Penyet (Fried Chicken) as the chicken leg was beautifully prepared. In past versions, I've experienced dry meat but for this one, it was succulent and buttery. Skin was completely rendered and crispy. This came with aromatic coconut rice and that killer sambal which added plenty of heat.
Although I enjoyed the Mee Goreng, it was quite salty. I have a high salt tolerance but for others, I can see that this would be over-seasoned. For me, it had all of the flavors including spiciness, brininess and the sweetness from Kecup Manis. Noodles were al dente and the addition of shredded short rib made things really hearty.
Last dish was the Short Rib Rendang. This was a meaty dish in flavor and texture. Got the aromatic sweetness from the coconut and the bright hits from the lemongrass and galangal. Meat was tender with some chew to it. Really delicious in my opinion. In the end, we felt the food at Dija Mara to be an explosion of flavors and also a study in textures. We thought that their fusion was successful and ultimately delicious.
The Good:
- Intensely flavorful food
- Lots of textures
- Reasonably-priced
The Bad:
- Some things were salty
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