World-class dining scene in Bali’s hidden foodies’ paradise

Aussie travellers who want to experience this undiscovered side to Bali need to get in quick before it blows up.
Liz Burke
@lizeburke


Attracting well over a million Aussies each year, Bali has well and truly cemented its place as Australians’ favourite international holiday hotspot.

The island destination’s diverse offerings – both natural and man-made – cater to all sorts. The wellness crowd has relaxed into Uluwatu, fashionistas flock to Seminyak, the digital nomads have claimed Canggu and the surfers and backpackers still run Kuta.

But despite its irrefutable popularity, there are still some groups of Aussies yet to be convinced that Bali is for them.

Now a pair of chefs who have already made their mark on the Australian dining scene are contributing to the attracting of a whole new crowd of tourists adding Bali to their travel bucket lists, with a previously unknown area earning a reputation as a foodies’ paradise.

The west coast beach village of Pererenan is a burgeoning foodies’ paradise. Picture: Alamy

Diners at Shelter – one of Pererenan’s big drawcards.

The emerging west coast village of Pererenan, just a stroll along the beach from bustling Canggu, is fast becoming an international dining destination thanks to restaurants like Shelter Pererenan.

With the combined talent of group executive head chef Stephen Moore, whose impressive CV lists stints at Sydney’s Rockpool and Icebergs as well as top London dining rooms, and chef Scott Findlay, who started trained under Gordon Ramsay and is able to casually throw into conversation dishes he’s cooked for Tina Turner and Sir Paul McCartney as a private chef, the restaurant is not only attracting a new class of travellers to this corner of Bali, but also top-tier cooking talent.

Year-round, the 125-seat restaurant offers a unique dining experience combining the art of open-fire cooking and distinct flavours of the Mediterranean and the Middle East.

Diners in its distinct spaces, styled in Balinese “Joglo” architecture, are treated to a contemporary experience with sophisticated and creative cooking using only the finest ingredients. Highlights of its sharing menu include whipped chickpeas with smoked paprika oil flatbread, wood-roasted moon scallops with lemon butter, chilli salsa and sumac, and a BBQ octopus dish with whipped potato and tortilla that will make you want to repeat your reservation.
Shelter restaurant at Canggu derives its inspiration from Middle Eastern cuisine.

Shelter’s outdoor fire pit in action during September’s Shelter Sessions event with chef Tom Brown.

But alongside its already impressive offerings, Shelter is also bringing top international chefs to Bali’s dynamic food scene with its seasonal Shelter Sessions.


When news.com.au attended the most recent event in the culinary series, the restaurant’s wood-fired kitchen was taken over by world renowned Michelin-starred British chef Tom Brown.

Swapping the kitchen of his Shoreditch oyster restaurant Pearly Queen for Shelter’s outdoor firepit, Brown described the decision to bring his offering to Pererenan to work with Moore and Findlay as a no-brainer.

“At first I was like free trip to Bali, sick!” he joked. “Then as we spoke and saw each other’s food, it (became) really clear that the ethos we have is really similar.”

That ethos, Moore describes, is about not only showcasing great cooking on an international stage, but simply being in “the business of happiness”.

“I want to be in my restaurants because I want to make people happy,” he said.

Though he’s had a decades-long career crossing some of the world’s top dining scenes and restaurants, this happiness is something Moore has only been able to find in the kitchen since planting his feet solidly in Bali’s dining scene.

Shelter Sessions with Michelin-star London chef Tom Brown.

Shelter Pererenan.

Having cut his teeth in the ruthless London restaurant industry, which he says was “so stressful” and just about “killed my passion” – similar to Findlay who describes “hoping there’d be a bomb scare” or “to get hit by a car” on his way to work while training under the notoriously merciless Ramsay – the overwhelmingly positive industry in Bali is unlike any other either have worked in.

“I was working 20 years (in restaurants) without any exercise, a bad back, in hospital… it just killed me,” Moore said.

“Here you get to express yourself. (It’s a) beautiful country, beautiful people, and that creates a better work environment for yourself and for your team.

“(At Shelter) most of my guys have been here since it opened. Very few have left and they all started from scratch.”

For Brown, the appeal of working in Bali – if only for one night – is in the produce.

“It’s an amazing experience,” he said.

“It’s really exciting to use this produce. (To adapt) you start with a base dish and work around. You’ve got to be adaptable.”

Tom Brown, Stephen Moore and Scott Findlay speak to Shelter Sessions attendees.

Working with seafood, which Brown describes as “the only truly wild thing in terms of produce”, he said cooking in a new environment provided an excitement for chefs that he hoped would translate to the diners’ experience.

“It’s really important to me to use the (local) ingredients,” he said.

But while Pererenan’s burgeoning food scene does boast plenty of Balinese offerings, visitors shouldn’t expect to find recreations of traditional dishes on Shelter’s menu – or those of the neighbourhood’s many other comparable expat dining location. And that’s no oversight; there’s a good reason.

Describing an “amazing” meal he had at a “little Balinese palace that was just in a car park” the day before, Brown said: “You would never be able to recreate that because so much of it comes from heritage.

“You really want to use the ingredients but also respect the fact that you can’t just swan in and go ‘I’ll have a go at that, no worries.’”

Pererenan Beach.

For seasoned travellers, there are few greater joys than discovering a destination before it blows up. There’s nothing like the smug feeling that comes with being able to say you remember when a hotspot had “more of a village vibe” or informing a friend that if they liked their recent holiday they “would’ve loved it there 10 years ago”.

Exploring Pererenan’s still easily walkable streets – where the dangers of being knocked over by a scooter are far lower than the surrounding bustling neighbourhoods more likely to end up on the average tourist’s itinerary – it’s not uncommon to hear it described as being like Canggu before the tourists descended.

And with (mostly Aussie) tourists swarming the surrounding areas, it’s perhaps surprising this unique beachside village remains relatively undiscovered.

The neighbourhood was however recently listed by Time Out among the world’s coolest. So Aussies looking to secure bragging rights when it comes to being there as the world’s newest dining destination takes off, better get in quick.