warung pregina - sanur
The Setting
Breezy Warung Pregina is easy on the eye and enormously inviting. The cosy warm wooden décor blends harmoniously with scenic portraits of the Bali of yore, and upon entering you’ll be confronted with an amazing wooden vessel hanging upside down on the ceiling, certainly one of the more unusual lighting features we’ve seen. There’s some real Balinese creativity at work here, courtesy of owner I B Oka Kresna and the Pregina interior is a real delight. Born and brought up in Sanur, Oka has taken his own sweet time polishing Warung Pregina, which is now in its sixth year of operation. Hopefully, around February of next year or soon thereafter, the joint will also open an eclectic bar out front serving cool tropical concoctions that should rehydrate those sun-scorched holiday hides.
The Food
Rich Balinese fare is the order of the day down at Warung Pregina. Oka confided in us that he’s stretched himself to really create some top-flight dishes, such as the bebek kuah (duck in sauce), his version of his mother’s cooking. The bebek goreng (fried duck) meanwhile has become the joint’s signature dish, and don’t forget the superb sambal (chilli sauce), which features some velvety Balinese coconut oil. Authentic Sanur bites can be found in Pregina’s coconut milk-laden dishes, which include pepes be pasih and kuah be pasih. Both feature a healthy wedge of snapper, cooked in a flavoursome local curry. Taste wise, the pepes (steamed fish in banana leaf) is sensational and gets this classic Sanur favourite just so right. The ingredients burst with freshness and also offer a sour-sweet kick and a lasting savoury aftertaste. Moreover, if you’re feeling rather feverish during the rainy season, the kuah (sauce) features a cornucopia of delicious herbs to warm up the body. For those addicted to piquant sambal, behold the tempting spices of the siap panggang metok-tok. This traditional grilled chicken comes sprinkled with a beautiful red mask of cut chilli. For regular orders, the heat is medium and short-lasting. However Warung Pregina will boost up the spice level for you if you really fancy fricasseeing your tongue. You can relieve your flame-licked palate with a few dollops of bubur injin: cool vanilla ice cream on top of a warm black rice pudding.
The Unique
While there are plenty of Balinese food joints to be found dotting the island’s touristy areas, finding one that embodies the unique culinary properties of a certain district is not so easy. In this case, Warung Pregina unpretentiously serves up the distinct flavours of Sanur, in which coconut remains a core ingredient in most meals. Additionally, there are complimentary choices of Asian faves on the Pregina menu, including green papaya salad and satay.
Warung Pregina
Jl. Danau Tamblingan no. 106, Sanur
0361 283 353
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