It’s a very well publicised fact that eating out in Bali is incredibly affordable in comparison to what we are used to in Western countries. Here is a sample itinerary for a day of cheap eats in Canggu, Bali.
Firstly, to make things less complicated, I will be giving the prices in local currency which is IDR or Indonesian Rupiah. You can check the exchange rates here. At the time of writing this post, the rate is 15,239 IDR to €1, so to keep things nice and simple, let’s say that we have a budget of roughly 150K IDR for our day of eating out. Let’s go!
Breakfast in Berawa
Let’s start our day in Berawa, at Kojuro, for breakfast. This little gem does breakfast deals starting at just 30K IDR, including a coffee or a juice. Maybe it’s not well known, as it was always quiet when I was there and I haven’t seen any other bloggers or YouTubers mention it in their recommendations.
I had a couple of very delicious breakfasts there though. It’s on one of the less hectic roads so it has a nice relaxed feel, and the staff are friendly. I recommend the French toast with syrup, strawberries and banana, accompanied by a smoothie option called Glowing Skin, one of the 30K specials.
Lunch In Pererenan
Let’s leave the bustle and the crazy traffic of Berawa and central Canggu behind us for a while and head out to Pererenan for lunch. I actually stayed in Pererenan for a month, and a place called Manas 2 very quickly became my favourite lunch spot. They have an all day breakfast menu, but we’ve already had breakfast so let’s go for something different. They do fantastic fish tacos, but today we’re going to have their beef burger with fries for 58K. It’s made with juicy Australian beef and the bun is just perfectly toasted, giving it a nice crunchy texture but without taking away from the fresh taste.
Dinner In Batu Balong
After a couple of fairly Western style meals, it’s time to have a traditional Indonesian Nasi Campur, and where better to find it than at a local warung? We find ourselves at the very aptly named Warung Local in Batu Balong for dinner. Their location in Uluwatu is absolutely my favourite. The Batu Balong restaurant is smaller, it’s on a very noisy road and it gets super busy, but for a very good reason. The food is served in the traditional buffet style with tons of dishes to choose from. The advantage to how busy this place is, is that you can be sure that the food is always fresh.
They have a couple of set price options to choose from, or you can just build your own plate.They do also have an a la carte menu, but when I come here I love to choose from the food that is on display. My go to is always the Made package, with a choice of brown, white or yellow rice, or noodles, one of their chicken dishes, a side dish, (the spring rolls here are the best I’ve ever had), and two veggies. It’s priced at 40K and I am rarely able to finish what’s on my plate.
Fancy A Treat?
It’s evening and I’m heading home, and I realise I haven’t even spent all of my 150K yet, so let’s pop to Dang Cookies for a little sweet treat. Dang have a couple of locations in Canggu, plus one in nearby Seminyak, and they do the most amazing cookies. My favourite is called Lulu, which is their Nutella cookie, followed closely by the very indulgent fudge flavoured Bella. It costs me 22K for a single cookie, and they also do package deals if you buy a box of two, four or eight cookies, or a cookie with a hot drink.
Don’t Forget To Tip
So that’s it, my guide to a day of cheap eats in Canggu, Bali. We’ve feasted on delicious food and even had a treat, all for only 147K IDR, or just under €10. So one last thought, since we’re getting such great value for our euro (or dollar or pound, or whatever your home currency is), and since the Balinese hospitality and service is truly some of the best in the world, don’t forget to show some love to the locals. Be polite, be friendly, and make sure to tip.
Read about my 2022 return to Bali here.
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