Jonathon Moran: Why there’s a dark side to the Bali foodie boom
At some point in Bali’s foodie development, enough is enough, writes Jonathon Moran. Why leave Australia, if everything I eat in Bali is the same as at home?
Opinion
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Aussie chefs, foodies and hipsters are ruining Bali.
Every second cafe seems to offer organic açai bowls and vegan whatever, which is washing away the authenticity that the tropical island used to offer.
What’s wrong with a local warung serving a tasty nasi goreng?
Just like Eat Pray Love brought all the wannabe yogis to Ubud, the likes of Seminyak and Canggu are quickly turning into offshoots of Bondi and Manly as they attempt to distance themselves from the bogan reputation of Kuta.
Isn’t the point of going overseas to explore and appreciate a different culture with its unusual sights, flavours and smells?
Instead, Sydney, Melbourne and Perth foodies are cash grabbing by setting up lucrative ventures in Canggu, Seminyak and Kuta that are sadly gentrifying the local communities.
It has lost its exoticism. If I wanted to holiday on the Gold Coast, I’d have booked there.
Nowadays in Bali, you have your linen-wearing elitist tourists — largely Australian — sitting around believing they are having an authentic Indonesian experience while sipping $25 cocktails when really they could be at a restaurant at home.
They’re charging Aussie prices too. Twenty bucks for a gin and tonic is ridiculous.
It might be a slight exaggeration but there seems to be a Deus Ex Machina shop in every suburb. What’s next — Sportsgirl, Country Road and Oroton?
I met a friend for a coffee at 5pm on a Wednesday afternoon a few weeks back at a nice joint called La Favela in Seminyak but was turned away by a security guy at the door because I was wearing a tank top and shorts. Isn’t that what you’re supposed to wear on holiday in Bali?
Catching up with a mate for dinner last month in Canggu felt like dining at a swanky Sydney restaurant.
Designer plates (you know the kind: not circular or square but different wonky pottery shapes so everyone has a unique setting), glasses that were different shapes and some slightly leaning to one side like the Tower of Pisa, gourmet serving utensils that are anything but a standard knife and fork, uber cool stools (not seats) and high table benches and a degustation menu to match with guests wearing designer labels like Gucci and LV.
The lack of authenticity is heartbreaking. Clearly there is a market for it but for me and my taste, people are trying too hard.
They’re the types of places I avoid at home so it is disheartening to see them popping up all over Bali.
There is still very much to love about Bali and I will definitely be back sooner rather than later.
Next time though, I will be booking on the other side of the island or somewhere on the north coast.