Kunyit Restaurant at The Anvaya Beach Resort Bali

From a traditional Balinese appetiser to a chef’s speciality of the eastern Bali flavour, Kunyit Restaurant rekindles the taste of the ancient Bali by taking the Balinese cuisine to the elevated level. Situated at the front of The Anvaya Beach Resort, this beautiful lounge setting restaurant serves up a home-style selection with a casual elegance, offering a rich menu that is known for its flavour and history. Meaning turmeric in Indonesian, as the key ingredient in most of the Balinese cuisines, Kunyit Restaurant succeeds to present a combination of recipes that are passed down from generations before.
As I wandered around the busy street of Jalan Kartika Plaza, subtle hints of the Balinese contemporary design exterior whispered me that “You are here”. Straight away after I strolled through the entryway, I noticed a family-style, high-end restaurant enlivened by a mix of conventional Balinese tradition with a modern influence. Next to a central bar, many tables were set outside and perched just enough above the street to remain unseen from public view. The tropical breeze flew through the lush gardens to deliver me a rich aroma of turmeric.
Waltzing into the feasting zone, I was disoriented by how little things give careful consideration to subtle elements. The ambience was warm, intimate and a bit of spiritual by displaying a centrepiece of a ceremonial offering on the wooden tables. Solid wood pillars and high ceilings seemed to maximise the luxurious touch, creating an elegant look of the entire place. The additional antique paintings and wall designing were there to give an edge to different looking. The interiors of the restaurant hijacked my mind completely!
While deciding what meals to have, the waitress approached with a ceramic basin for a traditional hand washing ritual. An infused water was then poured over my hands from a fancy ceramic kettle into a wooden bowl. As I towel-dried my hands, I could smell a light fragrant lemongrass from either the towel or the infused water.
Their chef’s speciality is the Megibung, a mixture of different dishes on a single huge plate. Highly recommended for those who want to experience the ancient Balinese family dining, this one can give a real ‘kick’ to your tummy! This set of dishes contains chicken and pork satay, grilled prawn, pork belly, grilled chicken with sambal matah, steam fish wrapped in banana leaf, Balinese sausages and Balinese vegetables (a mix of green beans and sprouts plus seasonal vegetables lightly dressed in shaved coconut and chilli).
When it comes to sampling the true Balinese flavours, this was it! Both the pork and chicken were stuffed with local spices, steamed and deep-fried. The meats were soft in texture and tasted deeply piquant, while the vegetables brought a perfect balance in my mouth. For a sweet yet refreshing treat after such an indulgent bite, the dessert platter in the Megibung set menu presented Bubur Injin (fried banana with sesame seed) and fruits. All these flavourful dishes really represent the authenticity of Balinese cuisine.

Excellent place for dinner, the staff are very friendly and helpful. The prices are very affordable and reasonable for such a high class restaurant!
The seafood (grilled) we ordered was super tasty and delicious! It came with rice and salad on the side and two types of spicy sauce and few watermelon slices.
The dessert was also very tasty!
Definitely high recommended and will come again here!

Chicken over cooked and duck very greasy and old. A waste of money and time. Don’t bother coming to this place, 100 Meyers away in front of lippo mall there much variety of grilled stalls that serve better food than this place.